Axadle - Breaking news and analysis from Somalia, the Horn of Africa, and across Africa.

Saturday, February 7, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s lower house of parliament has suspended 19 lawmakers for repeatedly disrupting legislative sessions, a move that underscores deepening political rifts over contentious constitutional amendments. The decision was issued in an official letter from acting speaker and second deputy speaker Abdullahi Omar Abshirow, who said the lawmakers were barred from attending several upcoming sessions after causing chaos during a sitting on Feb. 2. The letter said the members violated…

Keir Starmer’s defense of his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington — that he did not grasp the depth of Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — does not withstand the weight of what was already widely known. The scandal now engulfing Downing Street is not a bolt from the blue; it is the foreseeable consequence of elevating a man whose entanglements, instincts and methods were part of the public record. And it has exposed the operating system of this government more starkly than…

Sydney is bracing for large protests and a heavy police presence as Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrives Monday for a four-day visit to honor victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, with authorities warning demonstrators to avoid violence and disruption in the city’s streets. New South Wales Police said they will deploy in large numbers and have declared the visit a “major event,” a designation that allows officers to separate rival groups and impose crowd-management controls to reduce the risk of confrontation. “It’s…

GENEVA — The United States called for three-way talks with Russia and China to set new limits on nuclear weapons after the New START treaty expired, erasing the last binding cap on U.S.-Russian strategic arsenals and reviving fears of a new arms race. Thomas DiNanno, the under secretary of state for arms control, told the U.N. Conference on Disarmament in Geneva that the now-lapsed pact had “fundamental flaws,” citing what he called serial Russian violations, the growth of global stockpiles and weaknesses in the treaty’s…

Egypt condemns Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia, warns of Red Sea destabilization Friday February 6, 2026 CAIRO — Egypt on Thursday condemned Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of North Western State of Somalia, calling it a violation of international law that infringes on Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and risks undermining stability across the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea corridor. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty delivered the warning during talks in Cairo with Somali…

ISLAMABAD — A suicide bombing tore through a Shia mosque on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital after morning prayers, killing at least 31 people and wounding more than 130, local authorities said, in one of the deadliest attacks to strike Islamabad in recent years. The blast hit the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai area, where worshippers had gathered at the start of the day. A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the toll was expected to rise as critically injured victims…

DOHA, Qatar — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Doha on Friday for an official visit aimed at deepening Somalia’s partnership with Qatar as Mogadishu seeks stronger security, economic and political support in a shifting regional landscape. Qatari officials welcomed Mohamud and his delegation in the capital, where the Somali leader is set to hold high-level talks with Qatar’s leadership. The agenda centers on expanding cooperation across core sectors — security, the economy and political stability — as Somalia…

MUSCAT, Oman — Iran and the United States are set to open high-stakes talks in Oman on Friday aimed at defusing a renewed nuclear standoff, but a deep dispute over the agenda — especially Iran’s missile program — is already clouding prospects for progress and raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict. While both sides have signaled readiness to return to diplomacy, Washington wants any understanding to address far more than uranium enrichment. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the talks should encompass Iran’s…

Saudi Arabia warns against foreign interference in Somalia as Israel’s North Western State of Somalia move draws backlash RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its backing for Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial unity on Tuesday, rejecting any foreign interference in the Horn of Africa nation’s internal affairs and opposing actions that could undermine its territorial integrity. The position was outlined at a meeting of the Saudi Cabinet chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, which endorsed the outcomes of an…

Decentralization Without Detachment: How Somalia’s Federal Experiment Risks Repackaging Authoritarian Rule Somalia’s embrace of federalism was meant to end the abuses of centralized power, redistribute authority closer to citizens, and lower the stakes of political competition. Three decades on, the core problem is not the federal model itself but decentralization without cultural detachment from the authoritarian habits entrenched under military rule. Power has been dispersed in form yet reproduced in practice—personalized,…