Turkey-Syria earthquake live news: UN slammed for Assad aid veto

By Zaheena Rasheed and Virginia Pietromarchi

• Death toll from earthquakes goes past 37,000. Turkish authorities say 31,643 people have been killed in the country, while more than 5,800 people are dead in Syria, according to the UN and the Syrian government.
• Syrian President al-Assad agrees to let the UN deliver aid to rebel-held parts of northwest Syria through two more border crossings from Turkey.
• 7m ago (08:22 GMT)Israeli flights to Turkey to resume as ties improveIsraeli airlines will resume direct flights to Turkey as a mark of a continued improvement in bilateral relations, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has said.The first such flight will depart on Thursday, Cohen told reporters during what he described as solidarity visit to Turkey, which credited Israel for sending relief delegations after last week’s earthquake.
• 8m ago (08:20 GMT)Two dogs rescued from rubbleA parallel rescue effort is underway to save animals with two dogs emerging as survivors from rubble six days after the earthquakes.“One of the dogs clung to its owner’s corpse, and it was absolutely a miracle that it was rescued six days later,” said Csenay Tekinbas, a representative of the local HAYTAP animal welfare group.“I hope it holds on to life,” Tekinbas said of the dog that finally left its dead owner. Already, field hospitals have been set up in four cities to care for rescued pets.Survival is just the first step. Those hurrying to find and care for pets also struggle to give them proper care. “There is no food, bird food, chicken feed or anything in any pet shop at the moment. Because everywhere is either closed or collapsed,” Tekinbas said.Large bags of pet food are stacked at a relief station in one Antakya square, their crisp images of green lawns and happily panting pets contrasting with the grim surroundings. Nearby, a burly dog nibbled at a bowl.
• 45m ago (07:44 GMT)Turkey plans tax exemption for share buybacks: Turkish state mediaThe Turkish Treasury is planning to provide tax exemptions in order to increase share buybacks of companies listed on the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange, the state-run Anadolu agency reports.When the Borsa Istanbul reopens for trading after a shutdown of five days due to the devastating earthquakes, the authorities will announce the tax relief to encourage share buybacks of companies, Anadolu said, without citing a source.The decision was taken at a meeting of finance minister Nureddin Nebati with officials from the central bank, the capital markets board and the Borsa Istanbul.Anadolu said, according to the decision, the listed companies will be able to buy back shares without paying a retention tax of 15 percent. Bloomberg reported that the stock exchange is expected to reopen on Wednesday.
• 50m ago (07:40 GMT)Search operations in northwest Syria about to end: Rescue groupSearch operations for more survivors beneath the rubble are about to end in Syria’s opposition-controlled northwest, the head of the White Helmets rescue group says.“It’s about to come to a close. The indications we have are that there are not any (survivors) but we are trying to do our final checks and on all sites,” said Raed al-Saleh.The group also said they were also collecting the names of the missing people in the enclave.
• 1h ago (07:24 GMT)Teenager rescued from rubble in Turkey 182 hours after earthquake
• https://youtu.be/zQMM0fSapZE
• 1h ago (07:18 GMT)Where aid doesn’t reach — and where it doesOsmaniye, Turkey — More than 100 people are staying at a makeshift shelter in this city in southern Turkey after their houses were damaged or collapsed.They scavenged material to make the tents themselves, and are yet to receive any support from AFAD, the state emergency and disaster committee. They have only some food from the municipality. The adults declined to be photographed but allowed Al Jazeera to photograph their children.“We need heaters, we need food, we need support for our kids” Songül Bulşan, 44, said. His child has a cough. “We asked for tents – but we couldn’t even get a tent. It’s so cold – if we find tyres, we burn them. We burn whatever we can find to get warm. There is not much help in Osmaniye right now.”Meanwhile, a nearby camp of AFAD tents in a local school is full. People there said the authorities are doing the best they can in the situation. They are scared to enter their damaged properties amid strong aftershocks.One woman said she is sensitive to foreign journalists making “propaganda”.“You cannot blame anyone, the impact is so much. Even if Turkey gets totally flattened we will love our government”.Children in front of a tent in a makeshift camp in Osmaniye, Turkey, February 14, 2023 [Patrick Keddie/Al Jazeera]Patrick Keddie
• 1h ago (07:17 GMT)After the earthquakes, war-hit Syrians struggle to get aidAfter years of war, residents in northwest Syria affected by the massive earthquakes are grappling with their new and worsening reality.The earthquakes displaced many in Syria for a second time, forcing some to sleep under olive groves in winter conditions.One week after the devastating earthquakes, the United Nations has acknowledged an international failure to help Syrian quake victims.
• https://youtu.be/HxELum49hYY
• 1h ago
•  (07:12 GMT)
• Two people rescued in Turkey nearly 198 hours after quakes
• Chances of finding survivors more than one week after the deadly quakes are shrinking fast with the UN saying that the focus is switching from rescue operations to shelter, food and schooling.
• Yet, rare stories of survival are still emerging.
• A 17-year-old and an unidentified man were rescued from the rubble of an apartment block in Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province nearly 198 hours since the first earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, broadcaster CNN Turk said.
• It showed rescue workers carrying the two people, strapped onto stretchers, to waiting ambulances.
• 1h ago (06:58 GMT)Saudi aid plane lands in Syria’s government-held areas: state mediaA Saudi aid plane has landed in Syria’s Aleppo International Airport on Tuesday, Syrian state-run media says, in the first reported arrival of aid from the kingdom to government-held areas.SANA news agency said the vehicle carried 35 tons of aid to support earthquake victims.
• 1h ago (06:40 GMT)Syrian rescue group shocked at UN move to allow al-Assad say in aid deliveriesRaed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets rescue group which operates in opposition-controlled northwest Syria, has slammed the UN’s decision giving Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a say in sanctioning their aid deliveries through border crossings with Turkey, saying it gave him “free political gain”.“This is shocking and we are at loss at how the UN is behaving,” al-Saleh told Reuters, echoing sentiment among many Syrians in the opposition-held enclave.His comment came a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said al-Assad had agreed to allow UN aid deliveries to the area through two border crossings from Turkey for three months.
• 2h ago (06:26 GMT)Death toll crosses 37,000Here is a breakdown of the latest figures:
  • Turkey: At least 31,643 people have died in the country’s southeast, according to the Turkish disaster management authority, AFAD.
  • Rebel-held northwest Syria: More than 4,400 people have died in this region, according to the UN relief agency, OCHA.
  • Government-held Syria: At least 1,414 people have died in areas controlled by al-Assad’s forces, according to health officials.
• 2h ago (05:35 GMT)Quakes pile misery on Syria’s war-ravaged JandarisResidents of the northwest Syrian city of Jandaris, hit hard by earthquakes, have been scrambling to find and pick up remnants of their lives from between mounds of concrete and mangled metal.Some cried as they sat atop the rubble of their homes. Others armed only with shovels and picks tried to clear the rubble.Many of the people Al Jazeera spoke to had been displaced by war and were now grappling with a new sense of loss.“I have been an IDP for three years living in Jandaris. The earthquake hit us on Monday and we lost many people including my sister, my nephew and my brother-in-law. Right now we are retrieving whatever we can find from our belongings,” said Louai Fares al-Khalaf, 36, from Bsaqla district.Louai Fares al-Khalaf lost his sister, nephew and brother-in-law when the earthquake struck northwestern Syria on February 6 [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]See more from Ali Haj Suleiman’s dispatch from the rebel-held town of Jandaris in Aleppo province.
• 3h ago (04:45 GMT)More than 300 Russian soldiers assisting in Syria quake reliefMore than 300 Russian servicemen and 60 units of special military equipment are helping Syria in its response to last week’s earthquakes, Russia’s defence ministry said.“Servicemen of the Russian group of forces continue to carry out activities to clear rubble and eliminate the consequences of earthquakes,” the defence ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app, referring to Russian forces stationed in Syria.“More than 300 servicemen and 60 units of military and special equipment have been involved in the work.”Food packages and disinfectants as well as other essentials had also been delivered to humanitarian aid points in the northwestern city of Aleppo, the ministry added.
• 4h ago (04:10 GMT)‘Only bones left’: Turkey families look for remains as hopes fadeAntakya and Iskenderun, Turkey –  After the earthquakes struck Turkey last week, Erdem Avsaroglu’s sister, her husband, and their two children were trapped in the rubble of their collapsed apartment block in Antakya. Yet they were alive and could communicate with rescuers.That changed a day and a half later, after a fire broke out on Tuesday night deep inside the rubble, possibly from a generator. Avsaroglu, a professional firefighter, watched in frustration that night as the fire raged for hours.After the fire, no more sounds came from the wreckage. Heat still emanated from the building remnants on Sunday, almost five days later, as diggers worked to painstakingly sift through and clear the rubble.Read more here.Members of a French search and rescue team work at a damaged building in Hatay, Turkey, February 13, 2023 [Kemal Aslan/Reuters]Patrick Keddie
• 4h ago (03:40 GMT)Indian army treats quake survivors at field hospital in Turkey’s IskenderunIn the Turkish port city of Iskenderun, a field hospital set up by the Indian army is the only health facility serving a pre-earthquake population of 250,000 people.“Initially, we had trauma [injuries]. Loss of limbs, as well as chest and head trauma patients who had been buried in the rubble,” said Lieutenant Colonel Yaduvir Singh. “Now, the patient profile is changing. Gradually, more of the infectious diseases are coming.”Watch Al Jazeera’s dispatch from Iskenderun below.
• 5h ago
•  (03:24 GMT)
• Excavators start removing debris in Turkey’s Hatay
• Excavators have begun removing debris from an urban area in Turkey’s hard-hit Hatay province, drone footage showed, as the operation to find survivors started drawing to a close.
• Several large hydraulic excavators near the city of Antakya scraped at piles of masonry or knocked down the tops of teetering concrete buildings, footage showed on Monday, with clouds of dust rising from the rubble as slabs of concrete fell.
• Workers in high-visibility jackets dotted the desolate expanse of what was once a residential area while a few clusters of onlookers watched from a safe distance.
• 5h ago
•  (03:13 GMT)
• White Helmets declare seven days of mourning in Syria
• The opposition Syrian Civil Defence group, known as the White Helmets, are observing a seven-day period of mourning in Syria.
• “We will fly flags at half mast, starting today, Feb 13 to mourn the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria,” the group tweeted late on Monday.
• 5h ago
•  (03:13 GMT)
• Search for survivors enters final hours
• The desperate searches for earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria are entering their final hours, with experts saying the window for rescues has nearly closed given the length of time that has passed and the severity of the building collapses.
• Eduardo Reinoso Angulo, a professor at the Institute of Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told The Associated Press news agency that the likelihood of finding people alive was “very, very small now”.
• David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning and management at University College London, agreed, saying the odds were not very good to begin with. Many of the buildings were so poorly constructed that they collapsed into very small pieces, leaving very few spaces large enough for people to survive in, he told AP.
• “If a frame building of some kind goes over, generally speaking we do find open spaces in a heap of rubble where we can tunnel in,“ Alexander said. “Looking at some of these photographs from Turkey and from Syria, there just aren’t the spaces.”
• Winter conditions have also reduced the window for survival.
• In the cold, the body shivers to keep warm, but that burns a lot of calories, meaning that people also deprived of food will die more quickly, said Dr Stephanie Lareau, a professor of emergency medicine at Virginia Tech in the United States.
• 5h ago (03:13 GMT)UN chief welcomes al-Assad’s decision to open more border crossingsUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed al-Assad’s decision to open the two crossing points of Bab al-Salam and Al Ra’ee to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid from Turkey to rebel-held parts of northwest Syria.“As the toll of the 6 February earthquake continues to mount, delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, winter supplies and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is of the utmost urgency,” Guterres said in a statement.“Opening these crossing points — along with facilitating humanitarian access, accelerating visa approvals and easing travel between hubs — will allow more aid to go in, faster,” he added.Currently, the UN has only been allowed to deliver aid to the northwest Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab al-Hawa, at Syrian ally Russia’s insistence.
• SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES