Ukraine, Turkey leaders meet in Istanbul
ISTANBUL -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Istanbul on Saturday to meet with Turkey's president.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said the leaders would discuss bilateral relations, characterizing them at a "strategic partnership level."
Zelenskiy's visit takes place as tensions flare in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014. In a visit to troops there last week, Zelenskiy said breaches of a July truce were increasing. Separatists authorities also have accused Ukrainian forces of violating the cease-fire.
Russia has reinforced its troops along the border and warned Ukraine against trying to retake control of the separatist-controlled territory. Kyiv rejects that it is preparing an offensive. The Russian military buildup has raised concerns in the United States and Europe.
The Turkish and Russian presidents spoke on the phone Friday, and the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that Ukraine "recently resumed dangerous provocations on the contact line."
Turkey is a NATO member, but Erdogan and Putin have forged a close relationship, sealing energy and trade deals. They also have negotiated for opposing sides in conflicts, including in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Saudis execute soldiers branded traitors
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed three soldiers accused of committing "high treason," without elaborating on which enemy the kingdom believed the men aided.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency identified the men as soldiers working in the Defense Ministry.
It did not elaborate on how the men aided an enemy. Saudi Arabia is fighting Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, and the kingdom also views Iran as a regional rival.
The kingdom said the three men were convicted in court and a later royal order served as a death warrant.
Saudi Arabia carried out the world's third-most executions in 2019, according to Amnesty International, behind China and Iran.
Journalist questioned about ally of Putin
MOSCOW -- Russian authorities took a prominent investigative journalist in for questioning after searching his apartment, and the news website he works for said the actions were probably connected to a story about one of President Vladimir Putin's closest associates.
Roman Anin, chief editor of the Vazhnikh Istorii website, is considered a witness in a criminal case for violation of privacy. Anin's lawyer, Anna Stavitskaya, told Russian news agencies Saturday that Anin refused to answer questions and was released but is to be interviewed again Monday.
Vazhnikh Istorii said the questioning probably involved a 2016 story Anin wrote for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta that alleged a lavish super-yacht belonged to Igor Sechin, head of the Russian state oil company Rosneft.
Novaya Gazeta was ordered to retract the article as a result of a civil court case, but a criminal case in the matter has been pending for years.
Rosneft is Russia's second-largest state-controlled company, reporting $79.6 billion in revenue in 2020. Oil exports are key to Russia's economy, and Sechin's position gives him considerable influence.
He was a deputy prime minister under Putin before taking the helm at Rosneft.
8 deaths reported in 6.0 Indonesia quake
MALANG, Indonesia -- A strong earthquake killed at least eight people, injured 23 and damaged more than 300 buildings on Indonesia's main island of Java and also was felt on the tourist hot spot of Bali, officials said Saturday. No tsunami warnings were posted.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.0 quake struck off the island's southern coast at 2 p.m. local time. It was centered 28 miles south of Sumberpucung town of Malang District in East Java province, at a depth of 51 miles.
Rahmat Triyono, the head of Indonesia's earthquake and tsunami center, said the tremblor did not have the potential to cause a tsunami. Still, he urged people to stay away from slopes of soil or rocks that have the potential for landslides.
It was the second deadly disaster to hit Indonesia last week, after Tropical Cyclone Seroja caused a severe downpour last Sunday that killed at least 174 people and left 48 still missing. Some victims were buried in either mudslides or solidified lava from a volcanic eruption in November, while others were swept away by flash flooding. Thousands of homes were damaged.
Saturday's quake caused falling rocks to kill a woman on a motorcycle and badly injured her husband in East Java's Lumajang district, said Raditya Jati, spokesperson for the national disaster agency.
He said dozens of homes were damaged across the district, and rescuers recovered two bodies from under the rubble in Kali Uling village. Two people were confirmed killed in an area bordering Lumajang and Malang districts, while one person was found dead under rubble in Malang.
