NATO spokesman says the alliance wants U.S. missile-defense plans to be transparent to Russia. James Appathurai, speaking after the opening of the annual NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels on June 14, said all NATO ministers wanted to avoid tensions and do everything possible to allay Russian concerns.

In a closed-door meeting with his cabinet ministers Thursday, Somalia’s puppet prime minister Ali Mohammed Gedi said there were no casualties in the Ethiopian and Somalia troops after unknown gunmen attacked their military bases in at least three neighborhoods of the Somali capital overnight.

The deposed Palestinian prime minister from Hamas has defied Mahmoud Abbas, the president from rival faction Fatah, calling his sacking and declaration of an emergency “hasty” and pledging that his government will continue to function.