| Daily News BriefFebruary 7, 2023 |
| Top of the Agenda WHO Predicts Death Toll in Syria, Turkey Quake Could Rise by ‘Thousands’ Syrian and Turkish officials said at least five thousand people were killed (NYT) by yesterday’s consecutive earthquakes at the Syria-Turkey border and their aftershocks, making the quakes one of the deadliest natural disasters to occur this century. As rescue efforts continue, an official from the Eastern Mediterranean office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the death toll could rise by thousands and that there is a “substantial” risk of another aftershock. Aid teams from more than sixty-five countries have arrived in southern Turkey to support relief efforts, Hürriyet reported, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared a three-month state of emergency in ten provinces. Meanwhile, the Syrian government is unable to receive direct aid from many countries because of sanctions on Bashar al-Assad’s government. Additionally, a border crossing used to deliver humanitarian aid to rebel-held northern Syria was damaged in the disaster. |




