Turkey’s largest foreign military base in the world opened Saturday in Mogadishu, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Somali leaders, top Turkish military officials and diplomats. Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and the head of the Turkish military, General Hulusi Akar have jointly inaugurated the 4 square kilometer (1.54 square mile) facility, which holdsRead more

Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Barcelona to oppose Sunday’s referendum on Catalonian independence from Spain. Waving Spanish flags, the protesters filled the square in front of Barcelona’s regional government buildings Saturday. Madrid has declared the vote illegal, and authorities in Spain began sealing off polling stations and confiscating ballots. While the Spanish national governmentRead more

Authorities in Spain have begun sealing off polling stations and confiscating ballots ahead of a planned referendum vote Sunday that possibly could lead to the Catalonian region’s independence. The Spanish government says there will be no Catalonia independence vote Sunday, even as the regional government continues preparations for the referendum. Enric Millo, the highest-ranking SpanishRead more

Officials in far east Russia say a soldier who opened fire at other servicemen during drills has been tracked down and killed. The military says the soldier, who killed three and wounded two other soldiers, offered resistance to arrest and was shot dead early Saturday following a massive manhunt. During Friday’s incident, the soldier firedRead more

Kosovo’s president, Hashim Thaci, says U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has pledged that the United States will be directly involved in reaching a final agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.  Thaci told VOA’s Albanian service after meeting with Pence on Friday at the White House that “Pence will be focused and maximally involved”Read more

Russian police released opposition leader and would-be presidential candidate Alexei Navalny on Friday after several hours in detention. Police charged Navalny with repeatedly organizing unauthorized rallies, an administrative offense punishable with a fine of up to a 300,000 rubles ($5,200) and compulsory work for up to 200 hours. “We were finally presented with a chargeRead more

Catalonia’s secessionists, who are trying to organize an independence vote from Spain on Sunday, may be getting aid from Russia as part of the Kremlin’s ongoing strategy to destabilize the European Union, according to European Union analysts. Spain’s central government has deployed thousands of police to contain expected disorder. They have threatened local officials who supportRead more

Twenty-seven European Union nations, not including Britain, will be coming up with clear options on a more tightly knit future for themselves even before they will allow divorce negotiations with the U.K. to move toward brokering a new relationship. EU Council President Donald Tusk said Friday he would be presenting “a political agenda in twoRead more

A Serbian minister has denied media reports in the Balkan nation that the government is muzzling the free press through intimidation, threats and financial pressure. Vladan Vukosavljevic, Serbia’s culture and information minister, told The Associated Press on Friday that his agency “strongly objects” to any form of pressure on journalists and believes in media freedom.Read more

The Spanish government says there will be no Catalonia independence vote Sunday, even as the regional government continues preparations for the referendum. Spanish Culture Minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo said Friday the independence vote violates Spanish law and the government will not accept the results of the referendum. “We are open to dialogue within theRead more

Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has a message for the world’s central bankers: Don’t be Luddites. Addressing a conference in London on Friday, Lagarde said virtual currencies, which are created and exchanged without the involvement of banks or government, could in time be embraced by countries with unstable currencies or weakRead more