The United Nations on Thursday sent its first aid convoy into opposition-controlled Syria since a powerful earthquake hit the region three days ago, a natural disaster that has killed more than 20,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless across Syria and neighboring Turkey.
The official death toll in Turkey reached 17,674, officials said, making it the country’s deadliest quake since 1939. Truck shortages, blocked roads and other logistical hurdles are impeding efforts by the 100,000-plus rescue personnel working in Turkey to unearth victims, bury the dead and provide aid to desperate survivors. Subfreezing temperatures and widespread shortages of two essential utilities — heating and electricity — will not make their work any easier.
Across the border in northwestern Syria, where millions displaced by the country’s civil war had been enduring a brutal winter without heating when the earthquake hit, power outages are creating fuel shortages in hospitals, according to the United Nations. Snowfall has further impeded rescue efforts there, and temperatures were forecast to dip below freezing later on Thursday after rising during the day.
Source: BBC
In other news – Mark Pilgrim asks fans not to share fake news about his condition
Reports of radio presenter Mark Pilgrim’s ‘death’ spread like wildfire late on Thursday evening, but have subsequently been confirmed as fake news.
As extensively reported by The South African website, Pilgrim has been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, which he revealed in June 2022 had spread to his femur, the base of his spine and lymph nodes. Learn more
