Regional

Nine survivors pulled from Turkey’s rubble as earthquake death toll passes 40,000

Published

3 years ago

February 15, 2023

Nine survivors were rescued from the rubble in Turkey on Tuesday, more than a week after a massive earthquake struck, as the focus of the aid effort shifted to helping people now struggling without shelter or enough food in the bitter cold, Reuters reported.

The disaster, with a combined death toll in Turkey and neighbouring Syria exceeding 41,000, has ravaged cities in both countries, leaving many survivors homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has acknowledged problems in the initial response to the 7.8 magnitude quake that struck early on Feb. 6 but has said the situation is now under control.

“We are facing one of the greatest natural disasters not only in our country but also in the history of humanity,” Erdogan said in a televised speech in Ankara.

Those rescued on Tuesday included two brothers, aged 17 and 21, pulled from an apartment block in Kahramanmaras province, and a Syrian man and young woman in a leopard-print headscarf in Antakya rescued after over 200 hours in the rubble. There could be further people alive still to find, said one rescuer.

But U.N. authorities have said the rescue phase is coming to a close, with the focus turning to shelter, food and schooling, read the report.

“People are suffering a lot. We applied to receive a tent, aid, or something, but up to now we didn’t receive anything,” said Hassan Saimoua, a refugee staying with his family in a playground in Turkey’s southeastern city of Gaziantep.

Saimoua and other Syrians who had found refuge in Gaziantep from the war at home but were made homeless by the quake used plastic sheets, blankets and cardboard to erect makeshift tents in the playground.

“The needs are huge, increasing by the hour,” said Hans Henri P. Kluge, the World Health Organization’s director for Europe. “Some 26 million people across both countries need humanitarian assistance.”

“There are also growing concerns over emerging health issues linked to the cold weather, hygiene and sanitation, and the spread of infectious diseases – with vulnerable people especially at risk.”

‘DAD, AFTERSHOCK!’

At a Turkish field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun, Indian Army Major Beena Tiwari said patients had initially arrived with physical injuries but that was changing.

“Now more of the patients are coming with post-traumatic stress disorder, following all the shock that they’ve gone through during the earthquake,” she said.

Families in both Turkey and Syria said they and their children were dealing with the psychological aftermath of the quake, Reuters reported.

“Whenever he forgets, he hears a loud sound and then remembers again,” Hassan Moaz said of his 9-year-old in Aleppo, Syria. “When he’s sleeping at night and hears a sound, he wakes up and tells me: ‘Dad, aftershock!'”

A first convoy of U.N. aid entered rebel-held northwest Syria from Turkey via the newly-opened Bab al-Salam crossing.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Monday to allow U.N. aid to enter from Turkey via two more border crossings, marking a shift for Damascus which has long opposed cross-border aid deliveries to the rebel enclave.

Nearly 9 million people in Syria were affected by the earthquake, the United Nations said, as it launched a $400 million funding appeal.

SURVIVORS’ EXODUS

The search for survivors was about to end in the north west of Syria, said the head of the White Helmets main rescue group, Raed al Saleh.

Russia also said it was wrapping up its search and rescue work in Turkey and Syria and preparing to withdraw, Reuters reported.

The Turkish toll was 35,3418 killed, Erdogan said. More than 5,814 have died in Syria, according to a Reuters tally of reports from Syrian state media and a U.N. agency.

Survivors joined a mass exodus from earthquake-hit zones, leaving their homes and unsure if they can ever come back.

“It’s very hard … We will start from zero, without belongings, without a job,” said 22-year-old Hamza Bekry, a Syrian originally from Idlib who has lived in Antakya, in southern Turkey, for 12 years but prepared to follow his family to Isparta in southern Turkey.

More than 2.2 million people have left the worst-hit areas already, Erdogan said, and hundreds of thousands of buildings have become uninhabitable, read the report.

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Regional

Pakistan agrees to $4 billion arms deal with Libyan National Army

The package reportedly includes air, land and naval equipment and may involve the sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushak trainer aircraft to Libya.

Published

8 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Ariana News

Pakistan has reached a military equipment deal worth more than $4 billion with Libya’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), Pakistani officials said, despite a long-standing United Nations arms embargo on the country.

The agreement was finalised following a recent meeting in Benghazi between Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Saddam Khalifa Haftar, the LNA’s deputy commander-in-chief. Officials said the deal will be implemented over about two and a half years, Reuters reported.

According to officials familiar with the agreement, the package includes air, land and naval equipment and may involve the sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushak trainer aircraft. Estimates of the deal’s value range between $4 billion and $4.6 billion, making it one of Pakistan’s largest-ever defence exports.

The LNA confirmed entering a defence cooperation pact with Pakistan, covering weapons sales, training and military manufacturing, though it did not provide details. Haftar described the agreement as the start of a “new phase of strategic military cooperation.”

Libya has been under a UN arms embargo since 2011, requiring international approval for weapons transfers. It remains unclear whether exemptions have been sought. Pakistani officials said the deal does not violate UN restrictions, noting that several countries continue to engage militarily with Libyan factions.

Pakistan has been actively expanding its defence exports, promoting its domestically produced and China co-developed JF-17 fighter as a lower-cost alternative to Western aircraft.
The Libya agreement would mark a significant expansion of Pakistan’s defence footprint in North Africa amid growing international competition for influence in the country.

Regional

Imran Khan calls for street movement, urges public to reclaim rights

Khan has appealed for collective action, saying the movement was necessary to restore the rule of law, ensure justice, and end what he described as politically motivated and pre-determined court decisions.

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Ariana News

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on his supporters and the wider public to prepare for a nationwide street movement, urging citizens to rise in defense of their fundamental rights.

In a message issued from Adiala Jail, where he is currently detained, Khan appealed for collective action, saying the movement was necessary to restore the rule of law, ensure justice, and end what he described as politically motivated and pre-determined court decisions.

Khan said the recent verdict against him was part of sustained political pressure, alleging that the ruling was delivered without due legal process and without giving him a fair opportunity to present his defense. He warned that such practices have severely damaged the credibility of Pakistan’s judicial system.

The former prime minister also called on lawyers, constitutional experts, and members of the legal community to stand with the public and play an active role in safeguarding the Constitution and the rule of law. He said political stability and economic progress were impossible without an independent and impartial judiciary.

Addressing civil-military relations, Khan said his criticism was aimed at individuals rather than institutions. He described the military as belonging to the people of Pakistan, while alleging that actions taken against him in detention were carried out on the instructions of military authorities.

Khan drew comparisons with the 2007 political crisis, warning that continued erosion of the rule of law would have lasting consequences for the country. He praised judges who resist pressure as national heroes and criticized those who, he said, follow orders without question.

The statement comes amid heightened political and judicial tensions in Pakistan, with Khan’s trial and detention continuing to draw strong domestic and international attention.

Regional

Pakistan court hands Imran Khan, wife 17-year jail terms in another graft case

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2025

Ariana News

A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison each in a corruption case involving the under-priced purchase of luxury state gifts, the court and Khan’s lawyers said.

The latest conviction adds to a series of legal troubles for Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in a separate land graft case, Reuters reported.

He faces dozens of cases filed since he was ousted from office in 2022, ranging from corruption to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges. Khan has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which his party says are politically motivated.

“The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence and sentenced 17 years imprisonment to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with heavy fines,” Khan’s family lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer told Reuters.

They were handed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal breach of trust and a further seven years under anti-corruption laws, the special court of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency said in its verdict.

Khan’s jail term from Saturday’s ruling would begin after he has served the 14 years from the land graft case, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

The case relates to luxury watches gifted to Khan by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during official visits, which prosecutors said Khan and his wife then purchased from the state at a heavily discounted price in violation of Pakistan’s gift rules.

Tarrar said the purchase resulted in losses of several million rupees for the state.

Zulfi Bukhari, a spokesperson for Khan, said the verdict “ignores basic principles of justice” and turns the process into “a tool for selective prosecution.”

Khan has told his legal team to appeal the decision at the Islamabad High Court, Salman Safdar, another one of his lawyers, told reporters outside the jail where the trials were being held, Geo News reported.

ANOTHER STATE GIFTS CONVICTION

The case is separate from an earlier state gifts prosecution linked to Khan’s August 2023 arrest. Earlier sentences of 14 years for Khan and seven years for Bushra Bibi were later suspended on appeal. The couple denies wrongdoing.

The cases are commonly known in Pakistan as the Toshakhana cases, referring to the state repository where gifts received by public officials are deposited.

Following the verdict, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced plans for protests across Punjab on Sunday.

Khan’s party also says routine family and legal visits have been blocked in recent weeks despite court orders. Authorities deny any mistreatment and say he is receiving all facilities available to prisoners.

Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, remains one of Pakistan’s most polarising figures, with his legal battles unfolding as his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party remains sidelined from power.