Turkey extends emergency rule for three more months

The parliament of Turkey has approved a three-month extension of the state of emergency which had been in effect since last July's failed military coup. The move initiated by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was backed on Monday by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as well as the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Joining tens of thousands of anti-coup demonstrators in Istanbul on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to "chop off the heads" of those involved in the attempt to oust his government. "First of all we will chop off the heads of those traitors," Erdogan said as he reaffirmed previous comments to sign any bill passed restoring capital punishment.

"We are a state governed by rule of law. If it comes to me after parliament, I will sign it," he said. Restoring the death penalty would effectively end Turkey's European Union membership ambitions.