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
Washington is focused yet again on immigration and border security after President Donald Trump threatened to close America’s southern border with Mexico and declared he wants U.S. aid terminated to three Central American nations. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, Trump’s moves come amid a continuing surge of undocumented migrant arrivals that have strained federal resources andRead 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
U.S. donors and Cuban builders have completed one of the longest-running joint projects between the two countries at a low point in bilateral relations. Officials from the Boston-based Finca Vigia Foundation and Cuba’s National Cultural Heritage Council cut the ribbon Saturday evening on a state-of-the-art, $1.2 million conservation center on the grounds of Ernest Hemingway’sRead more
The Trump administration on Sunday demanded that Mexico and three Central American countries curb the surge of thousands of undocumented migrants heading to the United States, noting that the homeland security chief for former President Barack Obama agrees there is an immigration crisis at the southern U.S. border. “We need your help,” acting White HouseRead more
Israel’s prime minister warmly received President Jair Bolsonaro Sunday, on the Brazilian leader’s first state visit to Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu’s red carpet welcome for Bolsonaro comes days ahead of a tough re-election bid for the long-time Israeli premier on April 9. The Brazilian president is widely expected during his three-day trip to decide whether toRead more
Israeli authorities have reopened the two crossings with the Gaza Strip after days of hostilities in a sign that cease-fire talks may be advancing. Israeli and Hamas officials confirmed Sunday that the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings were opened for the first time since Monday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity. Sunday’sRead more
Leaders meeting in Tunisia for the annual Arab League summit on Sunday were united in their condemnation of Trump administration policies seen as unfairly biased toward Israel but divided on a host of other issues, including whether to readmit founding member Syria. This year’s summit comes against a backdrop of ongoing wars in SyriaRead 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
Iranian media says a man has shot dead seven members of his wife’s family in the southwestern city of Dezful. The state-owned IRNA news agency said Sunday the shooter wielded a Kalashnikov rifle killing five men and two women, before shooting himself. The agency reported the shooter survived and is in hospital, but did notRead 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
Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday. It was the latest attempt to easeRead 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
The Trump administration wants to halt funding to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the State Department confirmed Saturday. “We are carrying out the president’s direction and ending [fiscal year] 2017 and [fiscal year] 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. “We will be engaging Congress asRead more