The Turkish government on Friday solicited humanitarian assistance from its Nigerian counterpart for victims of the recent devastating earthquake in the country.
In a statement in Abuja, the Turkish Embassy said the assistance would cushion the effect of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed 22,000 and devastated some cities of South-eastern Turkey and Syria during the week.
President Recep Erdogan had during the week declared a national emergency in Turkey and appealed for international humanitarian support for the victims of the disaster.
The Embassy urged other public-spirited individuals in Nigeria to send the items to the victims of the earthquake via Turkish airlines and indicate the addresses in Abuja and Lagos where the items would be dropped.
The statement read: “To the kind attention of volunteers who wish to make in-kind donations to those affected by the powerful earthquakes in Turkiye.
“Donations of the following most-needed items will be highly appreciated: Winter clothing for adults and children; winter jacket, overcoat, raincoat, boots, sweater, trousers, gloves neckpiece, neck scarf, beret, cop Socks, underwear.
“Other items are a tent, bed mattress (for the tents), blanket, sleeping bag, mummy Bag, Catalytic stove with a tube, heater cylinder, tube vacuum flask, thermos, torch, power bank, and generator.
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Emergency workers in southern Turkey have rescued a 10-year-old boy from a collapsed house, four days after an earthquake caused devastation across large parts of the country’s border with Syria.
The boy had been trapped under the rubble in the town of Kahramanmaraş for more than 100 hours.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF), which has been assisting with the rescue work, tweeted on Friday.
“The rescue teams provided the boy with lifesaving medical treatment during the rescue and afterwards transferred him to a hospital for further medical treatment,’’ the IDF said.
Israel sent more than 380 aid workers to Turkey in recent days as part of a relief operation, including doctors, nurses and paramedics.
It has been a tumultuous 24+ hours for Türkiye, as the nation stands perplexed and unknowing of what lies beyond the oblivious wall, after experiencing what could well be the most devastating disaster of the century thus far.
In a heartening display of relief, the Turkish Wrestling Federation reported that eight wrestlers have been rescued from the wreckages in the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes thus far.
Kahramanmaraş Municipality athletes tragically found themselves beneath the debris of the quake, the seismic force of which was centered in Kahramanmaraş and left its mark throughout many provinces, such as Hatay, Gaziantep, Adana, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır, Malatya and Şanlıurfa.
National wrestler Taha Akgül took to his social media account to report that the building housing dozens of athletes had been demolished, with an estimated 30-40 wrestlers inside.
The Turkish Wrestling Federation has declared that their rescue operations are still in force, with 8 athletes having been miraculously pulled from the wreckage thus far.
The Federation commented on the matter saying, “Rescue efforts continue for our wrestlers, who were among the athletes of Kahramanmaraş Municipality who were under the rubble after the earthquake in Kahramanmaraş. The number of wrestlers rescued so far has reached 8. The search and rescue works continue with the great dedication and faith of our wrestling family.”
Sadly, the future looks grim for a group of athletes from Malatya, with their fates far from certain.
The 11 volleyball players and four amputee footballers from Malatya Metropolitan Belediyespor, who were taking part in the playoff of TVF Men’s Volleyball 2nd League 6th Group, are now faced with an uncertain future, as the Kırçuval Hotel in Battalgazi, where they were staying, was reduced to rubble in the wake of the devastating earthquake.
Nothing definitive has been established, but the search-and-rescue operations remain underway to save those still entombed beneath the wreckage.
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Adding to the heartrending tragedy, Yeni Malatyaspor revealed that their goalkeeper Ahmet Eyüp Türkaslan was still entombed beneath the rubble, and that there had been no communication from him as yet.
Clearly overcome with emotion, his wife, Kübra Türkaslan took to social media with a desperate cry for help, pleading, “Eyüp has been buried under the rubble for 30 hours, someone please come to his aid.”
She exclaimed in despair, “This place is an utter disaster. We must do something to help Eyüp, who has been trapped beneath the rubble for an agonizing 30 hours with no hope of rescue from the debris without a crane or other heavy equipment.”
An apocalyptic dagger of despair plunged deep into the hearts of Türkiye on Monday, when the country awoke to a harrowing sight – the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes that resulted in more than 8,500 fatal casualties, more than 49,000 people sustaining injuries, and almost 15,000 buildings reportedly reduced to dust and debris.
As anticipated although not easy to accept, the inevitable devastation of the earthquake did not spare local sports clubs, leaving several individuals and teams adversely affected.
Hatayspor, Gaziantep FC and Yeni Malatyaspor have all been particularly hard-hit by the calamity.
On Monday, reports emerged that Hatayspor forward Christian Atsu and their sporting director Taner Savut had been buried under debris, with the former later being rescued alive, but unfortunately the latter’s fate is still shrouded in mystery.
Not knowing whether it was a stroke of luck or simply destiny, Gaziantep FK’s team was granted a fortuitous leave, sending most of their football players out of the city.
For Yeni Malatyaspor, it was not the kind of news that anyone would want to receive.
While many of their players were not in the city due to the permission given after the Çaykur Rizespor match, their goal minder Ahmet Eyüp Türkaslan stayed behind.
When tragedy struck, he was left entombed beneath the debris with everyone clinging to the hope that he would be rescued unscathed; yet, heartbreakingly, his lifeless body was recovered on Tuesday.
The teams of the Turkish Football Federation’s 2nd League located in the earthquake zone, such as Adıyaman Football Club, Şanlıurfaspor, Amed Sportive Activities, Diyarbekirspor, Iskenderunspor, as well as those of the 3rd League, including Karaköprü Belediyespor, Integrated Solar Elazığspor, 23 Elazığ Football Club, Yarımoğlu Sigorta Kahramanmaraşspor, Osmaniyespor FK and Malatya Arguvanspor, have all been severely affected by the disaster.
Sadness befell many teams in the Regional Amateur League, especially those in the 1st, 2nd and 7th Groups when the disastrous event occurred.
Kahramanmaraş Istiklalspor, the Group 2 leaders, were struck by tragedy when one of their player, Taner Kahriman, was tragically killed after being trapped under rubble.
In a heartbreaking announcement on his social media account, Iskenderunspor President Hakan Bolat declared that goalkeeper trainer Uğur Kurt and U19 player Burak Duraltı were still trapped in the wreckage.
He also revealed that Halil Ibrahim Ölmez who is part of the technical team, was rescued from the debris but currently remains in intensive care.
The remaining athletes and their families had been safely evacuated from Iskenderun.
Gaziantep’s ALG Spor and Onvo Hatayspor in Turkcell Women’s Football Super League Group A, Amed Sports Club and Bitexen Adana İdmanyurduspor in Group B, Doğuş Gold Gaziantep Asya Spor and Birfen College Hatay Defne Spor in the 1st League were all shaken by the devastating earthquake.
Volleyball couple killed Betül Çoban Çakır, the spiker of Merinos Volleyball of Gaziantep, competing in the TVF Women’s 1st League Group B, and her volleyball player husband Bedrettin Çakır tragically could not be saved.
Tragically, Mehmet Can Ağırbaş, one of the athletes who had been pushing for the playoffs in Malatya Metropolitan Belediyespor Team’s TVF Men’s Volleyball 2nd League, 6th Group, was buried beneath the rubble, losing his life.
Turkish Men’s Handball Süper Lig leaders Vefakent Hatay Metropolitan Belediyespor’s Cemal Kütahya and his family, were said to be under the rubble in Hatay.
There are many teams in the volleyball leagues in the region hit by the earthquake.
Manas Energy Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, which competes in the Efeler League, Çukurova Municipality Adana Demirspor of the Sultans League, Hatay Erzin Yeşilkent in the Men’s 1st League, Gaziantep Genclikspor of the 15th Group in the Women’s 2nd League, and Imamoğlu Municipality from the 13th Group were all affected by the earthquake.
Not to mention, Adana Metropolitan Municipality and Seyhan Municipality, all the teams in the Men’s 2nd League 5th Group, and the GAP Youth and Elazig Aksaray Youth clubs from the 6th Group were also affected by the devastating earthquake.
Among the wrestlers who participated in the Feb. 12 Tournament held in Kahramanmaraş, some of the names from the Turkish wrestlers who were among the detritus were salvaged.
It was reported that wrestlers from France, Kosovo and Uzbekistan were evacuated.
Basketballer Aydoğan under rubble It is reported that as of Wednesday Nilay Aydoğan, the national basketball player of Çankaya University, who plays in the ING Türkiye Women’s Basketball Süper Lig, was still trapped under the rubble in Malatya.
The Gaziantep Basketball team, one of the regional teams in the Turkish Basketball Süper Lig, could not return to Gaziantep thanks to their weekend match against Büyükçekmece.
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Fortunately for them, the team also traveled to Germany for the FIBA European Cup challenge.
Women’s Basketball Süper Lig team Tufan Metalurji Hatay Metropolitan Belediyespor, Women’s Basketball League teams Elaziğ Special Provincial Administration, Tarsus Municipality and Elaziğ Basketball were the teams affected in the region.
Speaking to reporters,President Erdoğan said another 49,133 people were injured and a total of 6,444 buildings collapsed in the earthquake.
As of Tuesday morning, AFAD stated that 79,110 aid personnel are working in the region as part of relief efforts.
Tuesday evening, Vice President Fuat Oktay noted that they have started using all airports to organize aid efforts, and helicopters were set to continue work throughout the night as part of disaster relief efforts. Over 450,000 people have been sheltering in student dormitories, he added.
In an earlier news conference, Orhan Tatar, head of the Directorate of Earthquake and Risk Reduction called on all citizens to refrain from entering damaged buildings since unpredictable aftershocks could instantly cause them to collapse. He also called on citizens to not use telephones unless it is an emergency.
Two major earthquakes and 648 aftershocks, that occured since Monday according to the official data from AFAD, also affected sea levels, which rose particularly in the Iskenderun district of Hatay.
Roads, squares and workplaces in the coastal area are flooded, while buildings and workplaces on the boulevard were evacuated due to risks.
After two major earthquakes that shook Türkiye, the sea level rose on the coastal road in the Çay neighborhood of Hatay’s Iskenderun district and overflowed the area near Mete Aslan Boulevard.
The sea level rose in Iskenderun district of Hatay, following 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that ocurred on Monday, Iskenderun, southeastern Türkiye, Feb. 8, 2023. (DHA Photo) The sea level rose in Iskenderun district of Hatay, following 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that ocurred on Monday, Iskenderun, southeastern Türkiye, Feb. 8, 2023. (DHA Photo) People, who visited the streets after the earthquake, were surprised that sea waters had flooded the roads, while it was notable that the sea did not recede even though it has been two days since the earthquake.
The Iskenderun District Governorate also warned people of the region not to enter damaged houses due to potential dangers posed by sea-water overflow in the coastal area. Citizens tried to remain in parks and closed neighborhood markets after the disaster.
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Meanwhile resuce operations are continuing in all 10 provinces, with consoling news coming in from worsely hit provinces Hatay and Kahramanmaraş, where an 80-year old citizen named Abdurrahman and 3-year old Arif Kaan were resuced from the rubble, among others.
Two strong earthquakes on Monday jolted the southeastern part of the country. The earthquakes also hit several neighboring countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon. Syria, already reeling from a decadelong civil war, has been hit particularly badly with over 2,500 deaths and thousands of injuries.
Türkiye announced the closure of schools until Feb. 13 across the country and declared a week of mourning. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Tuesday also announced that a three-month state of emergency had been declared in the 10 provinces hit the worst by the deadly earthquakes
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Kahramanmaraş after a series of high-magnitude earthquakes that shook 10 provinces and said that all the country’s resources have been mobilized, calling for unity.
Speaking to reporters, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan updated the latest death toll to 8,574. He said another 49,133 people were injured and a total of 6,444 buildings collapsed in the earthquake.
Türkiye has taken action with all its institutions since Monday’s deadly quakes, the president added, underlining that all resources have been mobilized.
“Our citizens should not worry, we will never allow them to stay on the street,” he said and highlighted that earthquake victims can stay in contracted hotels in Antalya, Alanya and Mersin provinces.
Erdoğan visited the epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, Kahramanmaraş, and will then continue to Hatay province.
The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, struck 10 provinces and affected more than 13 million people.
More than 7,000 soldiers, according to the Turkey’s Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar, have been dispatched on disaster and relief duties in the country.
The death toll in the two countries soared to more than 8,700 on Wednesday morning, with the majority of the casualties reported in Turkey.
According to the Turkish state media, no fewer than 6,234 people had died and 37,011 were injured. In government-controlled parts of Syria, at least 812 people were killed and 1,449 injured, according to state media.
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In Syria’s rebel-held northwest, civil defense workers reported 1,280 deaths and more than 2,600 injured — a number they said they expected to rise significantly with hundreds still trapped under rubble.
Latest information says Australia is sending an urban search-and-rescue team of up to 72 people to Turkey to help local authorities who are working against time, and freezing temperatures, to dig people out of the rubble following two large earthquakes.
The Turkish chapter of the National Association of Nigeria Student (NANS-Turkey), has given a safety advisory to Nigerian students in the country following a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the European nation on Monday.
The earthquake which rocked the country and neighbouring Syria, has reportedly killed over 4,000 people so far, with several thousands of others, including Nigerians, still trapped under rubble of collapsed buildings.
While giving the safety advisory on Tuesday, the NANS-Turkey President, Caleb Olasupo, advised Nigerian students living in the country to “stay calm and follow instructions from local authority.”
“Solidarity greeting to all Nigerian students. In light of the recent earthquakes of different magnitude that is occurring in Turkey,” the advisory reads.
“We would like to remind everyone to prioritise their safety. Please, follow any instructions from local authorities and avoid entering any damaged buildings or structures.
The passenger flights to Kahramanmaraş, Hatay and Gaziantep airports were suspended after a major 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye’s southeast province early Monday morning.
The flights were halted so that planes carrying rescue teams and relief supplies could reach the region as quickly as possible.
Currently, only planes carrying aid and rescue teams are allowed to land and take off from the two airports. Hatay Airport, whose runway was damaged because of the earthquake, was closed for all flights.
The earthquake that hit 10 Turkish provinces and northern Syria occurred at a depth of 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş at 4:17 a.m. local time (1:17 a.m. GMT), according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). The earthquake left over 1,500 people dead and more than 9,000 others injured.
Rescue operations are underway in Hatay and the affected areas, with the AFAD, the National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE), 112 emergency health services, police, gendarmerie and fire brigade teams being dispatched to the districts to ramp up the rescue work.
In Iskenderun, a part of the State Hospital, the Catholic Church, Mithatpaşa Primary School and many buildings tumbled to the ground, while most roads remained blocked off for regular vehicles.
Türkiye announced the closure of schools until Feb. 13 across the country following the deadly earthquake that rocked 11 provinces claiming several lives and causing massive devastation on Monday.
Speaking to reporters in Malatya, Education Minister Mahmut Özer said schools will remain closed for a week to focus on the rehabilitation after the earthquake and to mourn the losses.
The minister and his deputies held a crisis meeting in the disaster zone. Officials prepared a list of undamaged schools with residencies, teachers’ hotels, schools and sports centers, for accommodating earthquake victims.
In a bid to mitigate the crisis, the ministry sent TL 1 million in emergency aid to 11 provinces affected by the earthquake while local psychologists headed to the disaster zone to provide support to the affectees.
At least 1,541 people lost their lives while 9,733 people were injured after major earthquakes with 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes struck the southeast of the country on Monday.
Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said 130 aftershocks were reported following the quakes, and 2,834 buildings were demolished so far
Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant (NPP), now under construction in the country’s south, suffered no damage from the earthquakes that jolted the region on Monday morning, officials said.
“Our experts did not detect any damage to the buildings, equipment or cranes in the field. Construction and assembly work continues,” said Anastasia Zoteeva, head of the Akkuyu Nuclear project company, adding that the earthquake was felt at a magnitude of approximately 3 in the region in Mersin, where the plant is being built.
According to Zoteeva, state civil defense and emergency protection units are cooperating with the plant’s emergency units and are preparing to send equipment and personnel to the region.
The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at 4.17 a.m. (1:17 a.m. GMT) in Türkiye’s southern province of Kahramanmaraş, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), affecting neighboring provinces, leaving over 1,500 dead and more than 9,000 injured.
Akkuyu on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast will be the country’s first nuclear-powered power plant. The plant, expected to have an installed capacity of 4,800 megawatts and four reactors, is set to begin producing power later this year
At least 1,600 people died Monday in Türkiye when two major earthquakes and 145 aftershocks struck the southeast of the country, officials said.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 1,651 people were killed and 11,119 others were injured following the earthquakes, which were felt in 11 provinces, including Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Osmaniye and Diyarbakır, although the toll threatened to climb much higher because of the heavy damage.
According to the country’s disaster agency, the strong earthquakes originated in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş.
Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the 7.7 magnitude quake struck at 4.17 a.m. (1:17 a.m. GMT) and was centered in the Pazarcık district.
The quake occurred at a depth of 7 kilometers (4.3 miles).
It was followed by a 6.4 magnitude quake that struck southeastern Gaziantep province.
A third earthquake with a 6.5 magnitude also hit Gaziantep.
The initial earthquake was also felt in other southeastern provinces, including Diyarbakır and neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took to Twitter to convey get-well wishes to citizens affected by the initial earthquake.
He added that AFAD and other units are “on alert.”
He noted that rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the province affected by the earthquake.
“Our Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Health, the AFAD, provincial governorships and all other institutions started their work rapidly.”
President Erdoğan who arrived at the Presidency of AFAD to coordinate the studies regarding the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, said that Türkiye was shaken by the biggest disaster since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake in the last century, adding: ”According to the findings so far, 1,014 of our citizens have lost their lives and 7,634 of our citizens have been injured. The number of people rescued from under the rubble has reached 2,470. The number of demolished buildings is 2,834.”
”Its center was determined as the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş and its moment magnitude was measured as 7.7 according to the last evaluation. The earthquake was felt over a wide area,” the president maintained.
“The earthquake caused destruction in Kahramanmaraş, as well as in Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Adana provinces,” Erdoğan noted.
”Despite minor damage in other provinces relatively close to the earthquake center, it is understood that the real destruction has taken place here. Serious destructions have also occurred in the cities of our southern neighbor Syria, close to our borders. Our state has taken action with all its institutions since the earthquake occurred.”
“We are also coordinating our work after the earthquake. We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage. We will continue our work.”
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also said that six earthquakes with a magnitude above 6.0 hit the country early Monday.
Western Syria A powerful earthquake killed dozens and injured hundreds in northern and western Syria early on Monday, state media said, as rescue teams battled heavy rain and sleet in a search for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings.
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“No official numbers yet but dozens reported dead and hundreds injured, many trapped under the rubble,” the force, known as the White Helmets, said in a Twitter message.
Several buildings in the affected areas had already endured damage during Syria’s nearly 12-year civil war
Türkiye declared seven days of national mourning after catastrophic earthquakes and 145 aftershocks devastated the country’s southeastern provinces, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday.
In a message posted on his official Twitter account, the president said the country has declared a week of mourning and will lower its flags to half-mast at home and at diplomatic missions across the world until Feb. 12, 2023.
At least 1,651 people were killed while 11,119 others were injured following magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes with an epicenter in Kahramanmaraş province devastated 10 provinces in the country’s southeast.
Tremors from the earthquake that rocked Türkiye and neighboring Syria on Monday were felt as far away as Greenland, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said.
Iran on Saturday slammed the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi after the agency in a report raised concerns over substantial covert changes to equipment at its Fordo uranium enrichment plant without prior notice, state media reported.
The criticism of Grossi comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency director-general said he plans to visit Tehran in February for talks on getting it to increase cooperation over its activities, amid stalled negotiations to revive a landmark deal over Iran’s nuclear program.
The IAEA said in a confidential report seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday that Iran had substantially modified an interconnection between two centrifuge clusters enriching uranium to up to 60% at Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), without giving prior notice.
Iran said later an inspector had “inadvertently” reported the changes, and that Grossi had issued the report despite the matter being resolved – a response that the United States and its allies criticized as “inadequate.”
“We gave a letter to the agency that an inspector… made a mistake and gave an incorrect report,” Mohamad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
“But yet again the director-general of the agency released this issue to the media,” he said, labelling it “unprofessional and unacceptable” behavior. “We hope that this practice will not be continued… because this is not acceptable for his reputation and the agency.”
The IAEA had said that during an unannounced Fordo inspection on Jan. 21 it found “two IR-6 centrifuge cascades… were interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency.”
Since late last year, the two cascades had been used to produce uranium enriched to up to 60%, the report to member states added.
In the report, Grossi expressed concern that Iran had “implemented a substantial change in the design information of FFEP in relation to the production of high enriched uranium without informing the agency in advance.”
In a statement on Friday, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany said Iran’s response to the report was “inadequate.”
“Iranian claims that this action was carried out in error are inadequate,” they said. “We judge Iran’s actions based on the impartial and objective reports of the IAEA, not Iran’s purported intent.”
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Grossi told the European Parliament on Jan. 24 that he plans to visit Tehran this month “for a much-needed political dialogue, or reestablishment thereof, with Iran.” The IAEA chief noted the “big, big impasse” on the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The deal with world powers collapsed after the U.S. withdrew from it in 2018 under former president Donald Trump.
Israel’s decision to expand firearms licensing for Israelis will only escalate tensions and further violence with Palestinians, Volker Türk – the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – has warned.
“Plans by the Government of Israel to expedite and expand the licensing of firearms, with the stated intention of adding thousands of (Israeli) civilians carrying firearms – coupled with hateful rhetoric – can only lead to further violence and bloodshed,” Türk said in a statement.
“We know from experience that the proliferation of firearms will lead to increased risks of killings and injuries of both Israelis and Palestinians. Therefore, the Israeli authorities must work to reduce the availability of firearms in society,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that more Israelis would be permitted firearms licenses last week.
The move comes amid rising tension in the Palestinian territories following an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin last week that left 10 Palestinians dead. Seven Israelis were also killed in a shooting attack in occupied East Jerusalem.
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“Rather than fueling a worsening spiral of violence, I urge all those holding public office or other positions of authority – indeed everyone – to stop using language that incites hatred of the other,” Türk said. “Such fomenting hatred is corrosive for all Israelis, Palestinians, and society.”
The U.N. commissioner noted that 32 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli army fire since the start of the year, while seven Israelis have also been killed.
“The people of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory need their leaders to work – urgently – to create conditions conducive to a political solution to this protracted, untenable situation,” he added.
The death of a young YouTube star at the hands of her father has sparked outrage in Iraq, where so-called “honour killings” continue to take place.
Tiba al-Ali, 22, was killed by her father on January 31 in the southern province of Diwaniya, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said on Twitter on Friday.
Police had attempted to mediate between al-Ali – who lived in Turkey and was visiting Iraq – and her relatives to “resolve the family dispute in a definitive manner”, Maan said.
Unverified recordings of conversations between al-Ali and her father appeared to indicate that he was unhappy about her decision to live alone in Turkey.
Maan said that after the police’s initial encounter with the family “we were surprised the next day … with the news of her killing at the hands of her father, as he admitted in his initial confessions”.
He did not give further details on the nature of the dispute.
Al-Ali had gained a following on YouTube, where she posted videos of her daily life and in which her fiance often appeared.
A police source speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, meanwhile confirmed that the “family dispute” dated back to 2015.
Al-Ali had travelled to Turkey with her family in 2017, but upon their return, she refused to join them, choosing instead to stay in Turkey where she has since lived, the police source said.
Translation: There is no ‘honour’ in so-called honour killings..whoever justifies the actions of the criminal that killed Tiba is a criminal himself … and whoever dishonours Tiba’s life is a person without honour.
لا شرف فيما يسمى جرائم الشرف .. الي يبرر للمج.رم الي قtل طيبه فا هو مج.رم و اسوا من المج.رم و الي يط..عن بشرف طيبه هذا بلا شرف هي الان عند رحمه الله الله يرحم طيبه و يغفر لها شهيده باذن الله وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَآؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خلدا فيها #حق_طيبهpic.twitter.com/g6Why64m0B
To date, no law in Iraq criminalises domestic violence.
A draft domestic violence law was first introduced to parliament in 2014, but progress has stalled amid widespread political opposition from legislators who believe it would erode Iraq’s social fabric.
Al-Ali’s death has sparked uproar among Iraqis on social media, who have called for protests in the capital, Baghdad, on Sunday to demand justice in response to her death.
“Women in our societies are hostage to backward customs due to the absence of legal deterrents and government measures – which currently are not commensurate with the size of domestic violence crimes,” wrote veteran politician Ala Talabani on Twitter.
Rights activist Hanaa Edwar told AFP that, according to voice recordings attributed to the young woman, “she left her family … because she was sexually assaulted by her brother”.
Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders such as that suffered by Tiba Ali, apparently at the hands of her own father.
The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights also reported the allegation. AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the voice recordings.
Amnesty International condemned the “horrific” killing, saying “the Iraqi penal code still treats leniently so called ‘honor crimes’ comprising violent acts such as assault and even murder”.
“Until the Iraqi authorities adopt robust legislation to protect women and girls … we will inevitably continue to witness horrific murders,” Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Aya Majzoub, said
An analysis of satellite images appears to show damage to an Iranian military facility in a drone attack last week, including holes in the building’s roof, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Cloudy weather had prevented satellite pictures of the site of the facility from showing the effect of the attack on January 28.
While Iran has offered no explanation yet of what the facility in the city of Isfahan manufactured, the assault threatened to again raise tensions in the region, with Tehran blaming Israel for the drone attack, a conclusion that was also reached by United States officials.
Video taken of the attack showed an explosion at the site after anti-aircraft fire targeted the drones, likely from one of the drones reaching the building’s roof. Iran’s military has claimed that it shot down two other drones before they reached the site.
Images taken on Thursday by Planet Labs PBC showed the facility in Isfahan, some 350km (215 miles) south of Tehran. An AP analysis of the image, compared with earlier images of the workshop, showed damage to the structure’s roof.
That damage corresponded to footage aired by Iranian state television immediately after the attack that showed at least two holes in the building’s roof.
The Iranian state TV footage, as well as satellite photos, suggest the building’s roof also may have been built with so-called “slat armour”.
The structure resembles a cage built around roofs or armoured vehicles to stop direct detonation from rockets, missiles or bomb-carrying drones against a target.
The installation of such protection at the facility suggests Iran believed it could be a drone target.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence in July claimed to have broken up a plot to target sensitive sites around Isfahan.
A segment aired on Iranian state TV in October included purported confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish opposition party that is exiled from Iran and is now based in Iraq, in which they said they planned to target a military aerospace facility in Isfahan after being trained by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.
It remains unclear whether the military facility targeted in the drone attack was that aerospace facility.
A letter published on Thursday by Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said early investigations had suggested that Israel was responsible. The letter, however, did not elaborate on what evidence supported Iran’s suspicion.
Ongoing attacks There have been several explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities in the past few years.
Iran blamed Israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in 2020, as well as an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility in April 2021 that damaged its centrifuges.
The attack comes as Iran’s government faces challenges both at home and abroad.
Nationwide protests have shaken the country since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman who had been detained by the country’s morality police. Its rial currency has also plummeted to new lows against the US dollar
Iran has summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires to protest “biased” remarks by a presidential aide in Kyiv over a recent drone strike in Iran, the Islamic republic’s foreign ministry said.
Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, linked in a tweet on Sunday Iran’s support for Russia’s invasion of his country with the night-time strike on a military site.
“Explosive night in Iran – drone and missile production, oil refineries,” he said. “War logic… bills the authors and accomplices strictly.”
“Ukraine did warn you,” Podoliak added.
Iran’s foreign ministry said Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran had been summoned to provide “an official and immediate explanation from the Ukrainian government.”
It called Podoliak’s remarks “strange and biased,” adding in a statement it hoped “such positions will not be repeated.”
Iranian authorities reported an “unsuccessful” drone attack late Saturday night that targeted a defense ministry “workshop complex” in the central Isfahan province, home to the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.
An anti-aircraft system destroyed one drone and two others exploded, the defense ministry said, adding that there were no casualties and only minor damage to the site.
Dramatic video footage widely shared on social media and published by Iranian state media showed a fireball lighting up the night sky, with people outside seen running and emergency service vehicles speeding towards the site.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Iran of supplying military drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine, a claim that is denied by Tehran
At least three people were killed and 800 more injured on Saturday when a 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit northwestern Iran near the border with Türkiye, state officials and media said Sunday.
Panicked residents fled their homes as buildings collapsed and rubble crushed cars, with hundreds seeking shelter from freezing winter conditions in evacuation centers as more than 20 aftershocks rattled the region.
The shallow quake hit the city of Khoy, with a population of around 200,000, in West Azerbaijan province at 9:44 p.m. (6:14 p.m. GMT) Saturday, said the Seismological Center of the University of Tehran.
“This incident has left 816 injured and three dead,” West Azerbaijan Gov. Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency.
People were seen wrapped in blankets and huddling around fires in the snow-dusted region, in images published by Iranian media, as state TV broadcast footage of major damage to residential buildings, including half-destroyed houses.
Buildings in 70 villages suffered quake damage, the state news agency reported, with rescuers clearing rubble to free those trapped in the area around 800 kilometers (500 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran.
Iran’s Red Crescent Society chief, Pirhossein Koolivand, later announced the search and rescue operations had finished, with no more survivors or bodies believed trapped.
Iran’s interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, traveled to Khoy to observe the situation, where he said water, power and gas connections were impacted but being restored, IRNA reported.
Meanwhile, Türkiye Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said no damage or casualties have been reported in Van province, which borders Iran.
Relevant AFAD teams were still carrying out fieldwork to determine damage in the area, AFAD president Yunus Sezer said on Twitter.
History of major quakes Iran sits astride the boundaries of several major tectonic plates and experiences frequent seismic activity.
On Jan. 18, a previous, 5.8-magnitude quake near Khoy left hundreds injured.
In February 2020, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the western Türkiye village of Habash-e Olya and killed at least nine people.
Iran’s deadliest recorded quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless in the country’s north.
In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in southeastern Iran leveled the ancient mud-brick city of Bam and killed at least 31,000 people.
In November 2017, a 7.3-magnitude quake in Iran’s western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people.
And in December 2019 and January 2020, two earthquakes struck near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbors have raised concerns about the reliability of the country’s sole nuclear power facility and the risk of radioactive leaks in case of a major earthquake
Israeli police on Sunday sealed up the East Jerusalem home of a Palestinian who killed seven people and wounded three outside a synagogue.
The move comes as one of several punitive measures to revoke certain rights of attackers’ relatives, approved by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet overnight.
The security cabinet announced a slew of steps late Saturday, including revoking the rights to social security of “the families of terrorists that support terrorism.”
It also announced that the home of 21-year-old Khayri Alqam, who was shot dead by police following Friday’s attack, “will be sealed immediately ahead of its demolition.”
An AFP correspondent saw Israeli forces Sunday on the terrace of the building after they sealed its entrances, with Palestinians clearing out their belongings.
Israel already demolishes the homes of Palestinians who kill Israelis, although the process necessitates that prior notice be given to families and the chance to appeal the decision.
Dani Shenhar, head of the legal department at Israeli rights group HaMoked, said sealing the home overnight demonstrated the government’s “will of revenge against the families.”
The measure was “done in complete disregard for the rule of law”, he said, and HaMoked intends to protest to the attorney general.
More guns for civilians Israel’s security cabinet said there will also be a discussion Sunday over a bill to revoke Israeli identity cards from the relatives of attackers.
The measures announced are in line with proposals from Netanyahu’s extreme-right political partners which enabled him to return to power at the end of December.
They are likely to apply primarily to Palestinians with Israeli nationality, known as Arab-Israelis, and Palestinians with east Jerusalem residency permits.
Hours after the deadly shooting outside the synagogue in the settlement of Neve Yaacov, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded two Israelis just outside the walled Old City of east Jerusalem.
The boy blamed for the attack in the Silwan neighborhood was shot and wounded at the scene.
No group has claimed responsibility for either of the shootings.
The security cabinet also decided to make it easier to obtain permits to carry firearms.
“When civilians have guns, they can defend themselves,” extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told reporters outside a Jerusalem hospital on Saturday.
Israeli forces have been placed on high alert, and the army has announced that it will be reinforcing troop numbers in the West Bank, while calls for restraint have multiplied from abroad.
The Jerusalem attacks came after nine Palestinians were killed in the deadliest raid by Israeli forces in the West Bank in nearly two decades
Police originally put the number of fatalities at eight. Several others were injured, the police said on Twitter.
The attacker went to a synagogue in the illegal settlement of Neve Yaakov at around 8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. GMT) and opened fire, according to police.
The security situation in Israel and Palestine has worsened sharply in the past few days.
A spokesperson for the Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, said Friday’s attack was in retaliation for an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank on Thursday.
Nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed and 20 others injured in an Israeli raid in Jenin.
The Palestinian Health Ministry accused Israeli forces of deliberately firing tear gas inside a hospital’s pediatric ward, leaving children choking – a claim denied by an Israeli army spokesperson who added that gas may have drifted into the clinic through a window.
The bloodiest day in the West Bank in years erupted during a raid on the crowded refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, where gunshots rang through the streets and smoke billowed from burning street barricades.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the death toll from the clashes rose to “nine martyrs” including a woman, and that 20 people were wounded before the Israeli forces withdrew midmorning.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters: “This operation is a response to the crime conducted by the occupation in Jenin and a natural response to the occupation’s criminal actions,” though he stopped short of claiming the attack.
World condemns attack The United States quickly condemned the attack.
“This is absolutely horrific,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
“We condemn this apparent terrorist attack in the strongest terms. Our commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad, and we are in direct touch with our Israeli partners.”
“We stand with the Israeli people in solidarity,” he said.
Patel told reporters at a news briefing that U.S. officials were in touch with their Israeli counterparts and that he did not expect changes to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s vist to Israel next week.
U.S. President Joe Biden directed his national security team to offer support to their Israeli counterparts.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the attack.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack,” his spokesman said. “It is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship, and on the very day we commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
However, he urged the sides to exercise the “utmost restraint.” Guterres is “deeply worried” by the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also condemned Friday’s synagogue attack on the outskirts of East Jerusalem, state news agency (WAM) reported citing a foreign ministry statement.
Britain’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, also condemned the attack. “To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat, is horrific. We stand with our Israeli friends,” he said in a statement on Twitter.
Türkiye also condemned the attack and called on all sides to take steps to prevent any further violence.
‘Immediate measures’ The surging violence comes a month after a new government, led by veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, took power.
Netanyahu and his extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the scene on Friday, as crowds chanted “death to Arabs,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists at the scene said.
Speaking on television after visiting the scene, Netanyahu said his Security Cabinet would soon announce “immediate measures” in response and urged Israelis not to “take the law into their own hands.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who was on a family visit to the U.S., has cut short his trip and is returning to Israel, his office told AFP.
“The attack against civilians this Friday evening was horrific,” Gallant said in a statement, vowing to “operate decisively and forcefully against terror and will reach anyone involved in the attack.”
A 13-year-old boy opened fire and wounded two people in east Jerusalem on Saturday, officials said, only hours after a gunman had killed seven outside a synagogue in the deadliest attack in the city since 2008.
The shooting in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem, near the historic Old City, wounded a father and son, ages 47 and 23, paramedics said. Both were fully conscious and in moderate to serious condition in the hospital, the medics added.
Police said they shot and overpowered the 13-year-old attacker, wounding him. He was taken to a hospital, they said, and there was no further word on his condition. Video showed police escorting a wounded young man, wearing nothing but underwear, away from the scene and onto a stretcher.
Authorities taped off the street and emergency vehicles and security forces swarmed the area as helicopters whirled overhead.
Saturday’s events – just a day before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to arrive in the region – raised the possibility of even greater conflagration in one of the bloodiest months in Israel and the occupied West Bank in several years.
On Friday, a gunman killed at least seven people, including a 70-year-old woman, in a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem, an area captured by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move not internationally recognized.
The Israeli army said it had deployed another battalion to the West Bank on Saturday, adding hundreds more troops to a presence already on heightened alert in the occupied territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin said he would convene his Security Cabinet on Saturday night, after the end of the sabbath, to discuss a further response to the attack near the synagogue. Security forces launched a crackdown early Saturday, fanning out into the neighborhood of the 21-year-old gunman, who was shot and killed at the scene. Police arrested 42 of his family members and neighbors for questioning in the At-Tur neighborhood in east Jerusalem.
The earlier Friday attack, which occurred as residents were observing the Jewish sabbath, came a day after an Israeli military raid killed nine Palestinians in the West Bank, including an elderly woman.
Thursday’s raid, deadliest single incursion in the West Bank since 2002, followed a particularly bloody month that saw at least 30 Palestinians – militants and civilians – killed in in confrontations with Israelis in the West Bank.
The Foreign Ministry condemned the recent armed attack on a synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday.
The ministry expressed concern about the recent surge of tensions and violence, calling on all sides to take necessary steps to prevent further escalation.
The ministry also called for restraint and extended condolences to the families of the victims and the Israeli government and people, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
Seven people were killed and 10 others were injured after a gunman opened fire on a synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday.
The perpetrator went to a synagogue in the illegal Israeli settlement of Neve Yaakov at around 8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. GMT) and opened fire, according to police.
The officers had shot at the assailant at the scene and “neutralized” him. Police later confirmed that he had been killed
Turkish defense firm STM puts itself on a new target of developing unmanned submarines after delivering the second of the Agosta 90B class submarines owned by Pakistan’s Navy in Türkiye’s first and only submarine modernization export.
Özgür Güleryüz, general manager of STM told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they aim to become a strong player in the international arena with the work they carry out in submarine development.
Emphasizing that a submarine is a very complex system in terms of engineering, which includes very high technology, Güleryüz said: “We want to take an intense role in both modernization activities, design and construction activities by using our competence to the fullest,” adding that their work is not limited to the manned platforms.
“Unmanned submarines are also on the agenda,” he said, “where successful results can be achieved.”
“Our studies and research and development (R&D) activities continue intensively on these issues,” he said.
Commenting on the modernization of the Pakistani Navy’s submarines, Güleryüz said that the project started in 2016 after they won the tender in which they competed against the manufacturer for the half-life modernization of French-made Agosta 90B Class submarines.
Expressing that they delivered the first submarine in April 2021 and put the second one into use in December 2022, Güleryüz said what makes this project a critical one for them is that it’s a tender that they won against the manufacturer of the product that is to be modernized.
“There are not many companies with this competence apart from manufacturers,” he said, emphasizing that with this submarine modernization, “STM has proven its competence in submarines.”
Saying that they plan to deliver the last submarine before within two years, Güleryüz explained that some systems were renewed and updated and a comprehensive modernization was carried out in the submarines that are around 20 years old.
Güleryüz pointed out that submarines were modernized per the current needs by using the latest technologies in all changing systems and that systems and equipment such as electronic warfare (EW), war management systems, sonar systems, and sensors were integrated into the submarines and a very important part of them was developed by Turkish companies such as Aselsan and Havelsan.
Domestic submarine STM500 Referring to STM’s roadmap for submarine technologies, Güleryüz went on to say that the modernization of the Ay Class submarines was completed and delivered in 2015 and that the modernization of the Preveze Class submarines is currently underway.
Noting that the construction of Reis Class submarines continues, Güleryüz stated that STM is trying to contribute to the project in terms of localization, starting from the design.
Stating that the designs of the STM500 submarine are also continuing, Güleryüz said: “We are about to complete the detailed design, and we started the test production activities of the durable boat in June 2022. We are proceeding as intensely and successfully as we can to bring the STM500 into flesh and blood.”
Güleryüz emphasized that with the STM500, they will create the possibility of selling a submarine designed by Turkish engineers abroad, along with domestically developed systems, apart from their use by the Turkish Naval Forces Command
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