Turkey's president accepts quake response problems as death toll surpasses 15,000

News Network
February 9, 2023

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Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended his government's response to two catastrophic earthquakes, saying it was impossible to prepare for the scale of the disaster.

At least 15,000 people are confirmed dead in Turkey and northern Syria.

Critics claimed the emergency services' response was too slow and the government was poorly prepared.

Mr Erdogan accepted the government had encountered some problems, but said the situation was now "under control".

The leader of Turkey's main opposition party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu disagreed.

"If there is one person responsible for this, it is Erdogan," he said.

The president rejected the accusation and said unity was required in the aftermath of the disaster, "In a period like this, I cannot stomach people conducting negative campaigns for political interest," he told reporters in Hatay.

Thousands of survivors have been spending a third night in freezing conditions, with hope fading for many trapped under the rubble.

A World Health Organization official has warned there could be significant injuries caused by freezing temperatures among survivors of the quakes.

"We've got a lot of people who have survived now out in the open, in worsening and horrific conditions," said WHO earthquake response incident manager Robert Holden on Wednesday.

"We are in real danger of seeing a secondary disaster which may cause harm to more people than the initial disaster if we don't move with the same pace and intensity as we are doing on the search and rescue."

In nearby Syria, relief efforts have been complicated by years of conflict that has destroyed the nation's infrastructure.

The Bab al-Hawa crossing between Turkey and Syria has been closed since the earthquake as the roads were badly damaged.

While a senior UN official said the road may soon be accessible, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed the country was working to open two more border gates to help get aid into the country.

"There are some difficulties in terms of Turkey's and the international community's aid [reaching Syria]. For this reason, efforts are being made to open two more border gates," he said.

The EU has confirmed it will send €3.5m (£3.1m) in aid to Syria following a government request for assistance, but said the aid must be delivered to both government- and rebel-controlled areas.

More than 1,500 people have died in Idlib province alone and an adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said sanctions were stopping Syria from receiving the aid it needed.

"We don't have enough bulldozers, we do not have enough cranes, we do not have enough oil due to European and American sanctions," Bouthaina Shabban said.

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News Network
May 6,2024

Bengaluru, May 6: Arrested JD-S MLA H.D. Revanna, the son of former PM H.D. Deve Gowda, on Sunday said that there is no evidence against him in the sex video scandal kidnapping case and that it was a "conspiracy" against him.

Talking to the media, while being taken for a medical test before being produced in front of a court here, Revanna stated that a kidnapping case had been lodged against him though he does not have 'one black mark' against him in his entire career of 40 years.

"Without evidence, I have been targeted... All allegations against me are false. My arrest has been made out of ill intention," he claimed.

"The case was lodged on April 28, then, they did not have any evidence. Later, the fake evidence was created on May 2 and I was fixed," he alleged.

Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara stated on Sunday that a Blue Corner notice has already been issued against Revanna's son and MP Prajwal Revanna, the prime accused in the sex video scandal, as he is believed to be abroad.

"The Interpol will communicate to all nations and he will be located. Once he is located, the SIT will take a call on how he should be secured and brought back to India," he added.

Revanna was arrested on Saturday on charges of kidnapping one of the victims of the sex video scandal.

Parameshwara further maintained that the arrest of Revanna has saddened JD-S leaders and if action was not taken, the SIT would be blamed too.

Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge refused to comment on the alleged sex video scandal involving Prajwal Revanna.

About Revanna's arrest, he said that the SIT would initiate action as per the law. "Those indulging in such acts must be taught a lesson and justice should be given to the families of victims. No one can escape the law. No one should use this case politically," he stated.

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News Network
May 4,2024

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Canadian Police said they have arrested three Indians they suspect were part of the alleged hit squad that had killed Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader involved with the Khalistan movement, which calls for an independent Sikh state.

Nijjar's killing had become the epicentre of a diplomatic row between India and Canada last year after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the role of "Indian agents" in the murder. India had rejected the charge as "absurd" and "motivated".

The three arrested Indians - Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, Karanpreet Singh, 28 - were living as non-permanent residents in Alberta for three to five years, said Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, who leads the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. The police have also released their photos.

They have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, showed court documents.

Police said that none of the suspects were known to them earlier and they were investigating their possible ties to the Indian government.

The murder remains "very much under active investigation," Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Assistant Commissioner David Teboul told a press conference on Friday.

"There are separate and distinct investigations ongoing into these matters, certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today, and these efforts include investigating connections to the government of India," CTV News quoted him as saying.

Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was wanted in India on various terror charges, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey on June 18, 2023. Trudeau's charge against India sparked a massive row later that year with both countries expelling diplomats of the other country.

A fresh row erupted earlier this week after separatist slogans on 'Khalistan' were raised at an event addressed by Trudeau, prompting New Delhi to summon their Deputy High Commissioner and lodge a strong protest.

On the sidelines of the event, Trudeau told reporters that Nijjar's killing had created a "problem" that he could not have ignored.

India rejected his comment and said it once again showed Canada provides political space given to separatism, extremism, and violence. "This not only impacts India-Canada relations but also encourages a climate of violence and criminality in Canada to the detriment of its own citizens," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

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News Network
May 6,2024

Mangaluru, May 6: A five-year-old girl from Arendur village of Siddapura taluk of Uttara Kannada district died of Kyasanur Forest Disease (monkey fever) recently.

As her health deteriorated, she was admitted to the KMC Hospital in Mangaluru, where she failed to respond to the treatment and died on Friday night.

It is learned that the KFD is slowly spreading to the newer areas of coastal and malnad areas of Karnataka

According to officials, KFD spreads due to bites of ticks that generally survive on monkeys. This tick bites humans which causes the infection. Humans also contract the disease by coming in contact with cattle bitten by ticks.

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