Turkey’s Erdogan faces tough election amid quake, inflation
May 5, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Early in his political career, a devastating earthquake and economic troubles helped propel Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power in Turkey.
Aid officials say Syria conditions dire, months after quake
May 3, 2023 GMTThree months after a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, living conditions remain dire in Syria's rebel-held northwest, aid officials who visited the region said Wednesday.
The Feb. 6, earthquake killed more than 50,000 people, including over 6,000 in Syria, according to the United Nations, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Jordan FM: Regional talks with Syria step toward solution
May 1, 2023 GMTAMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan's top diplomat said on Monday that regional talks with Syria are a step in the right direction to end a decade of the war-torn country’s political isolation and bring Damascus back into the Arab fold.
Syria, Tunisia move to restore their diplomatic relations
April 18, 2023 GMTTUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian President Kais Saied met Tuesday with Syria's chief diplomat and said his country wants to boost bilateral cooperation and preserve “historical ties of brotherhood” with Damascus, the official TAP news agency reported.
Donors pledge $7.5 billion for Turkey, Syria after quake
March 20, 2023 GMTBRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and international donors on Monday pledged seven billion euros ($7.5 billion) to help Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated parts of the neighboring countries last month.
Qatar: 4,000 World Cup huts sent to quake-hit Turkey, Syria
March 20, 2023 GMTQatar has sent 4,000 cabins built to house fans at last year's World Cup to earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria, authorities said Monday.
The Associated Press watched as the latest batch of pre-fabricated cabins was loaded onto a cargo ship in the Persian Gulf.
Flood deaths in Turkey’s earthquake-stricken area rise to 16
March 16, 2023 GMTRescue teams on Thursday retrieved two more bodies after floods struck two Turkish provinces that were already devastated by last month’s powerful earthquake, raising the death toll in the new disaster to 16.
Floods kill 14 in Turkish earthquake-battered provinces
March 15, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Floods caused by torrential rains hit two Turkish provinces that were devastated by last month’s catastrophic earthquake, killing at least 14 people and increasing the misery for thousands who were left homeless, officials said Wednesday.
Analysis: Syria rebuilding hopes dim as war enters year 13
March 15, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The recent deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria which caused billions of dollars in damage has boosted the prospects of Syria's once widely shunned president return to the Arab fold, but appears unlikely to jump-start large-scale reconstruction in the war-ravaged country.
UN inquiry commission: Quake aid was slow to reach Syria
March 13, 2023 GMTGENEVA (AP) — The international community and the Syrian government did not act quickly enough last month to help people in need in the rebel-held northwest after a deadly earthquake hit Turkey and conflict-ravaged Syria, a U.N.-backed commission said Monday.
UN envoy calls for renewed Syrian political talks post-quake
March 8, 2023 GMTA top United Nations official called Wednesday for renewed attempts to reach a political solution to the country's nearly 12-year-old civil conflict in the wake of last month's devastating earthquake.
A month after quake, survivors need shelter, sanitation
March 6, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — One month after a powerful quake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, hundreds of thousands of people still need adequate shelter and sanitation, and an appeal for $1 billion to assist survivors is only 10% funded, hampering efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis, a United Nations official said Monday.
World Bank: Quake caused damage worth $5.1 billion in Syria
March 3, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — The World Bank said Friday that Syria sustained an estimated $5.1 billion in damages in last month's massive earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern parts of the war-torn country.
UN scrambles to reunite families after Turkey-Syria quake
March 1, 2023 GMTALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Reuniting children with their missing family has become a top priority in the aftermath of last month's massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, the head of the U.N. children's agency said Wednesday.
Turkey intends to hold elections on May 14 despite quake
March 1, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated on Wednesday that his government still intends to hold elections a month earlier than scheduled despite an earthquake last month that devastated parts of southern Turkey.
UN says at least 50,000 killed in Turkey and Syria quakes
February 28, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria have killed at least 50,000 people with many more injured, tens of thousands still missing and hundreds of thousands homeless, the U.N.
New quake hits Turkey, toppling more buildings: 1 killed
February 27, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday, three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region, causing some already damaged buildings to collapse and killing at least one person, authorities said.
Schools reopen as Syrians live with quake’s devastation
February 25, 2023 GMTIDLIB, Syria (AP) — Schools resumed classes in Syria’s rebel-held northwest Saturday after closing for nearly three weeks following an earthquake that devastated the region, local officials said, even as many schoolchildren suffer from shock.
Turkey launches investigation into 612 people after quake
February 25, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Investigations have been launched against more than 600 people in relation to buildings that collapsed in Turkey’s catastrophic earthquake earlier this month, a government official said Saturday.
Turkey starts work to build homes in 2 earthquake-hit towns
February 24, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities on Friday said preliminary work has started to build housing for people left homeless by the massive earthquake that hit parts of the country and neighboring Syria, killing tens of thousands.
AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
February 24, 2023 GMTFEB. 17-23, 2023
A week marked by U.S. President Joe Biden's surprise visit to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also saw election preparations in Nigeria, where voters will be choosing a new president and National Assembly.
Turkey cuts bank rate even as it grapples with earthquake
February 23, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank on Thursday resumed its policy of lowering a key interest rate even as the country grapples with high inflation and the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.
Death toll from Turkey, Syria earthquake tops 47,000
February 23, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 22, 2023 GMTSAMANDAG, Turkey (AP) — Demolition teams are clearing mounds of rubble from the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, as emergency responders scramble to shelter survivors — who were traumatized anew by Monday's magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Turkey's already badly battered province of Hatay.
Hatayspor sporting director found dead in earthquake ruins
February 21, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — The body of Hatayspor sporting director Taner Savut has been recovered, the Turkish soccer club said Tuesday, more than two weeks after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey and neighboring Syria.
New quake brings fresh losses to residents of Turkey, Syria
February 21, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Survivors of the earthquake that jolted Turkey and Syria 15 days ago, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands of others homeless, dealt with more trauma and loss Tuesday after another deadly quake and aftershocks rocked the region.
Ruins of Turkish city of Antakya tell story of a rich past
February 21, 2023 GMTANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — For nearly two weeks, Mehmet Ismet has lived in the ruins of Antakya’s most beloved historic mosque, a landmark in a now-devastated city that was famed for thousands of years as a meeting place of civilizations and revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews.
New quake hits battered Turkey, Syria; 3 dead, hundreds hurt
February 21, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A new 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Monday killed three people and injured more than 200 others in parts of Turkey laid waste two weeks ago by a massive quake that killed tens of thousands, authorities said.
Newborn saved from earthquake in Syria adopted by her aunt
February 20, 2023 GMTJINDERIS, Syria (AP) — A baby girl who was born under the rubble of her family’s earthquake-shattered home has left the hospital and gone to her new home, where she was with her paternal aunt’s family Monday.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 20, 2023 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — There are reports of more collapsed buildings Turkey in Syria after another 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey’s Hatay province which was devastated by a massive tremor two week ago.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 19, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — As the search and rescue effort for buried survivors of the Feb. 6 earthquake started to wind down in Turkey, demolition teams have moved in to clear the mounds of rubble left by the worst disaster in modern Turkish history.
Turkish teen filmed ‘last moments’ from quake-hit apartment
February 18, 2023 GMTADIYAMAN, Turkey (AP) — A 17-year-old high school student has captured Turkish hearts after he filmed a farewell message to his loved ones as he was trapped under the rubble of his home during last week’s earthquake.
Turkey: Couple saved 296 hours after quake, but children die
February 18, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — A couple and their son were pulled alive from under a collapsed apartment building more than 12 days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake ravaged parts of Turkey and Syria, although the child later died at a hospital, Turkish state media reported Saturday.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 18, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Search and rescue teams amazingly found more survivors in the ruins of the Feb. 6 earthquake that devastated swaths of Turkey and Syria even as the death toll from worst disaster in modern Turkish history increased.
Ghana soccer player Christian Atsu dies in Turkey earthquake
February 18, 2023 GMTChristian Atsu, the Ghana international forward who played for Premier League clubs Chelsea and Newcastle, has died in the earthquake in Turkey. He was 31.
Search teams recovered Atsu's body in the ruins of a luxury 12-story building where he had been living in the city of Antakya, Hatay province, his manager said Saturday.
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria quake
February 17, 2023 GMTKAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey (AP) — Rescuers have pulled more survivors from the debris of the Feb.
Turkish quake victims sleep in trains, tents, greenhouses
February 17, 2023 GMTSAMANDAG, Turkey (AP) — Nearly two weeks after a massive earthquake leveled tens of thousands of buildings and displaced millions of people in Turkey and Syria, many are still struggling to fulfill their basic needs and some are bedding down in tents, factories, train cars and greenhouses.
AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
February 17, 2023 GMTFEB. 10-16, 2023
A week in which earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria mourned their loved ones, more funerals were held for Ukrainian soldiers and the Alpine World Ski championships continued in the French alps.
UN appeals for $1 billion to help Turkey quake survivors
February 16, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations launched a $1 billion appeal Thursday to help 5.2 million survivors of the most devastating earthquake in Turkey’s modern history, two days after starting a $397 million appeal to help nearly 5 million Syrians across the border in the rebel-held northwest.
Key developments in the aftermath of Turkey, Syria quakes
February 16, 2023 GMTANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — The number of people killed in the Feb. 6 earthquakes that devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria continues to rise. As chances of finding more survivors dwindled, some foreign search teams that rushed in to help have started leaving.
Red Cross chief warns of health crisis in quake-hit Syria
February 16, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Syria could face dangerous outbreaks of disease in the wake of last week's devastating earthquake if hundreds of thousands of displaced people do not get permanent housing soon, the Red Cross' global chief said Thursday, as Syrians struggle to receive humanitarian aid amid the mounting crisis.
Turkey quake revives debate over nuclear plant being built
February 16, 2023 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A devastating earthquake that toppled buildings across parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria has revived a longstanding debate locally and in neighboring Cyprus about a large nuclear power station being built on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coastline.
Key developments in the aftermath of Turkey, Syria quakes
February 15, 2023 GMTANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — The earthquakes that killed more than 39,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria produced more grieving and suffering along with extraordinary rescues and appeals for aid.
Jordanian FM visits Syria, promises more earthquake aid
February 15, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Jordan's foreign minister Tuesday met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, vowing to continue delivering earthquake aid and work to find a political solution to Syria's 12-year conflict, Syrian state media reported.
UN appeals for $397 million to help Syrian quake survivors
February 14, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief launched a $397 million appeal Tuesday to help nearly 5 million survivors of last week’s devastating earthquake in rebel-held northwest Syria who have received very little assistance because of deep divisions exacerbated by the country’s 12-year war.
Rising toll makes quake deadliest in Turkey’s modern history
February 14, 2023 GMTANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Tuesday that more than 35,000 people have died in Turkey as a result of last week’s earthquake, making it the deadliest such disaster since the country’s founding 100 years ago.
Gunmen storm hospital of newborn saved from quake in Syria
February 14, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen stormed a Syrian hospital that is caring for a baby girl who was born under the rubble of her family’s earthquake-shattered home, and the attackers beat the facility's director, a hospital official said Tuesday.
For Syrian women, quake adds disaster on top of war’s pain
February 14, 2023 GMTATAREB, Syria (AP) — Draped in a heavy wool shawl against the cold, Ayesha dragged her feet, her toddler granddaughter trailing behind her, as they made the 15-minute walk from her tent to the nearest bathroom in a nearby building, the only place they have to wash.
Amid quake’s devastation, parallel rescue bid targets pets
February 14, 2023 GMTANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — Six days after the earthquake that flattened parts of Turkey and Syria, two survivors emerged from the rubble. They were dogs, the focus of a parallel rescue effort underway.
UN says Syria agrees to open 2 new crossings for quake aid
February 14, 2023 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria’s president agreed to open two new crossing points from Turkey to the country’s rebel-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment to help millions of earthquake victims, the United Nations announced Monday.
Search for earthquake survivors enters final hours in Turkey
February 14, 2023 GMTADIYAMAN, Turkey (AP) — The desperate search for earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria entered its final hours Monday as rescuers using sniffer dogs and thermal cameras surveyed pulverized apartment blocks for any sign of life a week after the disaster.
Newborn saved from rubble in quake-hit Syria in good health
February 13, 2023 GMTBEIRUT (AP) — A baby girl born under the rubble of her family's home in northern Syria after last week’s devastating earthquake was in good health Monday and being breast-fed by the wife of the director of the hospital where she is being cared for, her doctor said.
After quake, war-hit Syrians struggle to get aid, rebuild
February 13, 2023 GMTATAREB, Syria (AP) — After years of war, residents of areas in northwest Syria struck by a massive earthquake are grappling with their new and worsening reality.
Turkey probes contractors as earthquake deaths pass 33,000
February 12, 2023 GMTGermany to ease visa conditions for some earthquake victims
February 12, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The German government wants to temporarily ease visa restrictions for survivors of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria who have close family ties to Germany if they are facing homelessness or were injured.
Survivors still being found as quake death toll tops 28,000
February 11, 2023 GMTLive Updates I Focus turns to quake aid, as rescues continue
February 11, 2023 GMTEmergency 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.
Rescuers rejoice as more quake survivors emerge from rubble
February 11, 2023 GMTISKENDERUN, Turkey (AP) — Six relatives huddled in a small air pocket, day after day. A desperate teenager grew so thirsty that he drank his own urine. Two frightened sisters were comforted by a pop song as they waited for rescuers to free them.