Turkey detains 4 as part of a probe into a gold mine landslide

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish state media say authorities have detained four people in connection with a massive landslide that engulfed a gold mine in eastern Turkey, leaving at least nine workers missing. The landslide struck the mine in Turkey’s mountainous Erzincan province on Tuesday. A video seemingly shot by a worker showed a huge mass of earth rushing down a gully, overrunning everything in its path. The landslide involved a mound of soil extracted from the mine. The mine’s field manager and other officials were detained Wednesday. More than 800 search and rescue personnel are involved in the efforts to find the missing workers.

Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea using naval drones, a report that has not been confirmed by Russian forces. Ukraine’s General Staff says the Caesar Kunikov large landing ship sank near Alupka, a city on the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, known as GUR, says its special operations unit “Group 13” sank the Caesar Kunikov using Magura V5 sea drones on Wednesday. The Russian military did not immediately comment on the claim, saying only that it downed six Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea overnight.

NATO chief hails record defense spending

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says European allies and Canada have ramped up defense spending to record levels. He’s also warning that former U.S. President Donald Trump is undermining their security by calling into question the U.S. commitment to its allies. Stoltenberg said Wednesday that U.S. partners in NATO have spent $600 billion more on their military budgets since 2014. Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula prompted them to reverse spending cuts they made after the Cold War.

Blasts hit a natural gas pipeline in Iran, official says it’s an act of sabotage

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Explosions have struck a natural gas pipeline in Iran. An Iranian official on Wednesday blamed the blasts on a “sabotage and terrorist action” in the country as tensions remain high in the Middle East with Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Details were scarce, though the blasts hit a natural gas pipeline running from western Iran north to cities on the Caspian Sea. There are no known insurgent groups operating in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, home to the Bakhtiari, a branch of Iran’s Lur ethnic group.