: The death toll from the Turkey-Syria earthquakes has passed 16,000. At least 12,873 people have died in Turkey, according to officials, while at least 3,162 have been killed in Syria.
Hopes of finding survivors are quickly fading and residents of southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria are criticising what they call slow search and rescue efforts.
Yet amid the freezing cold, rescue workers are still pulling people out alive from the rubble, as search operations continue for a fourth day.
Hope turns to despair in Turkey, Syria 72 hours after earthquakes
While rescuers continue to work frantically to save survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings, the chances of finding many more people alive are fading rapidly more than 72 hours after the devastating earthquakes.
Tensions running high as rescuers race against time
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Resul Serdar is in Kahramanmaras, one of the areas worst hit by the earthquakes, where he gave his latest update.
“Just an hour ago, two bodies have been pulled out from the rubble,” he said standing in front of a collapsed building.
“The rescue team have held blankets to cover those bodies so that the families do not see those disturbing images,” Serdar said.
“People are quite sad here. The tensions are high. The emotions are high. In the past 24 hours, no one has come out of this rubble alive,” he added
/: (CNN)Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to the UK on Wednesday, sweeping in to London on the first stage of an unannounced diplomatic tour of European capitals with a powerful message for British lawmakers.
In only his second foreign trip since the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago, Zelensky gave a speech to the joint houses of the British parliament that deftly stroked the national ego at the same as making a direct plea for more heavy weaponry, including fighter jets.
"London has stood with Kyiv since day one," he said. "Since the first seconds and minutes of the full-scale war. Great Britain, you extended your helping hand when the world had not yet come to understand how to react."
In a poignant but carefully crafted move, Zelensky handed the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, the helmet of a Ukrainian fighter pilot, signed with the message: "We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.
Zelensky's message was directed firmly at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and members of the Cabinet standing in front of him in the historic surroundings of Westminster Hall -- the oldest part of of the Palace of Westminster, where the late Queen Elizabeth lay in state and where US President Obama stood for a similar address in 2011.
He thanked the British leader -- "Rishi" -- who had earlier announced that the UK would begin training Ukrainian pilots on NATO-standard fighter jets. He also name-checked former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, an early and steadfast supporter. "Boris, you got others united when it seemed absolutely, absolutely impossible," Zelensky said. "Thank you." Then, addressing the wider audience, he said: "You, all of you, you all showed your grit and character back then. Strong British character."
Zelensky touched down in Britain a time when Kyiv is urging the West to send more weapons and military support to counter Russian advances. He is expected to travel to Paris on Wednesday evening, where he will be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to the Elysee Palace.
Sunak greeted Zelensky at Stansted Airport, north of London, after he landed aboard a UK Royal Air Force C-17 transport plane. Sunak tweeted a picture of the pair embracing on the runway. "Welcome to the UK, President.
Later, he traveled to Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles III, who told Zelensky: "We've all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long, I can't tell you."
Zelensky said in a Telegram post following his audience with the King that he congratulated King Charles "on his recent accession to the throne and wished peace and prosperity to the British people."
"It is an honor for me to be the first President of Ukraine in the history of Ukrainian-British relations to be honored by the British monarch with an audience," he added.
"I am grateful to His Majesty for the warm welcome and for supporting Ukrainian citizens who have taken refuge from the war in the United Kingdom," Zelensky said.
Zelensky was also expected to visit Ukrainian troops being trained by British forces on Wednesday.
baby124: No wonder China has disease outbreak every other week. How will you put pigs in such an enclosed space? They need fresh air to dry up all the possible bacteria and virus that animals carry.
This is pig farming in China, where agricultural land is scarce, food production is lagging and pork supply is a strategic imperative.
Inside the hulking edifice, which resembles the monolithic housing blocks seen across China and stands as tall as the London tower that houses Big Ben, the pigs are monitored on high-definition cameras by uniformed technicians in a NASA-like command center. Each floor operates like a self-contained farm for the different stages of a young pig’s life: an area for pregnant pigs, a room for farrowing piglets, spots for nursing and space for fattening the young hogs.
Feed is carried on a conveyor belt to the top floor, where it’s collected in giant tanks that deliver more than one million pounds of food a day to the floors below through high-tech feeding troughs that automatically dispense the meal to the hogs based on their stage of life, weight and health.
The building, located on the outskirts of Ezhou, a city on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, is being hailed as the world’s biggest free-standing pig farm with a second identical hog high-rise opening soon. The first farm started operating in October, and once both buildings reach full capacity later this year, it is expected to raise 1.2 million pigs annually.
China has had a long love affair with pigs. For decades, many rural Chinese households raised backyard pigs, considered valuable livestock as not only a source of meat but also manure. Pigs also hold cultural significance as a symbol of prosperity because, historically, pork was served only on special occasions.
/: Turkish authorities say the death toll from the earthquakes centred in southeastern Turkey rose to 3,419, bringing the total number of killed, including those in northern Syria, to more than 5,000.
The initial magnitude 7.8 tremor early on Monday brought down buildings as people slept and was followed by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake hours later amid several aftershocks.
The United States Geological Survey said the initial earthquake was centred about 33km (20 miles) from Gaziantep, a major Turkish city and provincial capital. Dozens of countries from around the world have promised help in search and rescue operations that are being hampered by cold and snow
Rescuers crowd flights from Istanbul to Turkey’s south
Adana, Turkey – Our flight this morning from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport to the southern city of Adana was delayed due to heavy snowfall and air traffic, as rescuers continued to attempt to travel to Turkey’s hard-hit southeast.
The flight, along with Adana’s Sakirpasa airport, was filled with volunteers and journalists.
Though earlier reports on social media indicated that international rescue teams were being made to wait at the airport for several hours, they were not spotted around the terminal just after noon.
Erdogan declares state of emergency in 10 Turkish cities
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 cities in the country after Monday’s devastating earthquakes and aftershocks.
He added that the death toll in Turkey had risen to 3,549, adding that the 10 cities would be declared as part of an earthquake disaster zone.
Who all have stepped in to help?
Dozens of countries and organisations have offered to assist rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria after earthquakes and several aftershocks killed more than 5,000 people.
Qatar to send 10,000 mobile homes to Turkey and Syria
Qatar is sending 10,000 mobile homes to earthquake-affected areas in Turkey and Syria, as well as 120 rescue workers, a field hospital and humanitarian assistance, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker has reported.
“We are on an aircraft that is due to depart to Turkey. It is a large C-130, with crew that will be part of setting up those mobile homes,” she added from Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
“There is a medical team on board, rescue members are on board as well. They are trying to get things for survivors, there is onboard equipment as well. We will be flying to one of the airports in the southeast that is currently closed, in efforts to try to get as much of this aid as possible [to people].
Foreign Affairs › Death Toll Tops 16,000 In Turkey- Syria Earthquake by God1000(op): 10:59am On Feb 09, 2023
