From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Joe Parker reporting.

Catalonia declares its independence. Catalonia's regional parliament declared independence from Spain today in a disputed vote that is now likely to be declared illegal by Spain's Constitutional Court.

Separatist lawmakers erupted in applause as the vote was approved. Most opposition lawmakers had already left the chamber in protest moments before the vote.

No country has expressed support for the secession bid.

In response, the Spanish Senate in Madrid voted today to give wide-ranging powers to the central government to rescind Catalonian autonomy and take control of the region.

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, told reporters what happened today in the Catalonia parliament is irrefutable proof of how necessary it was for the Spanish Senate to approve the proposals that the Spanish government made. Today the Catalonia parliament has approved something that, in the opinion of a big majority of the people, not only goes against the law, but is a criminal act.

The Catalonian motion calls for beginning an independence process that includes drafting Catalonia's new laws and opening negotiations on equal footing with Spanish authorities.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State announced today a cease-fire between Iraqi forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga in northern Iraq, but quickly backtracked on the claim, saying it is not an "official" cease-fire.

Army spokesman Ryan Dillon posted a clarification on Twitter to say "both parties are talking with one another," but that a "cease-fire" had not been reached.

The Iraqi military and the Kurdish minority have been clashing for several weeks after Iraqi troops moved to secure areas in northern Iraq.

This is VOA news.

U.N. agencies say bad roads and bad weather are compounding the difficulties of delivering essential aid to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees living in small, congested areas in Bangladesh. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

The International Organization for Migration reports more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees are living in Cox's Bazar. More than 600,000 have fled Myanmar over the past two months. The others have arrived there following previous outbreaks of violence in Myanmar.

IOM spokesman Joel Millman says most new arrivals are living in crowded makeshift settlements. He says the IOM has provided many thousands of shelter kits to help families.

"Medical needs in the camps are extremely high, especially considering that many of the refugees would have walked long distances to reach Bangladesh, with many having experienced physical and sexual abuse along the way."

Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.

Millman also says the IOM has set up emergency and primary health care services for 53,000 patients. He says a child-delivery facility and a patient-stabilization unit are available for many refugees.

Arab media accused Qatar this week of helping to transport Islamic State militants from Syria and Iraq to the south of Libya.

The latest against the [Gulf Sea] Gulf emirate by a coalition of countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The coalition imposed sanctions against Doha in June for allegedly supporting terrorists. Edward Yeranian looks at the accusations

The coalition imposed sanctions against Doha in June for allegedly supporting terrorists. In late August, Chad closed the Qatari embassy in N'Djamena, accusing Qatar of trying to destabilize the country.

Chad's foreign minister, Ibrahim Hussein Taha, accused Qatar of supporting opponents of his government. He says that Qatar supports and sponsors Chadian groups opposed to the government, both in Libya and in Qatar.

Earlier this month, a military spokesman for the Libyan National Army, under the command of General Khalifa Hafter, told Arab media that Qatar was helping to bring Islamic State terrorists to the south of Libya.

Edward Yeranian, for VOA news, Cairo.

Residents of a displaced persons camp in South Sudan say they were deeply disappointed when a visit by U.S. envoy Nikki Haley was cut short Wednesday, with several residents accusing the French charity that runs the camp of preventing Haley from seeing their wretched living conditions.

Officials said at the time that the reason why the trip was cut short is because of security concerns.

Joe Parker reporting from Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.