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180 Dead After Powerful Quake In Turkey, Syria, People Were Sleeping

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The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which had its epicentre in southeast Turkey close to the border between the two nations, left more than 110 people dead Monday in government-held areas of Syria, according to the Syrian health ministry. Turkish emergency service authorities first reported 76 fatalities, but they warned that number might rise sharply because the accident, which occurred at night, had destroyed dozens of apartment buildings around major cities.

“516 injuries and 111 deaths recorded in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus,” the ministry said in a statement. Earlier, a local hospital told AFP at least eight were killed in the northern areas controlled by pro-Turkish factions — bringing the country’s total to at least 119 dead. 

Television footage showed horrified Turks watching rescuers sift through the wreckage of destroyed homes while standing in the snow in their pyjamas.

According to the US agency, the earthquake occurred at 04:17 local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of roughly 17.9 kilometres (11 miles), and 15 minutes later, a 6.7-magnitude aftershock occurred.

The initial earthquake’s magnitude was estimated by Turkey’s AFAD emergency service centre to be 7.4. The quake was among the strongest to strike the area in at least a century.

The earthquake destroyed scores of structures in important southern Turkish cities as well as in the neighbouring country of Syria, which has been plagued by turmoil for more than ten years and is home to millions of displaced people.

Rescuers were seen sifting through the wreckage of demolished buildings in the cities of Karamanmaras and Gaziantep in images that appeared on Turkish television and social media.

In one of the images from Kahramanmaras, a fire lighted up the night sky, but its source was unknown.

Buildings also collapsed, according to NTV television, in the cities of Adiyaman, Malatya, and Diyarbakir.

The earthquake was reportedly felt in sections of central Turkey including the capital Ankara, according to CNN Turk television. Turkey is located in one of the seismically active regions of the planet.

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Turkey condemns ‘vile’ Sweden Quran-burning protest

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Turkey has denounced as a “vile act” the burning of a copy of the Quran during a protest in Sweden. The statement referred to the Swedish government’s decision to permit the protest as “absolutely reprehensible.”

It happens while diplomatic tension between the two nations is rising. A visit by Sweden’s Defence Minister, Pal Jonson, was cancelled earlier after Turkey, which had pleaded with Sweden to put an end to the demonstration, claimed the trip had “lost its purpose and meaning.”

The trip was intended to allay Ankara’s concerns over the Scandinavian nation joining the Nato military alliance. Both Sweden’s and Finland’s applications to the NATO have so far been delayed by Turkey.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s detractors and the Kurds it accuses of being terrorists are among the political concessions Turkey seeks. Turkey is already a member of NATO, thus it has the power to prevent another nation from entering. After Russia invaded Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland submitted applications to join NATO.

A copy of the Quran was set on fire by Rasmus Paludan, a member of the extreme right-wing Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, during the demonstration on Saturday afternnon in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Muslims believe the Quran as a sacred text from God and find it highly insulting when it is intentionally harmed or treated disrespectfully.

Turkey is a predominantly Muslim nation. The crime, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, occurred “despite numerous warnings.” It stated that it was totally unacceptable to allow this anti-Islam conduct, which attacks Muslims and denigrates our fundamental principles, under the cover of “freedom of expression.”

It continued by saying that the burning of the Quran was just another illustration of the “alarming” degree to which racism, bigotry, and Islamophobia had spread throughout Europe, and it urged the Swedish government to take “required actions.” Tobias Billstrom, Sweden’s foreign minister, referred to the behaviour as “appalling.”

Stockholm also saw separate demonstrations both in favour of and against Turkey. Our relationships with Turkey are very important to Sweden, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue on mutual security and defence matters at a later time, Mr. Jonson tweeted after Turkey cancelled the Swedish defence minister’s trip.

In an effort to undermine Sweden’s NATO application, protesters hung an effigy of President Erdogan from a lamppost in Stockholm last week, according to Sweden’s prime minister. At rallies last year, Mr. Paludan made threats to burn the Quran, setting up clashes.

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Turkey coal mine explosion kills 41, injures 11

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The president of Turkey reports that a coal mine explosion in the country’s north has resulted in the deaths of 41 persons. More than 20 hours after Friday’s fatal explosion, the search for the last unaccounted-for body ends.

The interior minister had earlier said that 58 miners who were inside when the blast occurred were either saved or managed to escape on their own. Ten patients were still hospitalised, according to Suleyman Soylu, and one was released.

At the time of the incident on Friday, around 110 individuals were inside the mine, with over half of them at a depth of more than 300m (984ft). To try to find survivors, rescue teams had been excavating through rock all night.

At the mine in Amasra, on the Black Sea coast, rescuers could be seen arriving with blackened and sleep-deprived miners. Additionally, there were relatives and friends of the missing at the mine, awaiting word on their loved ones.

Along with other ministers, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been at the scene in the province of Bartin, and he has announced that the last person still missing has been found dead. Authorities stated that Turkish prosecutors have begun an inquiry into the explosion’s cause, although early findings suggested that firedamp—a word used to describe methane producing an explosive mixture in coal mines—was to blame.

We don’t know exactly what happened, but there was dust and smoke, according to one worker who made it out on his own. State-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises is the owner of the mine.

301 persons perished in Turkey’s deadliest coal mining accident in 2014 after an explosion in the western town of Soma.

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Turkey crash: Bus ploughs into crash scene, killing rescuers

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In Turkey, a bus struck the scene of an earlier traffic accident, causing 16 fatalities and 21 injuries. On Saturday morning, the event took place close to the city of Gaziantep in the south.

Firefighters, rescuers, and a group of journalists who had been dispatched to a scene where a car had veered off the road are among those who have perished. 200 metres (220 yards) distant, the bus struck the gathering, skidded, and toppled. The injured were then transported to adjacent hospitals by reinforcement teams.

“Three firefighters, two emergency personnel, and two journalists” were among those killed on the road between Gaziantep and adjacent Nizip, according to the governor of the Gaziantep region.

The deaths of two of its members were confirmed by the Turkish journalists’ union. A number of victims were seen sprawled on the road in pictures posted on social media.

Photos posted by Turkey’s DHA news agency showed an ambulance’s back torn out and surrounded by metal scraps. According to BBC Turkish, the investigation into the crash has been announced by Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag. Several Turkish leaders expressed their sympathies online.

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Israel: Turkish flight aborted as passengers get plane crash pics

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After passengers received plane crash images on their phones, the captain of a Turkish AnadoluJet flight aborted its take-off at Israel’s main airport.

The plane was taxiing at Ben Gurion Airport when the incident occurred, according to Israel’s aviation authority. Passengers and crew were removed from the plane, and luggage was inspected again.

A number of young Israelis have been identified as suspects and are currently being interrogated. After being cleared to leave, the plane left five hours late.

The AnadoluJet Boeing 737, which carried 160 passengers, was on its way to take off when passengers informed the crew that they had received the photos. After being informed, the captain decided to return to the terminal.

The images were shared via AirDrop, an Apple service that allows users to send files from one Apple device to another over short distances, according to the Hebrew Ynet news site. According to the report, all of the images were received on iPhones.

Images from a Turkish Airlines plane that crashed in the Netherlands in 2009 and another plane that crashed in the United States in 2013, according to Ynet.

Passengers were given the option of reboarding the reinspected flight to Istanbul or staying in Israel.

Two weeks ago, another security scare occurred at Ben Gurion Airport. It happened when a family from the United States showed up at check-in with a live artillery shell that they had planned to take home as a souvenir.

As people fled the area, chaos ensued, with one person requiring hospital treatment after falling over a conveyor belt in the haste to flee.

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France bans far-right Turkey organisation Grey Wolves

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The European country of France, which recently opened a word war with another European country of Turkey over the matter of the right of caricature, is planning to ban Grey Wolves, a far-right Turkey organisation.

The proposed ban means the organisation will not be able to function in the country in the future.

The ban is not capable to stop the functioning of the organisation completely. Grey Wolves is an International organisation, the said ban is only applicable to the operation of the organisation inside the boundary of France.

The proposal seeking the ban has been placed before the discussion table of the French government after the involvement of the organisation in the defacing of an Armenian genocide statue was found.

Turkey has not yet responded to the decision yet.

Anyway, the French government is likely to place the matter before the cabinet in the near future itself.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan crisis have deeply divided the European world, with Azerbaijan supporters like Turkey in one end and Armenian supporters such as Russia in the other.

The latest development is also a part of this crisis, undoubtedly.

It is yet to be seen how the European world will handle the crisis. It is important to find a solution to this issue in the near future itself.

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Turkish Prez urges Turks to boycott French goods

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of the Eurasian country of Turkey, has urged his citizens to boycott goods made in France, which recently toughened its stand on radical Islam.

Mr. Erdogan has criticized the new stand, adopted by France, as an attempt to oppress the Muslim community of the European country.

He has urged the world leaders to protect the Muslim community of the European country of France.

Recently, French President Emanuel Macron asserted that he would go to any extent to protect the secular values his country upholds.

The assertion came at the time his government was facing criticism for its failure to prevent the murder of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was beheaded for displaying a cartoon during a session on Free Speech.

The French President has paid tribute to the murdered teacher.  

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Pro-Turkey nationalist defeats pro-Greece leader in Northern Cyprus election

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In the Northern Cyprus presidential election, Ersin Tatar, the nationalist leader who shares close relation with Turkey, has defected his opponent, Mustafa Akinci, who is a moderate leader, who stands with the west and works for the reunification of the country.

The nationalist leader has secured not less than 52 per cent of the total votes that were casted during the election.

Mr. Akinci has conceded his defeat in the election.

The victory of the nationalist leader means the region continues to share a cordial relation with its Turkish link.

Cyrus remains unevenly divided since the 1974 coup.

During that period, the country witnessed two events: the Greece backed coup and the Turkey backed military advance.

The incident left the country divided.

At present, a third of the territory of the country, that is Northern Cyprus, is controlled by a system share close ties with Turkey and the rest is controlled by a system share close ties with Greece.

The Greece-backed system is the only one which holds global recognition.

The new development is very crucial in nature. It has derailed the effort to reunify the divided country.

The victory has completely diminished the possibility of the unification.

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Turkey reenters into energy dispute with Greece

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The European country of Turkey has reentered into a serious energy dispute with its European neighbor, Greece.

Turkey has once against sent its research ship to the disputed waters located near Greece.

Earlier, it withdrew the vessel after the presence of the ship had triggered a dispute.

The disputed waters in the Mediterranean situated near Greece and Turkey is claimed by Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.

It was for the task of surveying that the vessel was sent to the disputed waters last time.

At this moment, it remains unclear why the ship has been sent to the disputed territory this time.

It was after the three European countries reached an agreement that the issue was put to rest at least temporarily.

Other western countries like Germany and France is expected to interfere in the issue.

As per the latest statement released by the Turkey government, the ship will remain in the disputed water for at least ten days.

It is learned that the ship has been sent as part of the research program launched by the Navy force of the European country of Turkey.

There are rumors that at least two other ships will be sent along with the said ship this time to support the research activity.

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Turkey tightens its grip over social media

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The Turkish parliament has cleared a controversial law, which has provisions to control the operation of social media platforms.

As per the law, all social media firms with more than a million Turkish users is to set up local offices and comply with requests to remove content.

The law has provisions to punish with fines those firms which do not comply with the provisions of the law.

Notably, no social media giants have responded to the new law. The silence of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is highly suspicious and questionable.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is known for his irritation towards the freedom of speech and expression.

As per his view, social media is an immoral thing. He has several times expressed his intention to control the platform of social media.

Actually, the bill has been introduced by the ruling front led by AKP. The ruling front has a comfortable majority in the parliament. The bill has not faced any serious opposition in the law-making house, as the voice of the opposition has been sharply reduced over the years by the ruling front through various anti-democratic policies.

At present, Turkey is largely an authoritarian country. It performs badly in the index of the freedom of speech and expression.

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