Page 17 - Turkey

Death toll from last month's quake nears 48,000 in Turkiye, 6,000 in Syria

The head of Turkiye's disaster and emergency management agency has raised the country's death toll from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake last month to 47,975. Yunus Sezer said during a news conference on Saturday that the people who died included 6,278 foreigners, with Syrian nationals accounting for the largest share. The Feb. 6 quake affected 11 Turkish provinces and parts of neighbouring Syria. The United Nations has estimated Syria's death toll at 6,000. The quake was followed by a magnitude 7.5 temblor hours later, as well as thousands of aftershocks. At least 230,000 buildings were destroyed or badly damaged in Turkiye. Experts have pointed at lax building code enforcement as a major reason why the earthquake was so deadly.

Erdogan sets Turkey parliamentary, presidential elections for May 14

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking to extend his two-decades in power, on Friday formally set the country's parliamentary and presidential elections for May 14 a month earlier than scheduled despite last month's devastating earthquake. The elections could be the country's most significant vote in decades. It will determine whether the country will take a more democratic path or continue on the increasingly authoritarian course set by the strongman politician. Erdogan has ruled over Turkiye since 2003 first as prime minister and as president since 2014 but this year's elections could be his most challenging. The country is struggling with a troubled economy, soaring inflation and the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that killed more than 46,000 people and left hundreds of thousands of people across 11 Turkish provinces sheltering in tents or temporary accommodation. Many have criticised his government's response to the earthquake and accuse it of failing t

Sweden, Finland discuss NATO accession with Turkey, says military bloc

Representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks in Brussels to discuss progress on fulfilling Turkey's conditions for agreeing to the Nordic countries' accession to NATO

Swan Group leases out vessel to Turkey govt company for Rs 800 cr

Swan Energy through its subsidiary Triumph Offshore has signed an agreement to lease out its floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) vessel to Turkish government-owned natural gas and LNG firm Botas for an annual rentals of around Rs 800 crore. The lease arrangement is for a daily rental of USD 250,000, or about Rs 2 crore, which on an annualised basis works out to be around Rs 800 crore, Swan Energy said in a statement on Thursday. The duration of the leasing agreement of its FSRU vessel Vasant One is for 12 months and is extendable on mutual agreement, it added. Based on the bare boat charter, Triumph Offshore has leased out only the bare FSRU vessel to Botas which will manage all operational expenses, including fuel, crew, insurance, maintenance, and repair and thus fully revenue accretive. Rishi Chopra, spokesperson of Swan Energy, said the agreement will enhance the rental earning capabilities of the vessel and therefore the net revenue from the rental will strengthen our

Six-party alliance picks main opposition leader to run against Erdogan

A six-party alliance on Monday nominated main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as its common candidate to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections in May, ending months of uncertainty and bickering that had frustrated their supporters. The alliance tapped the leader of the pro-secular, center-left Republican People's Party, or CHP, hours after a key member of the grouping who had rejected Kilicdaroglu's candidacy agreed to a compromise solution and returned to the coalition. Turkiye is headed toward pivotal presidential and general elections on May 14 that could shift the country toward a more democratic course or extend Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The elections are Erdogan's toughest during his 20-year rule and come amid economic turmoil and criticism of the government's response to a devastating earthquake last month. Our biggest goal is to carry Turkey toward prosperous, peaceful and joyful days, Kilicdaroglu said after

Rebuilding of Turkey post quake may spur steel demand from India: Industry

Since Turkey's own industry, a major player in world steel trade, has also been disrupted, demand from the western world may surge as well

A suggestion to the IMF on inflation

Standard policies towards inflation have not helped. It is important to think out of the box

Apollo Hospitals donates monitoring patches for Turkey earthquake victims

Apollo Hospitals collaborated with LifeSigns to donate 1,000 remote patient monitoring patches to support victims after last month's earthquake in southeast Turkiye and northern Syria, it said in a statement on Monday. These patches, manufactured by LifeSigns, can be used in settings where patients need close monitoring of vital signs, including cardiac rhythm. According to the statement, "They allow doctors to reliably monitor a patient's heart rate, ECG (electrocardiogram) rhythm, respiratory rate, temperature, and position, and can also be used to connect to oxygen saturation monitoring devices. "This will free up critical care beds for the sickest patients, and those who need care outside of hospitals or in the field can use the patches." Dr Sai Praveen Haranath of Apollo Hospitals said, "Apollo Hospitals stands ready to assist Turkiye in this hour of need to help with medical assistance and guidance from our entire critical care and sub-specialist teams..." The February 6 ...

Death toll in Turkey earthquake rises above 45,000, UN OCHA reports

The latest statement of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) said that 45,089 people lost their lives while 115,000 people were injured in the Turkey earthquake

Post-quake reconstruction focuses on shorter buildings: Turkish Prez

"When planning new settlements, we will be moving our cities from lowland plains and toward mountains with the more durable surfaces," he said

Experts urge strict measures against epidemics threats in Turkey quake zone

"The diseases caused by contaminated food and water, from cholera to other gastroenteritis such as diarrhoea, are our primary concerns," Ertugrul told Xinhua in an interview

Recent earthquake caused damage worth $5.1 billion in Syria: World Bank

The World Bank said on Friday that Syria sustained an estimated USD 5.1 billion in damages in last month's massive earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern parts of the war-torn country. The quake killed at least 50,000 people, including about 6,000 in Syria, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands are still missing and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. In a report released on Friday, the World Bank says the level of the damage in Syria is about 10 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. Syria's northern province of Aleppo was the most severely hit region, accounting for 45 per cent of the total damages in Syria and amounting to about USD 2.3 billion in damages. Also badly hit was the rebel-held region in the northwest, home to some 4.6 million people, many of them previously displaced by Syria's war. Aleppo was followed by the northwestern province of Idlib, with estimated damages of USD 1.9 billion and Latakia, government-controlled territ

Investment facilitation for development or trouble?

Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, and Italy pulled out of the Energy Charter Treaty last year to stave off the ISDS mechanism

Turkish President Erdogan announces govt's plan to hold elections on May 14

"The time is coming. This nation will do what is necessary on May 14. No credit will be given to those who empty talk," Erdogan told his party members in Parliament

S Jaishankar holds talks with counterparts from Brazil, Turkey, Mauritius

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday held separate bilateral talks with his counterparts from Brazil, Turkiye and Mauritius with a focus on the agenda of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting and the Ukraine conflict. The foreign ministers of the three countries are in Delhi to attend the crucial G20 meeting on March 1 and 2. On his meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, Jaishankar said the momentum in the bilateral relations, especially in the economic and energy domains figured in the talks. "Delighted to host FM Mauro Vieira of Brazil this evening. As G20 Troika members, discussed the issues coming up at the Foreign Ministers' Meeting," he said on Twitter. "Took note of the momentum in our bilateral relations, especially in the economic and energy domains," Jaishankar said. He further said it was agreed to strengthen multilateral cooperation, including in the UN, BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-Chins-South Africa) and IBSA. The IBSA (India, Brazil, South Af

Direct damages of Turkiye earthquakes equivalent to 4% of GDP: World Bank

At least 1.25 million people have lost their homes due to the earthquakes

Massive domestic migration in wake of deadly earthquakes in Turkey

The devastating earthquakes which hit southern Turkey earlier this month caused major internal displacement, resulting in a significant strain on resources in major cities around the country

Earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hits Turkey toppling more buildings, 1 killed

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkiye on Monday three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region causing some already damaged buildings to collapse and killing at least one person, the country's disaster management agency, AFAD, said. Another 69 people were injured as a result of the earthquake which was centred in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, AFAD's chief Yunus Sezer told reporters. More than two dozen buildings collapsed. Yesilyurt's mayor, Mehmet Cinar, told HaberTurk television that a father and daughter were trapped beneath the rubble of a four-story building in the town. The pair had entered the damaged building to collect belongings. Elsewhere in Malatya, search-and-rescue teams were sifting through the rubble of two damaged buildings that toppled on top of some parked cars, HaberTurk reported. Malatya was among 11 Turkish provinces hit by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated parts of southern Turkiye and northern Syria on .

Turkey launches investigation into 612 people after earthquake: Official

Investigations have been launched against more than 600 people in relation to buildings that collapsed in Turkiye's catastrophic earthquake earlier this month, a government official said Saturday. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 184 of the 612 suspects had been jailed pending trial. Those in custody include construction contractors and building owners or managers, he said in televised comments from a coordination center in Diyarbakir in southeast Turkiye. The detection of evidence in the buildings continues as a basis for criminal investigation, Bozdag added. The aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude quake on Feb. 6, which led to nearly 48,000 deaths in southern Turkiye and northern Syria, has seen Turks question the structural integrity of many of the 173,000 buildings that collapsed or were seriously damaged. Experts have said many toppled structures were built with inferior materials and methods and often did not comply with government standards. Opposition parties have accused ...

Better building standards would have saved lives in Turkey earthquakes

It's safe to say that Turkey and war-torn Syria are far from the most-prepared countries. The death toll from February's quakes is nearing 50,000, and expected to rise further