Splash Instablog

Iraqi family members who left their hometown of Ramadi walk towards Baghdad, outside Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, May 15, 2015. Islamic State Iraq's military has dispatched reinforcements to help its battered forces in Ramadi, a city now largely held by the Islamic State group after its militants swept across it the day before, an Iraqi military spokesman said Saturday.   Map locates Ramadi in Iraq, where Islamic State militants captured the main government building on Friday; 1c x 3 inches; 46.5 mm x 76 mm; The spokesman of the Joint Operations Command, Brig. Gen. Saad Maan Ibrahim, told Iraqi state television that the U.S.-led coalition was supporting Iraqi troops with "painful" airstrikes since late Friday. Ibrahim didn't give details on the ongoing battles, but described the situation on the ground as "positive" and vowed that the Islamic State group would be pushed out of the...

Pope Francis meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas during an audience at the Vatican Saturday, May 16, 2015. Pope Francis has praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an "angel of peace Pope Francis praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an "angel of peace" during a meeting Saturday at the Vatican that underscored the Holy See's warm relations with the Palestinians Francis made the compliment during the traditional exchange of gifts at the end of an official audience in the Apostolic Palace. He presented Abbas with a medallion and explained that it represented the "angel of peace destroying the bad spirit of war. Pope Francis smiles as he meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas during an audience at the Vatican Saturday, May 16, 2015. Pope Francis has praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an Angel..   Francis said he thought the gift was appropriate since "you are an angel of peace." During his 2014 visit to Israel a...

Eyptian court today sentenced former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi to death over a mass prison break in 2011,    weeks after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during his time in power. Morsi was removed as president y the military in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule. Since then, the authorities have banned his Muslim Brotherhood movement and arrested thousands of his supporters. All death sentences must first be sent to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's highest religious authority, for his opinion on whether they should stand. Convictions are still open to appeal, even if the Grand Mufti gives his approval. Morsi's supporters have said that the cases against him are politically motivated and attempts to give legal cover to a coup, while Morsi has rejected the authority of the courts. Morsi was Egypt's first freely elected president, but protests began building less than a year into his...