5,600 buildings destroyed by quake in Turkey – as civil war complicates rescue efforts in Syria

Published

1 year ago

February 7, 2023

admin

More than 5,600 buildings in Turkey have been destroyed by yesterday’s powerful earthquake and aftershocks – as the long-running civil war in Syria complicates rescue efforts there.

At least 4,159 people have died across both countries – and officials fear that the number of fatalities will rise further.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake happened before dawn on Monday, when many people would have been sleeping.

And while rescuers have spent the night scouring rubble, bitterly cold weather could reduce the time they have to find survivors.

More than 7,800 people in Turkey have been rescued across 10 provinces so far – and crews from around the world have been making their way to the epicentre to help.

In Syria, the earthquake and subsequent tremors further weakened the foundations of buildings that have borne the brunt of shelling and airstrikes during a decade of unrest.

The latest figures suggest more than 13,000 in Turkey have been injured – and in the city of Iskenderun, there was an enormous pile of debris where an intensive care unit once stood.

“We have a patient who was taken into surgery but we don’t know what happened,” said Tulin, a woman in her 30s who was stood outside the hospital and wiping tears from her eyes.

This region is unable to cope with a disaster of this magnitude

Hundreds of rescue workers are still arriving in Turkey’s earthquake zone in the early hours.

Adana airport is awash with personnel – many of them volunteers – who have travelled from all over the country to try to help in what is fast turning into Turkey’s worst natural disaster in nearly a century.

Many have relatives or friends they’re still trying to reach in the multiple towns and villages affected.

I was with an Istanbul-based doctor this morning as she frantically tried to telephone colleagues in Hatay, believed to be one of the worst-affected areas and near the Syrian border.

“We can’t reach them,” she said. “We are really concerned.”

At least two hospitals are thought to have crumbled in Hatay as the earthquakes ripped through this area.

Worried people have been glued to television and radio reports and watched in horror as the number of fatalities rose with every hour.

Some 45 nations have already offered help. Turkey is going to need every last one of them.

Reaching those affected over the border in Syria is going to be exceedingly complicated.

Many living along the Turkish border have already been displaced multiple times already.

In a region so badly hit by war and poverty for more than a decade, this area is uniquely vulnerable and unable to cope with a disaster of this magnitude.

Desperate scenes

Tens of thousands have been left homeless across Turkey and Syria – and spent last night in the cold.

About 20 miles away from the epicentre of the earthquake in Gaziantep, people took refuge in shopping centres, mosques, stadiums and community centres.

In a rebel-held enclave of Syria, four million people were already displaced before the powerful tremors struck – and many live in buildings wrecked by military bombardments.

A mound of concrete and steel roads lay where a multi-storey building once stood in Aleppo, with a thin young man expressing fears that 12 families could be trapped.

The Syrian White Helmets, a rescue service in rebel-held territory, said they were in a “race against time” to save the lives of all those under rubble.

Imran Bahur’s apartment building in the Turkish city of Adana was also destroyed. She said her 18-month-old grandson was on the 12th floor, and begged for help in rescuing him.

Search crews working in Diyarbakir, another Turkish city, occasionally raised their hands and called for quiet – listening for signs of life.

Syria asks for help

Syria’s UN ambassador Bassam Sabbagh has requested help from the United Nations – receiving assurance that member states will do everything possible in this “very difficult situation”.

He went on to stress that the government is ready to help and coordinate aid deliveries “to all Syrians in all territories of Syria”.

But as well as harsh winter weather, damage to roads and fuel shortages have hampered the UN’s response to the earthquake there.

“The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people… but we are working hard,” UN resident coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih told the Reuters news agency.

Erdogan declares seven days of national mourning

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken to his US counterpart Joe Biden.

The White House said Mr Biden underscored “the readiness of the United States to provide any and all needed assistance” to Turkey – a NATO ally.

Two, 79-person urban search and rescue teams have been deployed by Washington – and discussions are ongoing about other forms of relief, including health services.

Rescue workers from the UK, Czech Republic and Germany have also been making their way to the epicentre.

World

Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

Published

6 hours ago

June 30, 2024

admin

Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

The search for Jay Slater in an area of Tenerife has been called off, police have said, nearly two weeks after his disappearance.

The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since 17 June, when he vanished the morning after a rave.

The Civil Guard called for volunteers to join a new search in the Masca area – near his last-known location – on Saturday.

It has now confirmed to Sky News that the search has ended. Police are keeping the investigation open and could yet open up searches in the south of the island, but have not provided an update.

A handful of volunteers turned up to help rescue teams on Saturday, forming a total group of 30 to 40 people scouring a huge area of rugged and hilly terrain.

Mr Slater, 19, had been on holiday with friends on the Spanish island and was last pictured at Papayago, a nightclub hosting the end of the NRG festival, late on 16 June.

After the event ended, he got in a car travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca with two men, who police said on Saturday are “not relevant” to the case.

His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island – which is about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.

A local cafe owner told Sky News he tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.

Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke to the teenager at 8am on 17 June, telling him a bus was due at 10am – but he set off walking and she said she later drove past him “walking fast”.

The apprentice bricklayer called a friend holidaying with him at around 8.30am on 17 June and said he was going to walk back after missing the bus.

He also told his friend he was lost and in need of water, with only 1% charge on his phone.

On Friday, Mr Slater’s friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.

He said he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and hear he was walking on gravel.

Meanwhile, Mr Slater’s family shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager captured on CCTV in a nearby town 10 hours after he was first reported missing.

Local police and the Civil Guard, along with Mr Slater’s family, have been involved in the search.

Since his disappearance, rumours and conspiracy theories have emerged amid online speculation on social media.

Some social media sleuths have even travelled to Tenerife to try and find him.

World

Polls open in French election that could see far-right in government

Published

9 hours ago

June 30, 2024

admin

Polls open in French election that could see far-right in government

Voters in France are heading to the polls today for a parliamentary election that could usher in the country’s first far-right government since the Second World War.

French President Emmanuel Macron called a surprise vote after his centrist alliance was soundly beaten in the European elections by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally earlier this month.

Voting began at 8am (7am UK time), closing at 4pm in smaller towns and 6pm in bigger cities. A winner may be apparent on Sunday night.

France has a semi-presidential system, which means it has both a president and a prime minister.

The voting taking place today will determine who is prime minister but not president, with Mr Macron already set on remaining in his role until the end of his term in 2027.

If Ms Le Pen’s party wins an absolute majority, France would have a government and president from opposing political camps for only the fourth time in post-war history.

How does the election work?

There are 577 constituency contests, one for each seat in the National Assembly, which is the lower house of parliament.

Candidates with an absolute majority of votes in their constituency are elected in the first round.

In most cases, no candidate meets this criteria and a second round is held, which will be next Sunday – 7 July – when the final outcome will be confirmed.

To qualify for the run-off, candidates need first-round votes amounting to at least 12.5% of registered voters.

The top scorer wins the second round.

When will we have a result?

Voting ends at 8pm (7pm UK time), when pollsters publish nationwide projections based on a partial vote count.

Official results start trickling in, with counting usually fast and efficient and the winners of almost all seats likely to be known by the end of the evening.

World

New York Times calls on Biden to quit race after disastrous debate

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2024

admin

New York Times calls on Biden to quit race after disastrous debate

A defiant Joe Biden has attacked Donald Trump at a rally a day after the president’s “shocking” performance in a head-to-head debate.

His showing in the debate against Trump on Thursday night was described as an “unmitigated disaster” by some in his own party after he paused and stumbled his way through, prompting calls for him to step down.

Adding to those calls, The New York Times urged the president to quit the race to give another candidate a better chance at defeating Trump.

“Mr Biden has been an admirable president,” the newspaper said in a piece by its editorial board.

“But the greatest public service Mr Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”

It added: “As it stands, the president is engaged in a reckless gamble. There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency.

“There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr Trump’s deficiencies and those of Mr Biden.”

‘I can do this job’

Mr Biden has tried to quell anxieties since his performance. At a rally in North Carolina, he appeared to acknowledge the criticism, but struck a defiant tone.

“I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know,” said Mr Biden. “I know how to tell the truth.”

“I give you my word as a Biden, I wouldn’t be running again if I did not believe, with all my heart and soul, I can do this job,” he told the rally.

Mr Biden attacked the former president’s criminal record, calling Trump a “one-man crimewave”.

“My guess is he set a new record for the most lies told in a single debate,” he added, telling the crowd he spent “90 minutes on the stage debating a guy with the morals of an alley cat”.

Hours later, Donald Trump was jubilant at a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia.

“Never mind that crooked Joe Biden spent a week at Camp David, resting, working, studying – he studied so hard he didn’t know what the hell he was doing,” Mr Trump told the crowd.

“Biden’s problem is not his age, […] he’s got no problem other than his competence. He’s grossly incompetent,” he added.

Bad debate nights happen

Barack Obama tweeted his support for President Biden on Friday evening, saying: “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know.”

Joe Biden had a cold and sore throat during last night’s debate, the White House said.

But others remained unconvinced he should run for president.

“I do not think President Joe Biden can be the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer in 2024,” former White House director of global engagement Brett Bruen told Sky News’ Yalda Hakim.

“Last night’s performance was astonishingly bad. You cannot just be strong on the teleprompter,” he said.

But Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director, blamed the president’s poor performance on his preparation.

“He wasn’t prepped right for that debate. He’s an older man,” Mr Scaramucci told Yalda Hakim.

“You don’t fill his head with facts and figures he’s never going to remember.”

There have been repeated calls for President Biden to step down.

It’s “time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic nominee,” one Democratic politician told Sky’s US partner network NBC News.

However, while Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that President Joe Biden had a “slow start” in the debate, she insisted that he finished “strong”.

President Biden’s campaign spokesperson said there are no conversations taking place about the president stepping aside from his re-election bid.

He also still plans to take part in the next debate against Donald Trump, which is slated for 10 September, said the spokesperson. They added that last night’s debate has not changed the campaign strategy.

At a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta after the debate, Biden told reporters he did not have concerns about his performance. “It’s hard to debate a liar,” he said.