Regional
Focus turns to quake aid, as rescues continue
Emergency crews made a series of dramatic rescues in Turkey on Friday, pulling several people from the rubble four days after a catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed more than 23,000 in Turkey and Syria.
Temperatures remain below freezing across the large region, and many people have no place to shelter.
The Turkish government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but is still struggling to reach many people in need, Associated Press reported.
The United Nations has pledged a $25 million grant for people in earthquake-stricken areas of Syria. That’s in addition to a $25 million grant announced earlier this week for emergency operations in both Turkey and Syria.
U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said Friday the new grant from the U.N. emergency fund would help meet the urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of Syrians.
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said around 130 urban search-and-rescue teams from around the world are working in Turkey, and another 57 teams are on their way.
In response to Syrian critics who say the U.N. isn’t doing enough to help find victims, the spokesperson said the U.N. does not have its own search-and-rescue teams. Instead, it has a coordinating role through its disaster assessment teams.
A U.N. disaster assessment team is in Syria and deploying to government-controlled Aleppo, Homs and Latakia, Dujarric said. A second U.N. aid convoy entered Syria’s rebel-held enclave on Friday from Turkey, bringing shelter and non-food items.
Syria’s state news agency SANA says paramedics have succeeded in pulling a mother and her two adult children from under the rubble of a building in the coastal town of Jableh.
The three were immediately rushed away in ambulances late Friday, the fifth day after the earthquake that hit Turkey and northern Syria, killing more than 23,000 people.
Although experts say trapped people can live for a week or more, the chances of finding survivors are dimming. The rescues Friday in Syria and Turkey have provided fleeting moments of joy and relief amid the misery gripping the shattered region, where morgues and cemeteries are overwhelmed.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the powerful earthquake that ravaged parts of southeast Turkey as “one of the greatest disasters our nation has faced in its history.”
Touring the province of Adiyaman on Friday, Erdogan said search-and-rescue efforts would continue until no one is left trapped beneath the rubble.
He renewed a promise to rebuild the area within the year, and also said the government would subsidize rents for one year for people unwilling to stay in tents.
Regional
UAE President arrives in Pakistan on first official visit
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Islamabad on Friday on his first official visit to Pakistan, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo News reported.
He was received by Prime Minister Sharif and senior officials, with his aircraft escorted by Pakistan Air Force jets upon entering Pakistani airspace. The UAE president is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the visit aims to review bilateral relations and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Regional
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un signals continued missile development over next five years
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has signaled that the country will continue developing missiles over the next five years, following visits to major munitions enterprises in the last quarter of 2025, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim said the country’s missile and shell production sector is “of paramount importance in bolstering war deterrence,” according to KCNA.
The report said Kim ratified draft documents on the modernization of key munitions enterprises, which will be submitted to a major ruling party congress expected to be held in early 2026. The congress is set to outline North Korea’s development plan for the next five years.
KCNA’s report follows Thursday’s disclosure that Kim oversaw the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine alongside his daughter, widely seen as a potential successor, as well as the test-firing of long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Regional
Turkey detains 115 suspected Daesh members believed planning attacks
Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Daesh members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Istanbul Police obtained information that Daesh members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor’s office posted on X, Reuters reported.
The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.
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