Splash Instablog

Rulig party legislators vote at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, May 20, 2016, as Turkey's parliament vote on a government-backed constitutional amendment that would strip some legislators of immunity. The amendment targets pro-Kurdish parliamentarians and could lead them to be tried on terror charges. A total of 376 deputies in the 550-seat assembly in Ankara voted in favor of the government-backed bill, which was enough to avoid a referendum. It now needs to be ratified by the president. The amendment was proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party after the president accused the pro-Kurdish party, People's Democratic Party, HDP, of being an arm of outlawed Kurdish rebels and repeatedly called for their prosecution on terror related charges. It puts 138 lawmakers, the vast majority of them from two opposition parties, at risk of prosecution. Opposition Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli, centre, votes at the parliament in Ankara, ...

Amanda Knox talks to members of the media outside her mother's home in Seattle. The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear Amanda Knox's case challenging her slander conviction during the trial for her British roommate's 2007 murder, her Italian defense lawyer said Friday, May 20, 2016. Dalla Vedova said the Strasbourg court's decision this week is "good news" for his client, because the vast majority of cases are rejected at the preliminary stage. The Italian government has until September to provide its response. Carlo Dalla Vedova said the Strasbourg court's decision this week is "good news" for his client, because the vast majority of cases are rejected at the preliminary stage. The Italian government has until September to provide its response. Knox's team is arguing that the slander charge violated her human rights because it was based on statements she made under duress during overnight questioning without being ...

The Imam of al Thawrah Mosque, Samir Abdel Bary, gives condolences to Tarek Abu Laban, center, who lost four relatives, all victims of Thursday's EgyptAir plane crash, following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. Agency spokesman Sebastien Barthe told The Associated Press that the plane's automatic detection system sent messages indicating smoke a few minutes before the plane disappeared from radar while flying over the east Mediterranean early on Thursday morning. The messages, he explained, "generally mean the start of a fire," but he added: "We are drawing no conclusions from this. Everything else is pure conjecture." The industry publication Aviation Herald also reported that sensors detected smoke in the plane's lavatory, suggesting a fire onboard....

The 66 people lost aboard Egypt Air Flight 804 included a businessman adored by his colleagues, a language and history scholar and a mother caring for a daughter with cancer. A look at the lives of the dead Egyptians perform prayers for the dead for victims of EgyptAir flight 804 at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it disappeared early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea. Relatives and friends of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, grieves following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 20, 2016. The plane crashed after disappearing from radar early Thursday morning while carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo. A relative of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir flight 804, grieves following pr...