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Earthquakes in Turkey, Syria Claims Hundreds of Lives

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3 years ago

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A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Monday, killing hundreds of people as they slept, levelling buildings, and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the Island of Cyprus and Egypt.

One of the largest to strike Turkey in at least a century wiped out entire sections of major cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.

The head of Syria’s National Earthquake Centre, Raed Ahmed, told pro-government radio that this was “historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre”.

At least 245 people died in government-controlled parts of Syria, as well as the northern areas held by pro-Turkish factions, according to the health ministry and a local hospital.

At least 284 people died in Turkey, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Monday, adding that more than 2,300 people had been injured and that search and rescue work was continuing in several major cities.

The rescue was being hampered by a winter blizzard that covered major roads in ice and snow.

Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.

– Election test for Erdogan –

The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people, the US Geological Survey said.

Turkey’s AFAD emergencies service centre put the first quake’s magnitude at 7.4, adding that it was followed by more than 40 aftershocks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be under intense pressure to oversee an effective response to the disaster heading to a tightly-contested May 14 election, conveyed his sympathies and urged national unity.

“We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” the Turkish leader tweeted.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington was “profoundly concerned”.

“We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance,” Sullivan said.

The earthquake struck a restive, predominantly Kurdish area of Turkey near Syria, a country gripped by more than a decade of violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.

– ‘People under rubble’ –

Images on Turkish television showed rescuers digging through the rubble of levelled buildings in the city of Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep, where entire sections of cities were destroyed.

A fire lit up the night sky in one image from Kahramanmaras, although its origin remained unclear.

Buildings also crumbled in the cities of Adiyaman, Malatya and Diyarbakir, where AFP reporters saw panicked people rush out on the street.

Kahramanmaras Governor Omer Faruk Coskun said it was too early to estimate the death toll because so many buildings were destroyed.

“It is not possible to give the number of dead and injured at the moment because so many buildings have been destroyed,” Coskun said. “The damage is serious.”

A famous mosque dating back to the 13th century partially collapsed in the province of Maltaya, where a 14-story building with 28 apartments also collapsed.

In other cities, anguished rescuers struggled to reach survivors trapped under the debris.

“We hear voices here — and over there, too,” one rescuer was overheard as saying on NTV television in front of a flattened building in the city of Diyarbakir.

“There may be 200 people under the rubble.”

– Dam warning –

The Syrian health ministry reported damage across the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russia is leasing a naval facility.

AFP correspondents in northern Syria said terrified residents ran out of their homes after the ground shook.

Even before the tragedy, buildings in Aleppo, Syria’s pre-war commercial hub, often collapsed due to the dilapidated infrastructure after more than a decade of war as well as little oversight to ensure safety of new construction projects, some built illegally.

Naci Gorur, an earthquake expert with Turkey’s Academy of Sciences, urged local officials to immediately check the region’s dams for cracks to avert potentially catastrophic flooding.

Turkey is in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones.

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UK PM Burnham Unveils 10-Year Plan, Begins Cabinet Overhaul

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2 days ago

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July 21, 2026

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The new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, on Monday, unveiled a 10-year plan to tackle the country’s economic and social challenges as he began reshaping his government, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves among senior ministers leaving the Cabinet.

In his first speech outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham said his government would introduce measures to ease the cost-of-living crisis, end rough sleeping, build more council homes and devolve more powers away from Westminster.

“This moment will be a circuit breaker for Britain,” Burnham said, adding that details of the government’s cost-of-living package and how it would be funded would be announced from Tuesday.

According to the BBC, Reeves announced on X that she was stepping down as Chancellor of the Exchequer, describing it as “the privilege of my life” to have served in the role. The broadcaster reported that Burnham had offered her another senior cabinet position, but she declined.

The cabinet reshuffle also saw Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, Housing Secretary, Steve Reed and Business Secretary, Peter Kyle leave government as Burnham assembled his own team.

Speaking to reporters after his Downing Street address, Burnham said he would examine the tax-free personal allowance ahead of his first Budget in the autumn but acknowledged that raising the threshold would have significant fiscal implications.

He also pledged to reform England’s social care system, saying he did not want to leave office without fixing a problem that had persisted for decades, while reaffirming his commitment to existing fiscal rules.

The BBC also reported that Burnham held his first conversation with a foreign leader after taking office, speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The resignation of the outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying he was leaving office “with good grace” and “a smile.”

Burnham is expected to continue announcing appointments to his new Cabinet as his administration takes shape, according to the BBC.

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Finance Minister Oyedele Defends Nigeria’s Rising Debt

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2 days ago

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July 21, 2026

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Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified the sharp increase in Nigeria’s public debt.

Speaking before the Senate Committee on Finance on the state of the nation’s economy on Monday, Oyedele attributed the increase to naira depreciation and accounting adjustments rather than fresh borrowing by the Bola Tinubu administration.

Oyedele was responding to questions from the senator representing Kebbi Central, Adamu Aliero, over claims that the current administration had borrowed about N80 trillion in addition to the N75 trillion public debt it inherited.

According to the minister, comparing the country’s debt stock at the start of the administration with the current figure without accounting for exchange rate movements created a misleading impression.

“When this administration came into office, public debt was around N75 trillion. Many people simply compare that figure with today’s debt stock and conclude that this government has borrowed massively.

“However, it is important to note that, following the reforms and the depreciation of the naira, the foreign currency component of our public debt had to be revalued because Nigeria reports its debt in Naira. That accounting adjustment alone added more than N40 trillion to the public debt figure,” he said.

He added that the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances inherited from the previous administration also contributed significantly to the increase in the debt stock.

The minister further said that much of the government’s domestic borrowing was used to refinance existing debt rather than accumulate new obligations.

According to him, the Tinubu administration had adopted a prudent borrowing strategy focused on infrastructure and long-term economic growth.

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ADC Tells Tinubu to Resign As World Bank Reveals 139million Nigerians Live in Poverty

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3 days ago

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July 20, 2026

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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Saturday asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign rather than seek re-election, asserting that the World Bank’s recent report showing that 139 million Nigerians live below the poverty line is his scorecard.

The ADC, in a statement by its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the World Bank’s report, which also estimated that 17 million Nigerians are at risk of starvation, was “disturbing.”

“The evidence of 139 million people living in poverty and 17 million at risk of starvation is President Tinubu’s scorecard,” the party said. “On account of this catastrophic failure alone, President Tinubu should be contemplating resigning from office rather than seeking re-election.”

It decried that the “catastrophic” situation was occasioned by the Tinubu administration’s policies, which it said, “have favoured money over people and statistics over survival.”

The opposition party maintained that the economic growth Mr Tinubu’s government has repeatedly boasted of as a result of its economic reforms is “meaningless” if the livelihoods of people at the grassroots have yet to improve since 2023, when he assumed office.

“Instead of changing course, the government has stubbornly stuck with its ruinous economic policies and even continues to market recklessness as courage and wickedness as ‘necessary pains.’

“However, three years down the line, it is now clear that the chicken has come home to roost,” the ADC said.

According to the party, Nigeria desperately needs a leader who truly cares about citizens’ well-being and understands that economic reforms should improve citizens’ lives, not worsen their misery.

“A president whose government is not openly feasting while asking the people to continue fasting. A government that does not wallow in profligacy while handing the people palliatives,” it added.

The party condemned the ruling APC’s social intervention programmes aimed at cushioning the effects of its economic policies, adding, “Poverty cannot be defeated through palliatives.”

The ADC pledged that if elected in 2027, it would tackle the root causes of hunger by reducing energy costs, enhancing food production, and ensuring that farmers returned to their farmlands.

It also vowed to rehabilitate the 264 abandoned dams, improve access to fertilisers and quality seeds, and invest in storage facilities.

According to the party, transportation, waste, and food prices would be reduced while creating productive jobs.

“Hunger cannot be separated from poverty, education, or healthcare. That is why an ADC government will prioritise nutrition, primary healthcare, quality basic education, and skills development because no nation can build a prosperous economy while millions of its children are hungry, out of school, or cannot read simple texts,” the party said.

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