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

Wednesday January 14, 2026 MOGADISHU — Somalia’s first direct local council elections in Mogadishu in nearly 60 years were peaceful and orderly, but they unfolded amid a surge of misinformation and political bias, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). The Election Observation and Media Monitoring Report reviewed the Banadir local council vote held Dec. 25, 2025, drawing on structured monitoring from Nov. 1 to Dec. 30. NUSOJ called the exercise a historic milestone,…

Iran has warned U.S. allies in the Middle East that it will strike American bases on their soil if Washington attacks Iran, according to a senior Iranian official, underscoring a sharp escalation in tensions surrounding a widening domestic crackdown and regional standoff. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran has asked U.S. partners in the region to “prevent Washington from attacking Iran,” and delivered a direct message that bases hosting U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and…

Global temperatures over the past three years have, on average, exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for the first time, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed, underscoring a rapid escalation in warming and its risks. The service reported 2025 as the third warmest year on record and said the last 11 years have been the 11 warmest in modern records. The new analysis, produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), places 2025’s average global surface air temperature…

Election Report Highlights Professional Media Coverage and Peaceful Banadir Polls, Warns of Rising Disinformation Somalia’s first direct local elections in Mogadishu since 1969 unfolded peacefully and with unexpectedly strong professional standards in the private media, but a surge of disinformation before and after the vote threatens to undermine public trust, according to a new report by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). In its Election Observation and Media Monitoring Report covering the Banadir Local…

Mogadishu’s first local vote in nearly 60 years peaceful, but disinformation and state-media bias clouded campaign, watchdog says NUSOJ report urges stronger safeguards for media freedom as Somalia eyes broader direct elections MOGADISHU — Somalia’s first direct local council elections in Mogadishu since 1969 were peaceful and orderly but marred by disinformation and political bias in coverage, according to a monitoring report released Wednesday by the National Union of Somali Journalists. The Election Observation and Media…

Marine Le Pen opened her appeal in a high-profile “fake jobs” case by telling judges she had “no sense of having committed the slightest offence” when her far-right party employed European Parliament assistants dating back to 2004 — a proceeding that could decide whether she can run for France’s presidency in 2027. The former National Front leader, who now heads the National Rally (RN) bloc in parliament, argued the European institution was aware of the elements underpinning the contracts. “We concealed nothing,” she said,…

Ethiopian intelligence chief makes unannounced visit to Somalia amid fallout from Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia MOGADISHU, Somalia — Ethiopia’s intelligence chief, Redwan Hussein, paid an unannounced visit to Mogadishu on Tuesday and held closed-door talks with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, underscoring the fragile state of regional diplomacy across the Horn of Africa. Hussein met the Somali leader at Villa Somalia and delivered a message from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, according to…

Claudette Colvin, civil rights pioneer who refused to give up her bus seat before Rosa Parks, dies at 86 Claudette Colvin, the Alabama teenager whose refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus helped lay the legal groundwork for dismantling Jim Crow transit laws, has died at 86. She died under hospice care in Texas, a spokesperson for her family and the Claudette Colvin Foundation confirmed. Colvin was 15 on March 2, 1955, when she defied a bus driver’s order to surrender her seat to a white woman in Montgomery, nine…

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Türkiye on Saturday reiterated its support for Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and rejected Israel’s move to recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, using a high-level gathering of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to rally diplomatic backing for Mogadishu. Deputy Foreign Minister Musa Kulaklıkaya delivered Ankara’s message while chairing the 22nd Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, convened in Jeddah to address Israel’s…

At least 19 killed as construction crane crushes Thai passenger train, derailing three cars At least 19 people were killed in northeastern Thailand when a construction crane collapsed onto a passing passenger train, derailing three carriages and sparking a brief fire, authorities said. The crash occurred in Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, about 230 kilometers northeast of Bangkok. The train had departed the capital and was bound for Ubon Ratchathani province in the country’s far east. Local police said more…