ANKARA, Turkey — The trial of Britain’s Duchess of York for allegedly taking part in the secret filming of two orphanages in Turkey has been adjourned so the plaintiffs can evaluate a proposed out-of-court settlement, Turkey’s state-run news agency said.

Sarah Ferguson faces charges of going “against the law in acquiring footage and violating privacy” of five children at one of the orphanages, the Anadolu Agency said. If convicted, the duchess could receive a maximum sentence of 22 1/2 years in prison.

The trial began Friday, and Ferguson did not attend the opening session, the agency said.

Ferguson, the former wife of Britain’s Prince Andrew, allegedly made an undercover trip to Turkey in 2008 during which she secretly visited the two state-run orphanages along with two British TV journalists.

An indictment filed against Ferguson in January said the two journalists are being separately investigated.

The footage of the five children was filmed at the Saray Rehabilitation and Care Center orphanage on Sept. 22, 2008, near Ankara and shown that year on the British ITV program “Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission.” The filmed images appeared to show the children tied to their beds or left in cribs.

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The government has accused the duchess of smearing Turkey’s image, while saying at the same time that it would investigate and address any problems at the orphanages.

The news agency quoted her lawyer, Cansu Sahin, as saying the duchess is seeking an out-of-court settlement. On Friday, the court told Sahin that Ferguson should attend the next hearing, Anadolu reported.

Canan Yildiz, an attorney representing the five children and Turkey’s Family and Social Policies Ministry, said her clients have been “harmed” and would like to join the public prosecution against Ferguson and the two British journalists who have been also indicted in the case and could be tried separately.

Anadolu did not say when the trial would resume, and the lawyers in the case could not be reached for comment Saturday.

‘The Avengers’ may see record weekend take

LOS ANGELES – Hulk, smash.

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That’s what Captain America tells the Incredible Hulk to do in “The Avengers,” and that’s what the Marvel Comics superhero mash-up did at the box office, smashing the domestic revenue record with a $200.3 million debut.

It’s by far the biggest opening ever, shooting past the previous record of $169.2 million for the debut of last year’s “Harry Potter” finale.

“The Avengers” added $151.5 million overseas over the weekend to bring its total to $441.5 million since it began opening internationally a week earlier.

That raised the film’s worldwide haul to $641.8 million in barely a week and a half, more than its Marvel superhero forerunners “Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor” and “Captain America” took in during their entire runs.

If distributor Disney’s domestic estimate Sunday holds when the final weekend count is released today, “The Avengers” would be the first movie ever to haul in $200 million in a single weekend.

Maestro Muti to conduct Vatican concert

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VATICAN CITY – Riccardo Muti will be conducting a concert in the Vatican in honor of Pope Benedict XVI.

He’s the second big-name maestro to be conducting for the pope this spring. La Scala opera house announced last week that Daniel Barenboim would conduct Beethoven’s Ninth symphony when the pope visits Milan on June 1.

According to a statement on his website Sunday, Muti will lead Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera in selections from Vivaldi and Verdi in Friday’s concert, which is being offered to the pope by Italy’s president in honor of the seventh anniversary of his election to the pontificate.

— From news service reports


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