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

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, health officials said, the latest violence to strain a four-month-old, U.S.-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Two people riding an electric bike were killed in an airstrike in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, medics said. Later, Israeli drone fire killed a woman in the same area and troops shot dead a man in Khan Younis in the south, according to the medics. Another man was killed by Israeli gunfire in Jabaliya in northern Gaza. The…

Britney Spears has sold the rights to her songs to music publisher Primary Wave, according to The Hollywood Reporter, marking the latest high-profile catalog deal in a music industry that has seen a flurry of such transactions in recent years. The 44-year-old pop star, whose hits include “Toxic” and “Oops!... I Did It Again,” would place her body of work with Primary Wave under the reported sale. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Representatives for Spears and Primary Wave have been approached for comment.…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali passenger plane made an emergency crash-landing on the shoreline beside Mogadishu’s international airport on Tuesday morning after a technical fault, with all 55 people on board surviving, according to airline Starsky Aviation and the country’s aviation regulator. Starsky Aviation said the pilot’s “swift and calm decision-making” helped save the 50 passengers and five crew after the aircraft, a Fokker 50, reported a problem shortly after takeoff from Aden Adde International Airport and requested…

An immigration judge has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to deport Tufts University PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national whose high-profile arrest became a flashpoint in the crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism, her lawyers said. In a Jan. 29 decision, Immigration Judge Roopal Patel in Boston concluded the Department of Homeland Security failed to meet its burden to prove Ozturk was removable and terminated proceedings, according to a filing her attorneys made with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of…

Greenlandic siblings Sondre and Ukaleq Slettemark are competing in biathlon at the Winter Olympics under the Danish flag, a high-profile reminder of Greenland’s complicated status in international sport and the pride its athletes carry onto the world stage. Although they hail from Greenland, the autonomous Arctic territory within the Kingdom of Denmark has not been recognized by the International Olympic Committee. As a result, Greenlandic athletes must represent Denmark at the Games. That arrangement puts the…

ANKARA — Somalia on Tuesday denounced Israel’s decision to recognize the breakaway North Western State of Somalia region, calling it a clear breach of international law and a fresh example of Tel Aviv’s disregard for global norms, according to the country’s justice minister. Somali Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hassan Moallim Mohamud, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the “Türkiye-Africa Strategic Dialogue” program organized by the National Intelligence Academy (MİA) in Ankara, said Mogadishu would…

Somalia on Tuesday condemned Israel’s decision to recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, calling it a violation of international law and vowing to defend the country’s territorial integrity as diplomatic fallout widened across the Horn of Africa. Speaking in Ankara on the sidelines of the Türkiye-Africa Strategic Dialogue organized by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Academy (MİA), Somali Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hassan Moallim Mohamud said the move underscored what he…

The Electoral Act: Embracing Electronic Transmission of Results The recently amended Electoral Act marks a significant shift in the electoral process, embracing modern technology by allowing for the electronic transmission of results. This change promises to enhance transparency and efficiency in the voting process, ensuring that results are reported more swiftly and accurately. However, the new provision is not without its caveats. What the Amendment Means The incorporation of electronic result transmission is designed…

Legal Challenges Emerge Over U.S.-Congo Minerals Deal Congolese lawyers and human rights defenders are challenging a controversial "minerals-for-security" deal signed between the government of President Félix Tshisekedi and the United States in December. Critics argue that the agreement not only bypassed necessary parliamentary approval but may also require a national referendum under the Congolese constitution. The deal, designed to grant the U.S. preferential access to vital minerals such as cobalt and coltan—critical…

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday denied having a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein as calls for his resignation intensified and newly released Justice Department files appeared to undercut his earlier account of severing contact more than two decades ago. “Over a 14 year period, I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person,” Lutnick told a Senate committee, adding that while in New York he met Epstein and later had lunch with him during a family vacation around 2012.…