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

EU accuses TikTok of ‘addictive design’ in preliminary Digital Services Act case The European Commission has issued preliminary findings that TikTok’s “addictive design” violates the EU’s Digital Services Act, alleging multiple failures to assess and mitigate risks to the physical and mental well-being of minors and vulnerable adults. If upheld, the ruling could expose the platform to a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover. TikTok can challenge the conclusions and submit a written response. Investigators cited…

Trump video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys sparks outrage; White House calls it ‘internet meme’ President Donald Trump triggered a wave of condemnation from top Democrats after posting a Truth Social video that briefly depicts Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys. The White House dismissed the criticism as “fake outrage,” saying the clip was an online meme. The roughly one-minute video, posted late yesterday, promotes conspiracies about Trump’s 2020…

The recent release of worshippers abducted in Kurmin Wali Village, located in the Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, marks a significant development more than two weeks after gunmen disrupted services on January 18. The incident, which initially faced denial from law enforcement, has now escalated into a stark reminder of the persistent violence affecting communities in northern Nigeria. Reports indicate that 177 individuals were taken by the armed assailants during the attack. However, some victims managed to…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya has reopened its land border with Somalia for the trade in miraa, or khat, ending a 15-year suspension in a move officials cast as a landmark step for regional commerce and rural livelihoods. The decision, cleared by Kenya’s National Security Council, immediately restores road access for miraa exports through Mandera, Liboi and Kiunga — key crossing points that had been closed to overland shipments. Traders say the reopening will cut costs, expand market reach and curb the influence of cartels that…

BELEDWEYNE, Somalia — Police have arrested the final two suspects in a gang rape case that ignited public fury across Somalia after a video linked to the assault circulated widely on social media, authorities said Friday. In a statement, Beledweyne police identified the men as Abdishakur Hassan Ibrahim and Mohamed Awale Omar. They were the last at large in the case, which previously saw three other suspects detained, police said. The arrests bring all identified suspects into custody as the investigation proceeds. The case…

Cape Town — An African-led effort to develop an HIV vaccine has launched a clinical trial at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation in Cape Town, organizers announced, with the first participant already enrolled. The study, called BRILLIANT 011 and led by The BRILLIANT Consortium, is being conducted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and is designed to target the strains of HIV that are circulating in Southern Africa. "The trial is...marking a major milestone in African-led HIV vaccine research. BRILLIANT…

The Netherlands has returned a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture to Cairo after Dutch authorities concluded the antiquity had been looted, resurfacing at an art fair in Maastricht in 2022 before being seized. A joint investigation by Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspectorate determined in 2025 that the stone head, originally part of a block statue, had been plundered and unlawfully removed from Egypt, most likely amid the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring, before entering the international art market. Experts believe…

In Mogadishu’s Dec. 25 municipal vote, the promise of direct democracy met the reality of centralized power. Marketed as a landmark step toward universal suffrage and a prelude to Somalia’s 2026 presidential contest, the election in the Banadir region looked—by design and outcome—like a nomination process dressed up as a popular mandate. That tension goes to the core of Somalia’s electoral dilemma: in a fragile state without a census, credible registries or impartial institutions, the rush to “one person, one vote” can…

In a studio at Warsaw University of Technology, Irish and European architecture students are sketching a future for Kharkiv—Ukraine’s battered second city—one street, shelter and skyline at a time. Architecture students from the University of Limerick and University College Dublin have joined peers from Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine for a two-week “Building Back Better” workshop focused on post-war designs for Kharkiv’s recovery. Organized with the Kharkiv School of Architecture, the program has drawn more than 100…

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