Page 19 - Turkey

Germany to ease visa conditions for few earthquake victims in Turkey, Syria

The German government wants to temporarily ease visa restrictions for survivors of the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria who have close family ties to Germany if they are facing homelessness or were injured. It's about helping in times of need. We want to make it possible for Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring close relatives from the disaster region, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser tweeted late Saturday. They can find shelter with us and receive medical treatment, Faeser said. With regular visas, which are issued quickly and are valid for three months. However, not all the requirements of a regular visa procedure are being waived. Applicants must still be able to present a valid passport likely to be an obstacle for people who fled collapsing buildings. Several million people in Germany have Turkish roots because, more than 60 years ago, West Germany recruited guest workers from Turkey and elsewhere to help the country advance economically. More recently, hundred

India's exports to Turkey may get impacted in short run due to earthquake

India's merchandise exports of commodities such as cotton, manmade yarn and textile dyes may be impacted in the short run to earthquake-hit Turkiye, according to exporters. Two powerful earthquakes hours apart on Monday last week caused widespread destruction of property and killed more than 28,000 people, leaving millions homeless in Turkiye. The earthquakes also caused damage to the infrastructure and logistics network with the Port of Iskenderun remaining closed for around a week. Exports to Turkiye increased to USD 6.2 billion during April-November 2022 against USD 5.1 billion in the corresponding period in 2021. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo) Director General Ajay Sahai said that the extent of the damage in Turkiye is yet not known and thus its impact on exports is difficult to ascertain. However, the earthquake will further depreciate Turkish Lira , which has significantly depreciated recently, and has touched its record low following the earthquake making

Turkey issues warrant against 130 building contractors 6 days after quakes

As rescuers still pulled a lucky few from the rubble six days after a pair of earthquakes devastated southeast Turkiye and northern Syria, Turkish officials detained or issued arrest warrants for some 130 people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that toppled down and crushed their occupants. The death toll from Monday's quakes stood at 28,191 with another 80,000-plus injured as of Sunday morning and was certain to rise as bodies kept emerging. As despair also bred rage at the agonizingly slow rescue efforts, the focus turned to who was to blame for not better preparing people in the earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria that was already suffering from years of civil war. Even though Turkiye has, on paper, construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings slumped onto their side or pancaked downward onto residents. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said late

Devastating earthquakes in Turkey is only the latest tragedy for refugees

When war broke out in Ukraine, Aydin Sisman's relatives there fled to the ancient city of Antakya, in a southeastern corner of Turkiye that borders Syria. They may have escaped one disaster, but another found them in their new home. They were staying with Sisman's Ukrainian mother-in-law when their building collapsed last Monday as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake levelled much of Antakya and ravaged the region in what some in Turkiye are calling the disaster of the century. We have Ukrainian guests who fled the war, and they are also lying inside. We have had no contact, said Sisman, whose Turkish father-in-law also was trapped under the rubble of the 10-year-old apartment building. As rescuers dig through heaps of rubble, Sisman appeared to have lost hope. Millions of refugees, like Sisman's relatives, have found a haven in Turkiye, escaping from wars and local conflicts from countries as close as Syria to as far afield as Afghanistan. There are at least 3.6 million Syrians who have

Armenia-Turkey reopen border gate for 1st time in 3 decades for quake aid

Turkey and Armenia opened their border gate for the first time in 30 years for the passage of humanitarian aid for the victims affected by the devastating earthquakes that hit the former

Operation Dost: India sends more relief to quake-hit Turkey, Syria

India on Saturday sent additional consignments of life-saving medicines and relief material for earthquake victims of Turkiye and Syria onboard a C-17 military transport aircraft. It is the seventh flight carrying relief material under India's 'Operation Dost' which was launched to provide assistance to the two countries after they were hit by a devastating quake on Monday that has killed over 20,000 people. "The 7th #OperationDost flight departs for Syria and Trkiye. Flight is carrying relief material, medical aid, emergency & critical care medicines, medical equipment & consumables," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted. In the last few days, India sent to Turkiye medicines, a mobile hospital and specialised search and rescue teams onboard five C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft to support the country's rescue efforts. India also sent relief material onboard a C-130J aircraft of the Indian Air Force to Syria. Officials said the flight that left on ...

Quake death toll tops 25,000 in Turkey, Syria; survivors still being found

The death toll in Turkiye and Syria from the earthquake that struck five days ago has surpassed 25,000. Turkiye's president on Saturday raised the death toll in his country to 21,848, while in Syria, the reported number of dead was 3,553 in government and rebel-held areas. Some 80,104 people have been injured in Turkiye alone, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, speaking in the city of Sanliurfa. A few survivors are still being pulled from the rubble, however, more than 130 hours after the quake. Rescue teams in Turkiye on Saturday pulled to safety a family of five who survived inside their collapsed home for five days following a major earthquake in a sprawling border region of Turkiye and Syria. The death toll, however, was approaching 25,000. They first extricated mother and daughter Havva and Fatmagul Aslan from among a mound of debris in the hard-hit town of Nurdagi, in Gaziantep province, HaberTurk reported. The teams later reached the father, Hasan Aslan, but he insisted t

Missing Indian national in earthquake-hit Turkey found dead: Embassy

An Indian national missing in Turkiye since the massive earthquake on February 6 was found dead on Saturday in the rubble of a hotel where he was staying. Vijay Kumar Gaud, who hailed from Uttarakhand's Pauri district and was working for a Bengaluru-based company, had gone to Turkiye on an official assignment. With his face crushed beyond recognition, Gaud was identified with a tattoo of the word "Om" on one of his hands, his family said here quoting Indian embassy officials. Gaud was a resident of Padampur area in Kotdwar in Pauri district. His clothes had been found on Friday. "We inform with sorrow that the mortal remains of Shri Vijay Kumar, an Indian national missing in Turkiye since February 6 earthquake, have been found and identified among the debris of a hotel in Malatya, where he was on a business trip," the Indian embassy in Turkiye tweeted. Gaud's wife and son, who were hoping against hope for some positive news, were inconsolable as their worst fears had come true. ..

No information yet on any Indian trapped in earthquake-hit Turkey: Envoy

Indian ambassador to Turkey Virander Paul on Saturday said that there is no information yet about any Indians trapped in the earthquake hit Turkey

Aerial view from NASA satellites helping Turkey, Syria earthquake response

Scenes collected before and after the earthquake were used by a team of scientists to create something called a damage proxy map for Turkey

Brazil, Switzerland request Security Council meeting on quake-hit Syria

"We have to know very clearly what the situation is and what the correct responses are going to be. And for that, USG Griffiths' visit and information will be key"

Death toll from devastating earthquakes in Turkey, Syria crosses 24,000

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said authorities should have reacted faster to this week's huge earthquake

NDRF pulls out 8-year-old girl from rubble in earthquake-hit Turkiye

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescued an 8-year-old girl from a collapsed structure in earthquake-hit Turkiye, an official spokesperson said on Friday. The operation was undertaken in Nurdagi town of Gaziantep province along with Turkish army personnel, the NDRF spokesperson said. NDRF personnel had rescued a 6-year-old girl from the same area on Thursday. "Rescuers have saved two lives and retrieved 13 bodies from the debris till now. The rescue operation of the force is continuing since February 7 in the affected areas of Turkiye," the spokesperson said. India launched "Operation Dost" to extend assistance to Turkiye as well as Syria following Monday's devastating quake that has killed more than 22,000 people in the two countries so far. Three NDRF teams comprising 152 personnel are deployed in Turkiye for undertaking relief and rescue operations.

World Food Programme warns of stock shortage in quake-hit northwest Syria

he International Organisation for Migration said that 14 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including electric heaters, tents, blankets, had crossed into northern Syria from Turkey on Friday

Turkey earthquakes: World Bank to provide $1.78 billion for relief

The lender is offering immediate assistance of $780 million through two existing projects to rebuild basic municipal-level infrastructure

After devasting earthquake, UN humanitarian chief to visit Turkey, Syria

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths is set to travel to Turkey and Syria where more than 21,000 people have been killed, and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

Turkish anger turns to Erdogan on inadequate quake response, weak buildings

The criticism comes as Erdogan prepares for national elections in May, where he is seeking to extend his record two-decade rule - one marked by a surge in building hailed by the president

Turkey to get $1.78 bn from World Bank for relief and recovery efforts

The World Bank has announced providing USD 1.78 billion in assistance to Turkey to help with relief and recovery efforts after devastating earthquakes in Turkey and neighbouring Syria.The death toll following the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday has risen to 21,051, CNN reported citing authorities. At least 78,124 people in Syria and Turkey were injured after the quakes, CNN cited the figures from the Turkish government, the White Helmets and Syrian state media.The World Bank in a press release said that it has started a rapid damage assessment to estimate the magnitude of the disaster and identify priority areas for recovery and reconstruction support, based on its extensive experience in disaster risk management from around the world."The World Bank announced today $1.78 billion in assistance to help relief and recovery efforts following devastating earthquakes and aftershocks in Turkiye that have already resulted in massive loss of life, injuries, and very ...

Another earthquake of magnitude 4.6 occurs in Turkey's Malatya: EMSC

CNN reported that the death toll from the earthquakes that jolted Turkey and Syria has risen to 20,783, citing authorities. The total number of injured people in Syria and Turkey has reached 75592

UN's first convoy of aid dispatched from Turkey to quake-hit Syria

Six truckloads of aid entered the Bab al-Hawa border crossing through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province, the news agency reported