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Huge fire at Iskenderun Port after deadly quakes
STORY: Turkey's maritime authority said on Monday (February 6) that the port had been damaged due to the major earthquakes. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake - Turkey's deadliest since 1999 - hit early on Monday morning. It was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake, magnitude 7.7, toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless in Turkish and Syrian cities.More than 1,200 buildings were destroyed by the earthquake in Hatay province alone, where Iskenderun is located.
NewsAFP NewsUNESCO sounds alarm over quake damage to Turkey, Syria heritage
The UN's cultural agency UNESCO said on Tuesday it was ready to provide assistance after two sites listed on its World Heritage list in Syria and Turkey sustained damage in the devastating earthquake.- 'Rapidly secure' sites - In Turkey, UNESCO said it was saddened by the "collapse of several buildings" at the World Heritage site of the Diyarbakir Fortress and the adjacent Hevsel Gardens.
NewsHuffPostRussia 'Unlikely' To Build Up Forces Needed To Affect Ukraine War Outcome Soon, UK Says
Vladimir Putin's troops are only gaining a few hundred meters of territory a week, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
NewsAFP NewsMany Turkey quake victims hungry as winter hampers aid efforts
In the Turkish city of Sanliurfa, survivors of the massive quake that has wreaked death, destruction and havoc on the region face an invisible but powerful threat -- hunger.Turkey's most powerful quake in almost 100 years had struck this remote border region with Syria in the early hours on Monday, killing more than 5,000 people in Turkey and neighbouring Syria.
NewsHuffPostThere Is Nowhere Safe When You’re Black
From the formation of America to the killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police, Black bodies have never been safe.
EntertainmentHuffPostYoung, Gifted And Black: Meet The Next Generation Of Black Hollywood
This class of actors age 26 and under is displaying and portraying the breadth, talent and experiences of Black youth on- and off-screen.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
'Contradictions' in China balloon incident: analyst
STORY: U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday (February 6) that it was always his view that the balloon needed to be shot down and brushed off a question about whether the incident would weaken U.S.-China relations.The appearance of the Chinese balloon caused a political uproar in the United States and prompted the top U.S. diplomat, Antony Blinken, to cancel a February 5-6 trip to Beijing that both countries hoped would steady their rocky relations.Thompson is a fellow at the university's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
NewsAFP NewsTurkey, Syria quake could affect up to 23 mn: WHO
Up to 23 million people could be affected by the massive earthquake that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria, the WHO warned on Tuesday, promising long-term assistance.She spoke as rescuers in Turkey and Syria braved freezing cold, aftershocks and collapsing buildings, as they dug for survivors buried by a string of earthquakes that killed more than 5,000 people.
EntertainmentAFP NewsVermeer shines at 'once in history' Amsterdam show
The Dutch master Johannes Vermeer himself never got the chance to see so many of his paintings in the same place.The magic of the master is still bewitching for staff at the Rijksmuseum.
NewsAFP NewsFuneral held for Pakistan ex-president Musharraf
Thousands of people attended funeral prayers on Tuesday for Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who became a key US ally during the "war on terror".Prayers were held at the grounds of a military compound in Karachi in a ceremony attended by around 10,000 people, mostly retired and serving military officers, an AFP reporter observed.
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Earthquake kills more than 5,000 in Turkey, Syria
Rescuers in Turkey and Syria braved frigid weather, aftershocks and collapsing buildings Tuesday, as they dug for survivors buried by an earthquake that killed more than 5,000 people.Disaster agencies said several thousand buildings were flattened in cities across a vast border region -- pouring misery on an area already plagued by war, insurgency, refugee crises and a recent cholera outbreak.Through the night, survivors used their bare hands to pick over the twisted ruins of multi-storey apartment blocks -- trying to save family, friends and anyone else sleeping inside when the first massive 7.8-magnitude quake struck early Monday."Where is my mum?" asked a distraught seven-year-old girl who was pulled -- her face, hair and pyjamas covered in dust -- from a collapsed building in Hatay, on the Turkish side of the border.The sense of disbelief was widespread, as residents struggled to comprehend the scale of the disaster.Some of the heaviest devastation occurred near the quake's epicentre between Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, a city of two million where entire blocks now lie in ruins under gathering snow.As residents tried to clear a mountain of masonry, plasterboard and furniture that had been a multi-story building, another collapsed nearby -- sending crowds screaming and clamouring for safety.With aftershocks rattling the area, many terrified and exhausted survivors spent the night outdoors, too afraid to go home.- 'Can't go home' -Some huddled under bus shelters, some wrapped themselves in plastic to repel the freezing rain and others burned debris to keep warm.Mustafa Koyuncu packed his wife and their five children into their parked car."We can't go home," the 55-year-old told AFP. "Everyone is afraid."Turkey put the latest death toll at 3,419 in that country alone -- bringing the confirmed tally in both Turkey and Syria to 5,021. There are fears that the toll will rise inexorably, with World Health Organization officials estimating up to 20,000 may have died."There is a family I know under the rubble," said 20-year-old student Omer El Cuneyd in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa."Until 11:00 am or noon, my friend was still answering the phone. But she no longer answers. She is down there."Overwhelmed medics struggled to treat the estimated 20,000 injured.The initial earthquake was so powerful it was felt as far away as Greenland and was followed by a series of aftershocks, including a 7.5-magnitude tremor that struck in the middle of search and rescue work on Monday. - All and any -The impact was devastating and sparked a global response, with dozens of nations from Ukraine to New Zealand vowing to send help.But a winter blizzard has covered major roads into the area in ice and snow and officials said three major airports have been rendered inoperable, complicating deliveries of vital aid. Much of the quake-hit area of northern Syria has already been decimated by years of war and aerial bombardment by Syrian and Russia forces that destroyed homes, hospitals and clinics.The conflict is already shaping the emergency response, with Syria's envoy to the United Nations, Bassam Sabbagh, seemingly ruling out reopening border crossings that would allow aid to reach areas controlled by rebel groups. The Syrian health ministry reported damage across the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russia is leasing a naval facility.Even before the tragedy, buildings in Aleppo -- Syria's pre-war commercial hub -- often collapsed due to the dilapidated infrastructure.Officials cut off natural gas and power supplies across the region as a precaution, and also closed schools for two weeks.The UN cultural agency UNESCO expressed fears over heavy damage in two cities on its heritage list -- Aleppo in Syria and Diyarbakir in Turkey.At a jail holding mostly Islamic State group members in northwestern Syria, prisoners mutinied after the quakes, with at least 20 escaping, a source at the facility told AFP.- Offers of help -The United States, the European Union and Russia all sent condolences and offers of help.President Joe Biden promised his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the United States will send "any and all" aid needed to help recover from a devastating earthquake.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to provide "the necessary assistance" to Turkey, whose combat drones are helping Kyiv fight the Russian invasion.Chinese state media said on Tuesday that Beijing was sending rescuers, medical teams and other supplies.Turkey is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones.The country's last 7.8-magnitude tremor was in 1939, when 33,000 died in the eastern Erzincan province.The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999, when more than 17,000 people died.Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, a megalopolis of 16 million people filled with rickety homes.burs-jmm/jm
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France hit by new strikes, protests over pension reform
Fresh strikes hit trains, schools and refineries in France on Tuesday over an unpopular pension reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, with nationwide protests planned for later in the day.A third day of union-backed demonstrations since January 19 is set to test momentum for the protest movement which has vowed to block Macron's bid to raise the retirement age."We are dealing with a president -- because he is at the heart of all this -- who, with his over-sized ego, wants to prove that he is capable of passing this reform," the head of the hardline CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told RTL radio.Macron put raising the retirement age and encouraging the French to work more at the heart of his re-election campaign last year, but polls estimate that two-thirds of people are against the changes.Lawmakers began debating the reform, which would see the age for a full pension raised from 62 to 64 and the mandatory number of years of work extended for a full pension, during a stormy session in parliament on Monday.Last week's demonstrations brought out 1.3 million people across the country while a first round on January 19 saw 1.1 million, according to the police.A security source told AFP that between 900,000 and 1.1 million people were expected on Tuesday.The crowds so far have been the largest anti-government protests since 2010 during pension reform by right-wing former president Nicolas Sarkozy.- 'Reform or bankruptcy' -Trains and the Paris metro again faced "severe disruptions", while around one in five flights at Orly airport south of the capital were expected to be cancelled.But the overall level of disruption, including in schools, was expected to be lower than on the previous two days.Around half of long-distance trains were running, the state railway company said."It's ok, it's manageable," Sylvain Magnan, a 23-year-old told AFP at the main station in the city of Marseille on the Mediterranean. "I just took a later train." Around one in two workers at oil refineries run by energy giant TotalEnergies had stopped work, the company said, but stocks at petrol stations are sufficiently high to handle any temporary pause in deliveries. Macron's proposals would bring France closer into line with its European neighbours, most of which have retirement ages of 65 or more.But the government has struggled to defend the overhaul as necessary or fair, given that the system is currently in balance and that low-skilled workers are said by many economists to bear the brunt of the changes."It's reform or bankruptcy," Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal said in parliament on Monday, leading to criticism from opponents that he was exaggerating.Forecasts from the independent Pensions Advisory Council show the pensions system in deficit on average over the next 25 years.- 'Unfair' -The changes would lead to annual savings of around 18 billion euros ($19.5 billion) by 2030 -- mostly from pushing people to work for longer and abolishing some special retirement schemes.France's spending on pensions is the third highest among industrialised countries relative to the size of its economy. The country is number one in terms of overall public spending, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.In parliament, the government will need to rely on the right-wing Republicans opposition party to pass the draft legislation, without having to resort to controversial executive powers that dispense with the need for a vote.Macron's allies are in a minority in the hung National Assembly after elections in June.Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Sunday offered a key concession, saying people who started work aged 20 or 21 would be allowed to leave work a year earlier.Republicans' head Eric Ciotti has promised his backing, in theory giving the government the numbers needed to pass the legislation. But the left-wing opposition group and the far-right nationalist and Eurosceptic party of Marine Le Pen are staunchly opposed and have filed thousands of amendments.Speaking in parliament on Monday, Le Pen said the government's reform "unfair" and "dictated by your desire to please the European Commission."burs-adp/ah/jm
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Rescuers in Turkey, Syria search for quake survivors
STORY: As dawn broke over the Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday....... a desperate search was on for survivors of a devastating earthquake.The magnitude 7.8 quake struck Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday........ causing entire apartment blocks to crumble to dust and crushing families to death as they slept.The death toll is in the thousands and is expected to rise further as hundreds remain trapped.In the southern Turkish province of Hatay,a man said he could hear the voice of a woman screaming for help under the rubble.The body of a man laid lifeless beside him.Nearby, another local resident, who gave his name as Deniz, was in despair as he says his family are trapped but nobody is coming to help.Rescue efforts have been hampered by freezing temperatures.North of Hatay, entire families gather around fires and wrap themselves in blankets to stay warm.Thousands of people have been left homeless or injured after the disaster.Drone footage of the region showed the sheer level of destruction caused.In Syria, a similar level of devastation has been compounded by more than 11 years of civil war.Even before the earthquake struck, more than 4 million people in the northwest of the country were living in camps and depended on cross-border aid.Help from abroad is slowly beginning to arrive,with teams from Serbia, Germany, Romania and Spain landing in southern Turkey on Tuesday.They brought with them rescue equipment including dogs to assist the search for survivors.More has been pledged.Monday's earthquake was the biggest recorded worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey...since a tremor in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021.
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Drone footage shows devastation from Turkey quake
STORY: Drone footage captured by Reuters gave a bird's-eye view of Hatay's landscape littered with mounds of rubble from collapsed buildings, while others stood precariously on an angle with long cracks and fissures slashing across their facades.Rescue teams worked early on Tuesday to reach people trapped in the rubble of buildings in southern Turkey as the death toll in the country from Monday's (February 6) earthquake continued to rise. The magnitude 7.8 quake hit Turkey and northwest Syria, toppling entire apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands more people injured or homeless.Nearly 8,000 people have been rescued from 4,758 buildings destroyed in the tremors a day earlier, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said in its latest statement.
- StyleReuters Videos
Hashtags and influencers are changing NYC Fashion Week
STORY: Hashtags and influencers are changing New York Fashion WeekBig brands and emerging labels will be looking to entice trend-followersand perhaps spark some viral moments like this one in Octoberwhen Parisian brand Coperni spray painted a dress onto model Bella Hadid [Frances Solá-Santiago / Fashion writer / Refinery29]“I think a lot of designers are really realizing that Gen Z and Tik Tok is very prone to, to weird items and that the weirder, the better. For example, Coperni put out a glass handbag that Doja Cat carried to the Grammys last year, and so and that went completely viral and glass handbag started trending worldwide. So, I think those kind of really weird, wacky moments that used to be reserved for couture or for more avant garde collections. I mean, this is nothing new, you know, a lot of designers have done a lot of theatrics over the decades, but I think we're starting to see it because of the power of TikTok and social media just explode worldwide. So, definitely designers are recognizing that there is importance and not just putting runways, you know, models down a runway, but really trying to do something bigger.”More than 70 brands will be showcasing their autumn/winter 2023 designs around New YorkSolá-Santiago said she expected to see a Y2K revival and the continued resurgence of night life attire as well as designers looking to social media trends for inspiration“There's a lot of niche Tik-Tok esthetics that are really emerging like #Cottagecore #Regencycore, #Balletcore. They all have kind of a core at the end, but basically it's just these micro trends because the trend cycle is really accelerating so fast because of Tik Tok hails, because of internet culture that it's basically, you know, packaged niche esthetics and looks that keep coming up month after month basically. So, we've been seeing a lot of those trends really make their way to the runways and inspiring designers”
NewsHuffPostTurkey-Syria Quake Death Toll Could Top 20,000, WHO Official Says
The official said injuries and fatalities linked to severe earthquakes often rise “significantly” in the week after the disaster.
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Brazil's samba schools rehearse for Rio carnival
STORY: Dancers from Salgueiro and Portela samba schools danced energetically to the beat of samba drummers with two weeks to go before the start of the carnival.Rehearsals and tests are carried out each year so the opening night runs like clockwork.Rio's Carnival 2023 will run from February 17 to February 25.
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Marvel superheroes return to Chinese cinemas after nearly four years
Marvel's superheroes began their return to China's massive movie market after an apparent ban of nearly four years on Tuesday, with fans streaming into cinemas to watch "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever".The Disney-owned studio's hugely popular franchises have been absent from Chinese screens since 2019, with no explanation. Marvel blockbusters have raked in billions globally, and their return to one of the world's biggest movie markets means hundreds of millions of dollars in potential earnings for Disney -- the first Black Panther film alone took in $105 million at Chinese cinemas."I'm super excited," said a woman named Chen, beaming as she lined up to enter a packed theatre in Shanghai for the midnight premiere of "Wakanda Forever"."I've had to use streaming sites to watch the last couple of movies... But I hope this means I'll watch Marvel movies more often in theatres now."The end of the apparent block on Marvel films has coincided with China's loosening of the strict zero-Covid policies that disrupted its entertainment industry for years. China's communist rulers have also recently eased a tech crackdown, including on the lucrative gaming sector."Because of Covid, it's already been a long time since we've been to the cinema," said hospital worker Kun, 25, who came to the Shanghai theatre to watch "Wakanda Forever" with his friends."We still have to work tomorrow but it's a rare opportunity so we came here."For one mother-and-son duo at the Shanghai cinema, the return of Marvel revived a family tradition."He's always been a Marvel fan -- during the Avengers series, we would always watch the midnight screening," said Lin Fan, with her visibly excited 13-year-old son Jiang Xiaoyi. Next up for Chinese Marvel fans is "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", set for release on February 17.- Lucrative market -"Spider-Man: Far from Home" was the last Marvel film released in China, in July 2019.The China Film Administration, affiliated with the Communist Party's propaganda department, has not given a reason for the absence of Marvel films from cinemas.During that period, Disney declined requests by censors to remove references to same-sex relationships in Marvel films, including 2021's "Eternals" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" a year later.However, the global media giant has also faced accusations of bending to Beijing's will.Its remake of "Mulan" faced boycott calls after it emerged that some of the scenes were filmed in China's Xinjiang, where widespread rights abuses against the region's Muslim population have been widely documented.And two episodes of the popular animated show "The Simpsons" have been unavailable on the company's Disney+ streaming service in Hong Kong -- one that references the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, and another mentioning "forced labour camps" in China.Regulators and Disney have not publicly commented on the apparent restriction of these episodes.Disney is not the only company accused of bowing to censorship requirements in China, a multi-billion-dollar media market.A 2020 report by the anti-censorship group Pen America said Hollywood studios changed scripts, deleted scenes and altered other content to avoid offending Chinese authorities.The report said they had to completely avoid sensitive issues including Hong Kong, Xinjiang, the portrayal of LGBTQ characters and Taiwan -- a self-ruled island China considers its territory.vl/reb/qan/kma
NewsAFP NewsDisney+ in Hong Kong drops 'Simpsons' episode with 'forced labour' mention
An episode of "The Simpsons" that refers to "forced labour camps" in China is nowhere to be found on the Disney+ streaming service in Hong Kong amid growing censorship concerns in the city.It is the second time in three years that the streaming service's Hong Kong version has dropped a Simpsons episode that satirised China.
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Yemeni women find a lifeline in selling incense
STORY: Location: Sanaa, Yemen This Yemeni woman makes incense in her kitchen to provide for her family To make the incense or ‘Bakhoor’, Wafa al-Surabi mixes rock sugar and rosewater before adding other ingredients to the syrup mixture and pouring the blend into bowls [Wafa al-Surabi, Incense maker] “The essential ingredients in making incense are rock sugar and rose water. That's my preference. Other ingredients are ground oud and oud chips. Of course, I make sure that I only use the excellent-quality raw material because I make high-quality incense and perfumes.” As a widow and mother of six, al-Surabi is one of many women struggling to make ends meet in Yemen Date: February 1, 2023 as food, water, and fuel are unaffordable for many due to inflation Al-Surabi also trains other women to help them join the market [Salah al-Zuraiqi, Owner of fragrance ingredients shop] “Most of my customers are women. It is not for personal use, but to make a living. As a result of the country's situation and the blockade, they are resorting to this type of work to make a living.”
PoliticsAFP NewsFrench, German ministers to tackle green subsidies with US
The French and German economy ministers, Bruno Le Maire and Robert Habeck, kick off high-stakes talks with US officials Tuesday to underscore European concerns over President Joe Biden's ambitious climate action plan.For now, negotiations are proceeding under the European Commission's leadership, and Habeck believes that he and Le Maire can contribute to finding new solutions.
PoliticsAFP NewsOptimistic Biden to try to lift Americans with State of the Union speech
An optimistic President Joe Biden will seek to lift an often unenthusiastic nation Tuesday with a State of the Union address showcasing his efforts to rebuild the US economy -- and setting the stage for the 80-year-old's bid for re-election in 2024.This inspired Biden to boast: "I'm happy to report that the state of the union and the state of our economy is strong."
NewsAFP NewsFormer Pakistan military ruler Musharraf's funeral to be held
Pakistan's exiled former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who became a key US ally during the "war on terror", was due to be buried on Tuesday, according to officials.The plane carrying his body landed late Monday in Karachi, aviation sources told AFP. While there has been no official announcement about his funeral, military officials who asked not to be named said Musharraf was expected to be buried on Tuesday in the mega port city where his family settled after leaving Old Delhi following the
NewsHuffPostPink Floyd Feud Spills Out Into Public As Roger Waters, David Gilmour Go At it
The two former bandmates fire off new attacks on social media.
NewsAFP NewsNorth Korea pledges 'expanded, intensified' military drills
North Korea's top army officials have said they will expand and intensify military drills to ensure their readiness for war, state media reported Tuesday, ahead of a massive parade.The agenda was topped by "the issue of constantly expanding and intensifying the operation and combat drills of the (Korean People's Army) ... strictly perfecting the preparedness for war", the official Korean Central News Agency said.
