General denies planning coup as Turkey presses purge

Turkey has sacked almost 9,000 officials in its relentless crackdown against suspected coup plotters, authorities said Monday, as the former air force chief denied masterminding the weekend's failed putsch. With Western allies expressing alarm over fears Ankara that could reinstate the death penalty in response to Friday's dramatic coup bid, General Akin Ozturk appeared in court, looking haggard and with his ear bandaged. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to wipe out the "virus" o