Turkey holds treaty-backing admirals
ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish authorities on Monday detained 10 retired admirals after a group of more than 100 former top navy officers declared their commitment to an international shipping treaty, a statement that government officials tied to Turkey's history of military coups.
The retired admirals were held as part of an investigation into whether they had reached "an agreement with the aim of committing a crime against the security of the state and the constitutional order," Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The chief prosecutor in Ankara launched the investigation on Sunday.
Four other former navy officers were asked to report to authorities within three days but not detained because of their advanced ages, Anadolu reported.
In his first comments on the declaration issued late Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the admirals of having ulterior motives, dismissing arguments that the former officers merely expressed an opinion.
"This act, which took place at midnight, is definitely an ill-intended attempt in its tone, its method and according to the debates it would clearly lead to," Erdogan said.
A total of 103 retired admirals signed the statement declaring their commitment to an international treaty that regulates shipping through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, which link the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. The 14 suspects are believed to have organized the declaration.
25 dead found in Bangladesh river crash
DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Rescuers have recovered 25 bodies from a river outside Bangladesh's capital after a ferry collided with another vessel and capsized, an official said Monday.
The ferry ML Rabit Al Hasan sank Sunday night after being hit by a cargo vessel in the Shitalakkhya River in Narayanganj district, just outside Dhaka, officials said.
Fire and civil defense official Ershad Hossain said rescuers recovered five bodies overnight and 20 others on Monday. Nine other people remained missing, he said.
Hossain said the double-decker ferry was traveling to neighboring Munshiganj district with more than 50 passengers when the accident took place.
Authorities blamed the oil-laden cargo vessel with hitting the ferry and ordered an investigation.
40 people killed in Darfur tribal clashes
CAIRO -- Tribal clashes that started over the weekend between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan's western Darfur region have killed at least 40 people and wounded around 60 others, the U.N. said Monday.
The violence was between the Arab Rizeigat and the Masalit tribes in Genena, the provincial capital of West Darfur province. It happened after unknown armed men on Saturday shot dead two people from the Masalit, according to the U.N. humanitarian affairs agency.
Two others from the Masalit were wounded in that shooting, it said. The circumstances of the shootings were not immediately clear.
Since then, the two tribes have mobilized forces and gun fire could still be heard in Genena late Monday, it said.
The U.N. said all humanitarian activities were suspended as roads around the southern part of Genena were blocked.
It said more than 700,000 people have been affected by the clashes, since Genena serves as a hub for aid delivery to the conflict-wracked region.
An unknown number of people fled their homes in Hay al-Jabal and al-Jamarik neighborhoods in Genena and took refuge in nearby mosques and public buildings, the U.N. agency added.
West Darfur Gov. Mohammed Abdalla al-Duma said in a statement that officials were taking "necessary measures" without elaborating. He urged residents in Genena to stay vigilant and remain at home until security forces contain the situation.
Iran arrests accused Israeli spies
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian authorities arrested several people on charges of spying for Israel and other nations, state TV announced Monday.
An unnamed Intelligence Ministry official in the country's eastern Azerbaijan province was quoted by state TV as saying that security forces had detained a group of people suspected of spying for Israel and other unspecified countries. The brief report did not provide further details on the nationalities of the suspects or provide evidence to support the espionage charges.
Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israeli armed groups across the region, such as Lebanon's Shiite militant Hezbollah group and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Iran occasionally announces the detention of people it claims are foreign spies without any further report on their fates.
Iran executed a man last year convicted of leaking information to the United States and Israel about prominent Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps general Qassem Soleimani, who was later killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.
In 2019, Iran said it arrested 17 Iranians accused of spying on the country's nuclear and military sites for the CIA and reported that some of them had been sentenced to death.
--Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports