VOA’s Turkish and Kurdish services contributed to this report. ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party suffered heavy losses in Sunday’s local elections, losing critical cities across the country, while the main opposition party is on course to win the capital Ankara. In Istanbul, election results remain too close to call, with opposition claimsRead more

Pope Francis on Sunday defended his decision to  refuse to accept the resignation earlier this month of French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was convicted of failing to report sexual abuse allegations to police. Francis, who spoke with reporters on his return from a two-day trip to Morocco, said a final decision wouldn’t be made untilRead more

One of Russia’s richest women, S7 Group co-owner Natalia Fileva, has died in a small plane crash in Germany, the Russian airline operator said Sunday. Fileva, 55, was aboard a single-engine, six-seat Epic LT aircraft that crashed and burned in a field as it approached the small airport at Egelsbach, a town in southwestern Germany,Read more

Comedian and political novice Volodymyr Zelensky was the top vote getter, ahead of incumbent president Petro Poroshenko, in Ukraine’s first round of presidential elections, according to exit polls Sunday, leading the two candidates into a run-off election. Zelensky, a comedian who plays the role of the president in a television comedy series, was projected toRead more

Pope Francis sought to encourage greater Christian-Muslim dialogue on Sunday, telling his flock that showing the country’s Muslim majority they are part of the same human family will help stamp out extremism. On his second and final day in Morocco, Francis told Catholic priests and sisters that even though they are few in number, theyRead more

North Korea said Sunday it wants an investigation into a raid on its embassy in Spain last month, calling it a “grave terrorist attack” and an act of extortion that violates international law. The incident occurred ahead of President Donald Trump’s second summit with leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi on Feb. 27-28. A mysteriousRead more

Turks are going to the polls in Sunday’s nationwide local elections. The vote is expected to be the toughest Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has faced, with the control of the capital Ankara and Istanbul at risk. With the economy in recession and soaring inflation, economic concerns are first and foremost on many voters’ minds.Read more

The polls have opened and voters in Ukraine are casting their ballots Sunday in the first round of the country’s presidential election. The top three of the 39 candidates are: a comedian who plays the role of the president in a television comedy series, the incumbent president, and a former prime minister, who is running forRead more

A liberal environmental activist has been elected as the first female president of Slovakia. Relative newcomer Zuzana Caputova had 58 percent of the vote with almost 95 percent of returns counted in Saturday’s runoff election, topping European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, who had 42 percent. Sefcovic conceded defeat and congratulated his rival. “I’m extremelyRead more