A bust of Edward Snowden, which was secretly installed in Fort Greene Park by a group of anonymous artists at night, has been removed by the New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
The sculpture was mounted on April 6 in Brooklyn near the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument in Fort Greene Park.
The artists said they intended the bust to be a tribute to Edward Snowden.
The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor fled to Russia in 2013 after revealing extensive internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence.
One park visitor described the officials’ decision to remove the bust as “censorship”.
B.B. King has been hospitalized for a diabetes-related issue, TMZ reports.
B.B. King, 89, was rushed to hospital in Las Vegas over the weekend as a result of dehydration.
The legendary blues musician has suffered from Type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years. His camp has not issued a statement yet.
In October 2014, B.B. King was forced to cancel a number of concerts after falling ill. During a performance in St. Louis, fans began to leave early because of B.B. King’s reported erratic performance.
Shortly thereafter, B.B. King announced that he was cancelling the remaining eight shows to focus on his health.
In an excerpt of her new-brand memoir, Giuliana Rancic reveals Jerry O’Connell cheated on her at least two times.
After meeting at the W Hotel in San Diego, Giuliana Rancic and Jerry O’Connell developed a special bond that quickly turned into something romantic.
After a while, Giuliana Rancic found out Jerry O’Connell was cheating on her with Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell.
“I was being two-timed…?” the E! News co-anchor wrote in her new book per Page Six before detailing Jerry O’Connell’s reaction.
“<<Yeah, I know. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.>> He has as much emotion as the customer-service representative who tells you your bags missed the flight.”
Giuliana Rancic proved she was willing to forgive when she gave the relationship a second chance. But when attending Maxim’s 100 Hottest Women Party in 2004, she spotted Jerry O’Connell getting flirty with Rebecca Romijn.
Photo Getty Images
“Little did I know he was in the VIP area, talking to Rebecca,” Giuliana Rancic dished.
“As a prelude to feeling up Rebecca.”
In a matter of days, Jerry O’Connell stopped taking Giuliana Rancic’s phone calls before she eventually decided to confront him at home.
“Nope. Sorry, homegirl,” Jerry O’Connell said while ending the relationship for good.
“Things change, but you take care, OK?”
For those keeping track, Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romijn ended up getting married in 2007. They have three kids together. Giuliana also married Bill Rancic the same year.
Going Off Script: How I Survived a Crazy Childhood, Cancer, and Clooney’s 32 On-Screen Rejections is available online and in bookstores starting with April 7.
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s former drummer Bob Burns has died in a car crash at the age of 64.
Bob Burns, who played on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first two albums, was killed when his car left the road on April 3, striking a mailbox and a tree.
Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman Tracey Watson said Bob Burns, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was killed in the wreck.
He was alone in the car, and no other cars were involved. Police are trying to establish if weather was a factor.
Bob Burns performed alongside singer Ronnie Van Zant, bassist Larry Junstrom and guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins in Lynyrd Skynyd from 1966 to 1974.
During that time Lynyrd Skynyrd, who were named after their childhood PE teacher, Leonard Skinner, recorded such songs as Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man and Free Bird.
Bob Burns left the band after becoming exhausted by touring. Artimus Pyle subsequently replaced him as drummer for 1975’s Nuthin’ Fancy album.
He was not aboard the plane that crashed in 1977, killing three of the band’s members, including Van Zant.
The group disbanded after the tragedy – but reformed in 1987 with Van Zant’s younger brother, Johnny, on lead vocals.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, at which point Bob Burns rejoined the group for a one-off performance.
Lynyrd Skynyrd still tour with Rossington, the only original member still in the band.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “wanted to punish America” when he and his brother Tamerlan planted bombs at the Boston Marathon, the prosecutor has told the jury at his trial.
The comments came as closing arguments commenced at the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who allegedly perpetrated the bombings.
Judge George O’Toole outlined the law to the 18-person jury ahead of last-ditch arguments from the lawyers.
If found guilty, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is charged with 30 counts, will face life imprisonment or execution.
His lawyers admit he carried out the attacks but say he was under the influence of his radicalized brother.
Prosecutors are expected to remind the jury of the attack’s brutality.
Judge George O’Toole explained to the jury how the 30 separate counts were related to the different elements involved – the bombings during the race, the murder of a police officer, a car jacking and a shoot-out with police.
Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, died after two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel detonated in April 2013.
More than 260 people were injured, with many losing limbs.
Earlier in the trial, the defense made the surprise admission that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, now 21, had participated in the attacks.
Defense lawyers argue that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died during a massive manhunt, had orchestrated the attacks and by doing so they hope to spare their client the death penalty.
If convicted, a second phase will determine the punishment, and the jury will have to decide whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be put to death.
Boston Marathon attacks were the deadliest terror attack on US soil since 9/11.
Turkish net companies have been ordered to block access to social media sites to stop the sharing of photos of Mehmet Selim Kiraz, who was taken hostage during last week’s armed siege in Istanbul.
A Turkish court has told Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more than 150 other sites to remove images taken during the siege.
The block on Facebook and Twitter was lifted after the two social networks complied with the court order.
Currently, YouTube remains blocked in Turkey.
Before imposing the blocks on the websites, Turkish authorities had moved to stop newspapers printing the images.
The newspapers were accused by the government of disseminating “terrorist propaganda” for the DHKP-C group that was reportedly behind the attack on the courthouse. The DHKP-C is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and US.
The siege ended with the gunmen and their hostage being killed when police stormed the building in a rescue bid.
Mehmet Selim Kiraz was apparently taken hostage because he headed an investigation into the death of a boy during anti-government protests that took place in 2013.
The pictures showing attackers holding a gun to Mehmet Selim Kiraz’s head were being widely shared on social media, leading authorities to act, reported Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
“The wife and children of prosecutor Kiraz have been deeply upset. The images are everywhere,” a senior Turkish official told the Reuters news agency.
In total, 166 websites which shared the images were blocked by the court order.
YouTube published the text of the court ruling on its website saying an “administration measure” had been enacted by Turkey’s telecoms authority. It said it was seeking ways to restore access.
Facebook was also subject to the same block but it is believed the restrictions on it were lifted because it removed the images before the expiration of a deadline imposed by the court. Twitter reacted more slowly and access to the messaging system was blocked for several hours on April 6.
Cyprus government has decided to lift the last remaining capital controls it imposed on the country’s banking system during the financial crisis of 2013.
Cyprus was the only crisis-hit eurozone country to restrict capital transfers, as it faced a run on the banks.
The controls were eased in January.
There will no longer be a monthly cap of €20,000 ($22,000) on transfers by individuals to foreign banks, or of €10,000 for travelers moving money out of the country.
Cyprus received a €10 billionn bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its biggest banks nearly collapsed in March 2013 because of huge losses on their Greek investments.
The island’s second-biggest lender, Cyprus Popular Bank (also known as Laiki Bank), was wound up and deposits worth more than €100,000 in the largest bank, Bank of Cyprus, were seized.
Those measures were part of the deal to ensure that Cyprus funded part of the €10 billion bailout.
Speaking on April 3, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades voiced confidence that the country was recovering well, despite three years of recession
Lifting capital controls, Nicos Anastasiades said, was “a vote of confidence in our banking system which, now fully independent of Greek banking institutions, can move forward”.
The Greek debt crisis had a severe impact on Cypriot banks, which lost about €4.5 billion worth of Greek sovereign bonds – equivalent to 25% of Cypriot gross domestic product, Reuters news agency reports.
Japan’s Mieko Nagaoka has become the first 100-year-old to complete a 1,500m freestyle swim in a 25m pool.
Mieko Nagaoka, who only took up swimming at the age of 82, already holds the record in her age category for the same distance in a 50m pool.
The Japanese completed the latest feat in just over one hour and 15 minutes, using backstroke all the way.
Mieko Nagaoka was the only person taking part in her age range – 100 to 104 – at the competition in Matsuyama on April 4.
She already dominates the world record board for her age group, as awarded by the international swimming federation (FINA), holding 24 titles over both short and long distances.
Mieko Nagaoka’s latest achievement is now expected to be recognized by Guinness World Records.
She began swimming as therapy for her knees, but was soon training several times a week. She has since attended swimming competitions around the world, and said her family members also swimmers.
After turning 100 in 2014, Mieko Nagaoka released a book entitled I’m 100 years old and the world’s best active swimmer.
Mieko Nagaoka told Japan’s Kyodo news agency: “I want to swim until I turn 105 if I can live that long.”
Japan has a rapidly rising aging population, and with 59,000 centenarians on official records in 2014.
David Lynch has announced he will not direct the Twin Peaks revival, citing disagreement over money.
In a statement on his Twitter account, the director said he had not been given enough money “to do the script in the way I felt it needed to be done”.
“This weekend I started to call actors to let them know I would not be directing,” David Lynch added.
David Lynch’s departure casts doubt on the revival, which was commissioned by Showtime in October 2014.
David Lynch, whose credits include Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, created the cult drama with Mark Frost in the 1990s.
Revolving around the murder of teenage schoolgirl Laura Palmer, Twin Peaks was a precursor of dense, cinematic TV shows like The Sopranos and The Wire.
Twin Peaks won three Golden Globe awards in 1991, including best TV series and best actor for Kyle MacLachlan.
Kyle MacLachlan played Special Agent Dale Cooper, an FBI agent who got drawn into the seedy town of Twin Peaks as his murder investigation took several surreal turns.
He was due to reprise the role in the Showtime revival when production began later this year.
David Lynch and Mark Frost have already written scripts for the nine episode series, which was due to air in 2016, marking the 25th anniversary of the original finale.
In his statement, David Lynch said: “I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently.”
However, the director hinted Twin Peaks sequel might go ahead in his absence: “Twin Peaks may still be very much alive at Showtime.”
Soon after his comments were published on Twitter, Showtime released the following statement: “We were saddened to read David Lynch’s statement today since we believed we were working towards solutions with David and his reps on the few remaining deal points.
“Showtime also loves the world of Twin Peaks and we continue to hold out hope that we can bring it back in all its glory with both of its extraordinary creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost, at its helm.”
Pakistani supermodel Ayyan Ali has been jailed in Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.
On March 14, Ayyan Ali, 23, was detained at Islamabad airport on charges of money laundering.
The $500,000 in the supermodel’s suitcase exceeded the legal limit of cash that can be carried out of the country, which is $10,000.
Ayyan Ali denies the charge and says the money was acquired legitimately from the proceeds of property sales and that she was unaware of these customs rules.
Prosecutors have said that if convicted of smuggling the money out of Pakistan, Ayyan Ali could be forced to pay a heavy fine and face a 14-year jail term.
Two weeks of legal wrangling went by and finally at the end of March her application for bail was dismissed – so she faces yet more time in Adiala.
Known simply as Ayyan, she began her career on the catwalk at 16 and quickly rose to become Pakistan’s most successful and high-profile model. There was even speculation she would represent Pakistan in the Miss Universe pageant.
Ayyan Ali also has a singing career and videos of this part of her career can be found on Youtube.
Pakistani media have speculated about the conditions under which Ayyan Ali is being held, whether or not she is being given special treatment, and whether the jail has fallen victim to Pakistan’s notorious “VIP culture”.
One newspaper report suggested Ayyan Ali was given a well-furnished room with a TV set, refrigerator, wore a new dress daily and was allowed a special kind of mobile phone that could bypass the prison’s jammers.
According to the prison’s rules, there is no dress code for accused prisoners in the jail so Ayyan Ali can wear any dress of her choice. It is only convicts who wear jail uniform.
Jail authorities also said Ayyan Ali had requested B-class jail facilities on the basis of her degree and that the home secretary had the authority to shift prisoners to Category B conditions.
According to Pakistan’s criminal code, if you have completed 14 years of education you are entitled to Category B conditions where you get a servant and better cell facilities, but this is only permitted in criminal cases so would probably not be permissible for her.
Kenyan fighter jets have targeted al-Shabab camps in neighboring Somalia in response to Garissa University attack.
The warplanes had bombed two camps in Gondodowe and Ismail, both in the Gedo region, used by al-Shabab to cross into Kenya, military sources say.
This is Kenya’s first response to an al-Shabab assault which left 148 people dead at Garissa University last week.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had vowed to respond to the attack “in the severest way possible”.
Al-Shabab said the assault in Garissa, which is 120 miles from the Somali border, was revenge for Kenya sending troops into Somalia to fight alongside African Union peacekeepers against the group.
The Islamist group, which at one point controlled most of Somalia, has lost swaths of territory in recent years but diplomats have repeatedly warned this has not diminished its ability to stage guerrilla-style attacks at home and abroad.
Furious 7 has topped the global box office by taking $384 million in its opening weekend.
Almost half of that figure – $190 million – was made at the US box office.
Globally, it is the fourth-highest opening of all time, beaten only by two Harry Potter movies and The Avengers.
Interest in Furious 7 was at least partially tied to its late star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in before the movie was completed in 2013.
Following the fatal accident, production on Furious 7 was suspended while the filmmakers decided whether or not to proceed.
The team ultimately decided to delay the release from its scheduled July 2014 date. Paul Walker’s scenes were completed using a mixture of computer animation and body doubles – including two of the star’s younger brothers, Caleb and Cody.
“This is a bittersweet installment in the franchise,” said Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
“Walker’s passing made this movie more intriguing for people who hadn’t seen some of the installments. It raised awareness and its success is a tribute to him.”
The original – The Fast and the Furious, released in June 2001 – was a sleeper hit that spawned a few moderately successful sequels.
After the third movie in the series, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, left cinemas with a franchise-worst box office of $158 million, it seemed the series would be scrapped, or move to the straight-to-DVD market.
Instead, executives persuaded Vin Diesel, the star of the original film, to return and made Fast & Furious – a heist film set overseas.
Since then, the franchise has gone from strength to strength, with each movie outperforming the last.
North American box office Top 5:
Furious 7 – $143.6 million
Home – $27.4 million
Get Hard – $12.9 million
Cinderella – $10.3 million
The Divergent Series: Insurgent – $10 million [youtube Skpu5HaVkOc 650]
Beyonce has surprised fans with a new single and video, released on April 4 to the Tidal streaming service, in which she is a co-owner with her husband Jay Z.
Die With You is a simple ballad, which Beyonce performs alone, seated behind a black baby grand piano.
“I wake up just to sleep with you,” Beyonce sings to the cameraman who, at the end of the video, is revealed to be Jay Z.
Beyonce and Jay Z celebrate their seventh anniversary this weekend.
Both of them are co-owners in Tidal, which was re-launched last week in a star-studded New York ceremony.
Artists including Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, Jack White, Kanye West, Madonna, Rihanna and Usher all appeared at the event, signing a declaration that promised to “re-establish the value of music” and protect “the sustainability of the music industry”.
Tidal pitches itself as “the first artist-owned global music and entertainment platform” and promises musicians a greater share of royalties when their music is streamed on the site.
Key to attracting consumers away from rivals like Spotify, Deezer and Rdio is the promise of exclusive content, of which the Beyonce track is the first high-profile example.
The US ambassador to Czech Republic, Andrew Schapiro, has been barred from Prague Castle, President Milos Zeman says.
Prague Castle is the president’s official residence and office.
The apparent snub follows remarks by Andrew Schapiro seen as critical of Milos Zeman’s decision to attend forthcoming World War Two commemorations in Moscow.
Several world leaders are boycotting the ceremony over Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict.
Milos Zeman is considered more sympathetic to Russia on the issue.
Andrew Schapiro had “overstepped the mark” by criticizing the decision to attend celebrations in May marking the anniversary of the end of WW2, news portal Parlamentni Listy quotes President Milos Zeman as saying.
Because of this “the doors of the castle were closed” to Andrew Schapiro, Milos Zeman continues.
“I cannot imagine that the Czech ambassador in Washington would advise the US president where he should travel. And I will not allow any ambassador to have a say in my foreign travel plans.”
Milos Zeman’s spokesman Jiri Ovcacek later sought to downplay the president’s comments, saying that Andrew Schapiro could still take part in social events at the Castle.
Andrew Schapiro is quoted by Czech media as having said in March that it would “be awkward” if Milos Zeman was the only statesman from an EU country on the platform on Red Square.
The US embassy has declined to address Milos Zeman’s comments.
Milos Zeman is known for his outspoken views on a range of issues, often at variance with those of the Social Democrat-led government, correspondents say.
The presidency is largely ceremonial in Czech Republic, but Milos Zeman became the first man directly elected to the post when he took office in 2013.
Daniel Craig has had knee surgery after an injury sustained while shooting scenes for new James Bond movie Spectre.
Eon Productions said Daniel Craig, 47, had had a “minor procedure” in New York during a break in production over Easter.
A spokeswoman denied reports Daniel Craig had missed several days of filming on the 24th James Bond movie.
“During a scheduled break, Daniel Craig had arthroscopic surgery to repair his knee injury. He will rejoin production on April 22nd at Pinewood,” she said.
Filming on Spectre began at Pinewood Studios, in Buckinghamshire, last December, and has since moved to Rome and Mexico.
It is Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as the secret service agent, and follows the success of 2012’s Skyfall, which made $1.1 billion worldwide.
Spectre features Christoph Waltz plays a character called Oberhauser – which, in the novels, is the name of James Bond’s former skiing instructor. However, it has been rumored the actor will be revealed as James Bond’s old nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld was the “number one” in Spectre, an international crime syndicate which last featured in the Sean Connery-era films.
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has restarted, with protons circling the machine’s 27km tunnel for the first time since 2013.
Particle beams have now travelled in both directions, inside parallel pipes, at a whisker below the speed of light.
Actual collisions will not begin for at least another month, but they will take place with nearly double the energy the LHC reached during its first run.
Scientists hope to glimpse a “new physics” beyond the Standard Model.
CERN’s Director General Rolf Heuer told engineers and scientists at the lab: “Congratulations. Thank you very much everyone… now the hard work starts.”
CERN’s director for accelerators and technology, Frédérick Bordry, said: “After two years of effort, the LHC is in great shape.
“But the most important step is still to come when we increase the energy of the beams to new record levels.”
During his traditional Easter Sunday’s Urbi et Orbi address, Pope Francis has called for peace in Syria and Iraq.
The pontiff urged the international community to address the “immense humanitarian tragedy” in both countries.
Pope Francis also called for peace in the Holy Land, Ukraine, Libya, Yemen, Nigeria, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He once again referred to the persecution of Christians in many countries.
Pope Francis said: “We ask Jesus, the victor over death, to lighten the sufferings of our many brothers and sisters who are persecuted for his name, and of all those who suffer injustice as a result of ongoing conflicts and violence.
“We ask for peace, above all, for Syria and Iraq, that the roar of arms may cease and that peaceful relations may be restored among the various groups which make up those beloved countries.
“May the international community not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries and the drama of the numerous refugees.”
The Pope also said his thoughts and prayers were with the young people killed in last Thursday’s massacre at Garissa University College in Kenya.
Referring to the outline agreement on Iran’s nuclear program recently reached in the Swiss city of Lausanne, he expressed hope that it might be “a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world”.
Pope Francis concluded his address by saying: “We ask for peace and freedom for the many men and women subject to old and new forms of enslavement on the part of criminal individuals and groups.
“Peace and liberty for the victims of drug dealers, who are often allied with the powers who ought to defend peace and harmony in the human family. And we ask peace for this world subjected to arms dealers.”
During this year’s Good Friday service in Rome, Pope Francis condemned what he termed the “complicit silence” about the killing of Christians.
Pope Francis is celebrating a Mass of Jesus Resurrection in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City starting with 10:15 AM local time on Easter Sunday.
The Mass and the subsequent Urbi et Orbi (to the City and to the World) blessing will attended by thousands of devout Roman Catholics and will be livestreamed by the Vatican across the world.
The special Easter Mass commemorates the day in Christian faith when Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. It is the culmination of the Christian Holy Week, which is marked by numerous holy days and celebrations. It also marks the end of the Lent.
According to religious tradition, the resurrection occurred three days after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and burial, marked as Good Friday on the Christian calendar. Holy Week is observed by most Christian denominations, including the Orthodox Churches, Roman Catholic Church and most Protestant Churches.
Kenya has declared three days of national mourning for the 148 victims of Garissa University attack by militant group al-Shabab.
Easter ceremonies will be held to remember those who died in Thursday’s attack on Garissa University campus, and flags are expected to fly at half-mast.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed to respond to the attack “in the severest ways possible”.
Sunni Islam’s most respected seat of learning, Cairo’s al-Azhar University, has also condemned the attack.
The Kenyan Red Cross says that so far 54 of the victims have been identified by relatives at a morgue in the capital, Nairobi.
Buses are transporting more than 600 students and about 50 staff who survived the attacks to their hometowns.
Many survivors have been reunited with their families at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium which has been set up as a disaster centre.
Almost all of the 148 killed were students and another 79 people were injured.
Four gunmen were killed, and officials say they are holding five people for questioning – one of whom is believed to be a university security guard.
Both Christians and Muslims have denounced the attack. On April 5, Sunni Islam’s most respected seat of learning, Cairo’s al-Azhar University, said it condemned the “terrorist attack”.
Pope Francis is expected to use his traditional Easter Sunday message to describe the students as contemporary Christian martyrs.
In Kenya, people took the streets to protest the killings and reject the idea that al-Shabab had succeeded in dividing the country.
Rob Kardashian’s noticeable weight gain and rumored depression just got a whole lot more serious.
Kris Jenner worries Rob Kardashian is “going to die” without a drastic change.
She also reveals Rob has gained 100 pounds in the last year.
In a new sneak peek for Sunday’s episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kris Jenner arranges for a life coach to meet with her, Kourtney and Kim to devise a plan to help their struggling Rob.
In the clip, Kris Jenner admits to her daughters that she feels like: “If I don’t help him do something drastic, that [Rob]’s gonna die.”
Rob Kardashian has made headlines over the past year over his extreme weight gain and alleged issues with depression.
The US economy added only 126,000 jobs in March – a gain far lower than January and February.
The slower gains mark a break from a 12-month streak where employers added over 200,000 jobs each month.
Severe winter weather, factory slowdowns, and dull construction activity contributed to low numbers.
The unemployment rate held at 5.5%, the US Department of Labor said.
Additionally, the job statistics for January and February were revised down by a combined 69,000 jobs.
Factories shed 1,000 jobs after 19-months of hiring, while the construction industry broke a 15-month streak with same number of losses.
Restaurant hiring took a sharp downward turn, while the sector for mining, logging, and oil drilling lost 11,000 jobs.
Wage growth was unexceptional. Average hourly wages rose just $0.07 – a year-over-year rise of 2.1%.
People in the US worked fewer hours on average in March than they did in February, meaning their actual earnings fell.
Many Americans are out of the labour force, due in part to the large number of so-called “baby boomers” who are reaching retirement age.
In March, only 62.7% of Americans were working or looking for work – a figured tied with the lowest rate since 1978.
Cheaper gasoline and past job growth have not yet boosted consumer spending, and modest wage gains have burdened the US economy since the Great Recession ended nearly six years ago.
Fenerbahce’s team bus has been attacked by a gunman after their 5-1 victory at Rizespor.
The driver was taken to hospital but no players were injured in the attack, which happened while they were travelling to Trabzon airport.
PM Ahmet Davutoglu said an investigation was under way.
The Turkish Football Federation condemned the attack and Fenerbahce general secretary Mahmut Uslu said the incident was “very wrong”.
Photo Al Jazeera Turk
“We come here to do sport; we come to play football,” said Mahmut Uslu, who was on the bus at the time of the attack.
Abdulcelil Oz, the governor of Trabzon in the north-east of Turkey, initially said the bus appeared to have been hit by a stone but later released a second statement, saying it seemed to have been a bullet.
“The latest situation is that it appears to be a gun,” Abdulcelil Oz said.
“It is too soon to say anything definite, but it appears to be a type of bullet fired by a rifle.”
Large crowds of Fenerbahce fans waited at Istanbul Airport to welcome the players back.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Fenerbahce supporter, reportedly called the local governor to inquire about the investigation into the incident.
Fenerbahce are the defending champions and have won the major domestic competition 19 times, with former Premier League players Dirk Kuyt, Raul Meireles and Emre in their side.
Istanbul-based Fenerbahce went top of the table with their victory on April 4, one point ahead of bitter rivals Galatasaray.
The search for Germanwings flight 4U 9525 victims’ bodies at the crash site has ended, French authorities say.
Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is said to have crashed his aircraft in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.
Identification of the victims will continue with analysis of the DNA found and debris will carry on being removed.
Meanwhile reports said the European Commission took issue with Germany’s aviation authority before the crash.
Wall Street Journal said it was told to “remedy long-standing problems”.
The aviation authority, the Luftfahrtbundesamt (LBA), was told in November to sort out problems including a lack of staff which could have limited its ability to carry out checks on planes and crew, the publication reports.
In light of investigators believing co-pilot Andreas Lubitz crashed the plane deliberately, the way airline crew are vetted has come under scrutiny.
Photo EPA
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) “had pointed out several cases of non-conformity,” spokesman Dominique Fouda told AFP news agency.
A European Commission spokesman said: “All EU member states have findings and this is a normal and regular occurrence.
“It is part of a continuous system of oversight – findings are followed by corrective action, similar to an audit process.”
A spokeswoman for the LBA said the authority had answered several criticisms leveled at it during the audits and those responses were now being assessed by the EASA.
France’s air accident authority has said its investigations will include a study of “systemic weaknesses” that could have led to the disaster, including psychological profiling.
Lufthansa, the parent company of budget airline Germanwings, has said Andreas Lubitz disclosed that he had had severe depression in 2009 while training for his pilot’s license.
It has also emerged that Andreas Lubitz received treatment for suicidal tendencies at one point before getting his pilot’s license.
German prosecutors found torn-up sick notes at Andreas Lubitz’s home, including one covering the day of the crash.
He was also found to have researched suicide methods and cockpit security on a tablet computer in the days preceding the disaster.
Lufthansa’s chief executive Carsten Spohr has said he is “very very sorry that such a terrible accident could have happened” and that the airline was utterly unaware of any health issues that could have compromised Andreas Lubitz’s fitness to fly.
