Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Newborn Baby Pulled From Collapsed Building

 

A newborn girl has been saved by rescuers from beneath the rubble of a building in northwest Syria that was destroyed by an earthquake on Monday.

Her mother went into labour soon after the disaster and gave birth before she died, a relative said. Her father, four siblings and an aunt were also killed.

Dramatic footage showed a man carrying the baby, covered in dust, after she was pulled from debris in Jindayris.
A doctor at a hospital in nearby Afrin said she was now in a stable condition.
The building in which her family lived was one of about 50 reportedly destroyed by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Jindayris, an opposition-held town in Idlib province that is close to the Turkish border.

The baby’s uncle, Khalil al-Suwadi, said relatives had rushed to the scene when they learned of the collapse.
“We heard a voice while we were digging,” he told AFP news agency on Tuesday. “We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord [intact], so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital.”

Paediatrician Hani Maarouf said the baby had arrived at his hospital in a bad condition, with “several bruises and lacerations over all her body”.
“She also arrived with hypothermia because of the harsh cold. We had to warm her up and administer calcium,” he added.

She was photographed lying in an incubator and connected to a drip, as a joint funeral was held for her mother Afraa, father Abdullah and her four siblings.
They are among 1,800 people known to have been killed by the earthquake in Syria, according to the Damascus-based government and the White Helmets, whose volunteer first responders operate in opposition-held areas.

Another 4,500 people have been killed in Turkey, where the epicentre was.
The White Helmets have so far reported 1,020 deaths, but they have warned that figure is expected to “rise dramatically”.
“Time is running out. Hundreds still trapped under the rubble. Every second could mean saving a life,” they tweeted on Tuesday.

“We appeal to all humanitarian organisations and international bodies to provide material support and assistance to organisations responding to this disaster.”
The UN has vowed to use “any and all means” possible to get aid to people in the north-west, but it has said that deliveries have been halted temporarily due to damaged roads and other logistical issues.
It has also urged governments not to politicise aid delivery when so many are in desperate need.

A UN Security Council agreement authorises the use of just one border crossing for deliveries from Turkey into the north-west. All other deliveries are meant to go via Damascus, although in the past the government has facilitated only a small amount of “cross-line” aid.
Even before the earthquake struck, 4.1 million people in the north-west – most of them women and children – were relying on humanitarian aid to survive.

Source: BBC

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Death Toll From Turkey-Syria Earthquakes Surpasses 16,000

 The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday is now at least 16,035, according to authorities.

In Syria, the total number of fatalities is at least 3,162, including 1,900 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the “White Helmets” civil defense group. Some 1,262 deaths have been recorded in government-controlled parts of the country, according to Syrian state media.

In Turkey, the toll has risen to at least 12,873, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said on Thursday.

Aid agencies have warned the toll is likely to rise significantly higher, especially in Syria, as search and rescue teams sift through the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings amid freezing weather conditions, faced with the risk of aftershocks.
Tens of thousands of people have been reported injured across the region, according to officials.

Source: CNN

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Cabinet Council analyses Tripartite Free Trade Zone Agreement

 

Luanda- The Cabinet Council analysed Thursday the draft project resolution that approves Angola’s ratification of the Agreement that creates the Tripartite Free Trade Zone COMESA-EAC-SADC.

The document analysed in the first Extraordinary Session led by President João Lourenço will be submitted to the National Assembly.

 

The agreement aims to establish a legal framework for trade in goods and services between member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in accordance with the laws and regulations in force in each country.

 

It also aims to promote the economic and social development of the region, creation of a large common market with free circulation of goods and services and the promotion of intra-regional trade.

 

Among the objectives of the agreement are also the strengthening of regional and continental integration processes and the building of a strong Tripartite Free Trade Area for the benefit of the peoples of the region.

 The agreement also provides for the progressive elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods, the liberalisation of trade in services, cooperation in customs matters and the implementation of trade facilitation measures.

 

The COMESA-EAC-SADC tripartite mechanism was established during the first Heads of State and Government Summit held in Kampala, Uganda October 22, 2008.

Government to open process for marketing ANGOSAT-2 services

 Luanda - The Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Mass Media (MINTTICS) will release on Friday the process for commercialisation of ANGOSAT-2 satellite services.

The Angolan communication ANGOSAT-2 satellite operating in geostationary orbit will provide services in the C, KU and KA bands.

 

The satellite, built by the Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev (ISS Reshetnev) company, is made up of two modules, namely the Express 1000 platform and the payload, the latter being the responsibility of Airbus Defence and Space.

 

With an expected service life of 15 years, ANGOSAT-2 launched in orbit on October 12, 2022, is one of the projects of the National Space Programme Management Office (GGPEN), an agency assigned to the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication.

 

According to the press release to which ANGOP had access, during the event the topics “Technical Performance and Characteristics of ANGOSAT-2” and “Commercial Plan, Solutions and Portfolio”, will be presented.

 

In the note, MINTTICS says that the Angolan satellite will allow national telecommunications operators and the government to benefit from bandwidth capacities, with costs based on national currency, helping to better manage investments and adjust them with the reality of the last user.

 

The document adds that with ANGOSAT-2, the government also wants to promote and boost business in regions which are completely unconnected, thus contributing considerably to reducing the digital exclusion in Angola and the African continent.

 

The satellite is covering the entire African continent, a significant part of Southern Europe and almost total coverage of the Southern African region, in order to make it a source of income.

Polish businesspeople focus on technology sector in Angola

 Luanda - Polish businesspeople plan to invest in the Angolan market in technological solutions in the field of electronics, agriculture, automation, maritime navigation and border security.

The intention was announced Thursday by Zdzislaw Sokal, head of a Polish business delegation, on a visit to Angola.

The also CEO of Investment and Trade Agency of Poland, Sokal, said his country has enormous potential in the field of cyber-security and crucial infrastructure.

Addressing Angola-Poland Business Forum opening ceremony, Zdzislaw Sokal noted that Poland has digitized services in all domains (public and private services), with stress to health, transport, as well as traffic and mobility.

Likewise, Poland is willing to invest in the field of agri-food and furniture industries, industrial automation equipment, medication tools, as well as construction and agricultural equipment.

He also announced possessing solutions in the sectors of green energy, circular economy, waste management, photovoltaic energies and smart cities.

According to him, annually, Poland produces 11,000 graduates in the areas of technology, and has 131 companies in the field of telecommunications and tele-technologies.

While the representative of the Development Bank of Poland, Jarostaw Trwonga, without disclosing the amount, pledged his institution’s availability to finance projects in Angola, as part of the AIPEX business and projects forum.

In turn, Private Investment and Exports Agency (AIPEX), Lello Francisco, who was addressing the 14 representatives of the Polish business community, announced the opportunities and excellent conditions of the business environment in Angola.

The Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Angolan Communities, Domingos Vieira Lopes, invited Polish businesspeope to attend the privatization process of public companies, underway in the country.

Poland's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Pawel Jablonski, said that it is important to change the balance of trade between the two countries, which is centered on ornamental stones and wood.

The annual volume of business between the two countries stands at 30 million dollars.

Political, diplomatic and cooperation relations between Angola and Poland date back to 1976.

International reserves reach USD14.1bln in January

 Luanda - International Reserves stood at USD 14.1 billion in January this year, accounting for an annual 5.5% growth compared to the same period last year.

With six months of coverage for imports of goods and services, reserves decreased, in monthly terms, of approximately 2.4%, which corresponds to USD 347.2 million, compared to December 2022, states the weekly report from Banco de Fomento de Angola, reached ANGOP.

In its website, Angola Reserve Bank (BNA) put at USD 14 billion the daily evolution of international reserves map available.

BNA added that the figure remained until the first week of February, despite a slight reduction reported, compared to the last day of January.

Managed by the Central Bank, the international reserves are assets in foreign currencies that basically serve as “insurance” for the country's economy to face its obligations abroad and external shocks, such as a stronger devaluation of the local currency.

Surveys show that the largest reserves in the world are from China (USD 3.2 trillion), Saudi Arabia (USD 2.2 trillion) and Japan (USD 1.2 trillion).

CAR President arrives in Angola

 Luanda – The Head of State of the Central African Republic (CAR) Faustin-Archange Touadéra arrived Thursday in Luanda to participate in a meeting with his counterparts from the Republics of Angola and Chad.

At the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, the President of CAR was received by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for Administration, Finance and Heritage, Maria Auxiliadora Fragoso Pascoal Ramiro, and distinguished individuals.

At today's meeting, the three statesmen are going to analyze the political and security situation prevailing in Chad and the Central African Republic, among other specific issues of common interest.

The meeting, to be chaired by the Angolan President, João Lourenço, will take place at the Presidential Palace, in Luanda.

President João Lourenço analyses CAR situation with counterparts

 Luanda – Angolan Head of State João Lourenço addressed Thursday in Luanda the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR).

João Lourenço, who is also president of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), met with his counterparts from CAR and Chad, respectively Faustin Touadéra and Mahamat Idriss Déby.

The two-hour meeting, held at the invitation of the host, is part of regular consultations on the peace and security situation in CAR, a country located in the Great Lakes region.

At the end of the meeting, the Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, said that the consultations took place in a “fraternal environment”, adding that the three statesmen decided to continue with  fraternity existing among the countries of the region.

This organisation, created in 2006, includes Angola, Burundi, CAR, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Chad.

CAR situation

Since the coup d'état perpetrated by the rebel group "Seleka", which led to the overthrow of François Bozizė, former Central African President, the country has been plunged into a situation of growing insecurity.

Ethnic violence and religious clashes force the residents to leave their home villages.

Data released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) put at 60, 000 the number of citizens who fled the violence since December 2020.

The current Head of State, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, won the presidential elections on 27 December last, with 53.16 percent of the votes, against 21.69 percent garnered by his main opponent, former Prime Minister Anicet Georges Dologuéle.

Tunisian President Fires His Foreign Minister

 Tunisian President Kais Saied has fired his Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi.

The president appointed Nabil Ammar, Tunisia’s ambassador to the European Union, to replace Mr Jerandi. He did not give a reason for Mr Jerandi’s dismissal.

A career diplomat, Mr Jerandi became foreign minister under Mr Saied in September 2020.
He becomes the fourth minister to lose his position this year, with the trade, agriculture and education ministers having already been replaced.
President Saied carried out a series of measures in 2021 to enhance the power of the presidency at the expense of parliament and the judiciary.

Opposition parties boycotted the 2022 parliamentary elections, accusing the president of staging a coup after shutting parliament in 2021 and giving himself almost unlimited executive powers.
Just about 11% of Tunisians turned out for a second round of parliamentary voting last month.
There has been a deepening political and economic crisis, amid protests by Tunisians increasingly frustrated with the state of the economy and against Mr Saied’s seizure of near total power.

Source: BBC

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LeBron James passes Kareem Abdul Jabbar to become NBA’s all-time scoring leader

 LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time points record holder a few hours ago, after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 38,387, 20 seasons on from his debut.

The points came on Tuesday night for the LA Lakers at a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 130-133 defeat where he put up 38.

Based on his points per game average of 29.8 this season, James was projected to break Jabbar’s record on Thurday when the Milwaukee Bucks come visiting the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles

But with after scoring 26 and 27 points in each of the previous games, and the record in site, James poured in 38 points – two more than he needed to break the record.

James scored 20 points in the first half with a full showcase of the offensive talent that still shines blindingly after two decades in the NBA, and he tore through the record in a 16-point third quarter capped by a pretty jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter.

He pushed his career total to 38,388 points and broke the record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades.

The game was stopped for around 10 minutes as members of James’ family, including his mother, his wife and their three children, took the floor for a ceremony recognizing the moment.

The 38-year-old had been nursing a sore ankle in the run-up to the game, an injury that he manages day to day, which makes the feat all the more impressive. True to his word, James played through the pain and pulled off a historic feat at the Crypto.com Arena.

Surrounded by cameras, James addressed the crowd in the late third quarter as he surpassed the record, emotionally stating: “I thank you guys so much for allowing me to be a part of something I’ve always dreamed about. I would never in a million years dreamt this to be even better than what it is tonight.”

 

James then greeted Kareem who had been watching from courtside. The pair had verbally sparred in the past on issues not related to sport, but they seemed to put their differences aside as Kareem presented LeBron with the basketball, as a sign of passing on the torch and thus extending his legacy:

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Russia’s Lavrov vows aid for W Africa fight against armed groups

 Moscow is seeking to expand its influence in Africa as a diplomatic tug-of-war between global powers continues on the continent.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pledged assistance to West African states battling armed groups, as Moscow seeks to expand its influence on a continent in a diplomatic tug-of-war between global powers.

Lavrov on Tuesday hailed the alliance that has been forged between Moscow and Bamako in fighting armed groups on his first visit to Mali, which Russia’s top diplomat described as “historic”.

“The fight against terrorism is, of course, an issue for the other countries in the region,” Lavrov told a news conference in the capital, Bamako.

“We are going to provide our assistance to them to overcome these difficulties. This concerns Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad and the Sahel region generally and even the coastal states on the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.

Mali had long relied on former colonial power France for military assistance in fighting the armed uprising. But Paris pulled troops out of the West African nation last year as tensions with the military government reached a breaking point.

Since seizing power in 2020, Mali’s military government has brought in Russian planes, helicopters and paramilitaries to strengthen its fight against armed rebels.

France says the Russian operatives are Wagner mercenaries – a private military group that Moscow has deployed in Syria and Ukraine, experts say.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the United Nations have implicated Wagner and the Malian army in an alleged massacre at Moura in central Mali last March in which several hundred people were rounded up and killed.

The landlocked state is the epicentre of a conflict that began in northern Mali in 2012 and spread to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.

Thousands of civilians have died across the three countries, and millions have fled their homes.

Discontent within the military in Mali and Burkina Faso has spurred two coups in both countries.

Sporadic cross-border attacks have also taken place in Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast in recent years, spurring fears that the rebels are seeking to push southwards to the Gulf of Guinea.

After France wound down its long-running military presence in Mali, similar tensions have broken out with the Burkina Faso military government.

The French military contingent there, a unit of special forces numbering about 400 men, is to be withdrawn this month.

Lavrov promised Mali further military support and declared Russia’s wider backing for Africa in the face of what he described as the West’s “neocolonial approach”.

“We are going to provide our support for resolving problems on the African continent,” he said.

“We always start from the basis that African problems must be resolved by African solutions.”

While Moscow woos African leaders – some of whom have refused to publicly condemn the war in Ukraine – the United States has launched a diplomatic offensive on the continent, which is also being courted by China.

Before leaving Mali, Lavrov also met Colonel Assimi Goita, head of the government, who is due to attend a Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg in July.

At a joint news conference with his Malian counterpart, Abdoulaye Diop, Lavrov told journalists that, thanks to Russian support, “Mali has been able to carry out effective operations” against the armed fighters.

Diop also hailed Moscow’s provision of cereals, fertiliser, and fuel to the poor, landlocked nation. “Mali stands in solidarity with Russia on the issue of sanctions” it faces due to its invasion of Ukraine, he said.

The two men defended their alliance and dismissed accusations of human rights violations by foreign fighters in the country.

“We are not going to continue to justify our choice of partners … Russia is here at Mali’s request, and Russia responds effectively to Mali’s needs by strengthening its defence capabilities,” said Diop.

Less than 48 hours before Lavrov’s visit, the military government announced the expulsion of the UN’s human rights envoy to the country.

“Human rights are being instrumentalised, politicised for hidden agendas,” said Diop.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Death Toll From Turkey-Syria Earthquakes Surpasses 16,000

 The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday is now at least 16,035, according to authorities.

In Syria, the total number of fatalities is at least 3,162, including 1,900 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the “White Helmets” civil defense group. Some 1,262 deaths have been recorded in government-controlled parts of the country, according to Syrian state media.

In Turkey, the toll has risen to at least 12,873, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said on Thursday.

Aid agencies have warned the toll is likely to rise significantly higher, especially in Syria, as search and rescue teams sift through the rubble of thousands of collapsed buildings amid freezing weather conditions, faced with the risk of aftershocks.
Tens of thousands of people have been reported injured across the region, according to officials.

Source: CNN

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Turkiye Earthquake: We Still Can’t Find Christian Atsu in Any Hospital – FIFA Agent ‘Cries’

 

Christian Atsu’s whereabout still seem to be shrouded in uncertainty.

Christian Atsu and other members of the Turkish football club Hatayspor were caught up in an earthquake in Turkey.
The 7.8 magnitude tremor struck the region and northern Syria early on Monday morning, before a subsequent 7.5 magnitude quake.
It was a sigh of relief when news broke on Tuesday that Atsu has been rescued from under the rubble.

According to the Vice President of Hatayspor, Atsu is alive and had been taken to a hospital in Turkey.
However, according to Morat, a Fifa Agent, the Vice President later indicated that “he heard he was at the hospital but he didn’t see him so he can’t give 100 percent confirmation about it”.

Search For Atsu
Morat further stated that “We started to search through hospitals everywhere but we still couldn’t get any information so we are still waiting . . . there’s no confirmation; so it’s not clear yet . . . I checked all hospitals, I gave his name, passport ID, and everything, but there’s still no news about him. We are pushing to get the correct news about him”.
According to him, all the other team members affected by the disaster “are safe except Christian Atsu and the Sports Director”.

“Let’s wait for official information,” he added.

Source: Peacefmonline

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Australia strips Chinese-made security cameras from defence sites

 Australian Defence Minister said Chinese-made cameras will be removed to ensure the security of ministry buildings.

Australia’s Department of Defence will strip its buildings of Chinese-made security cameras to ensure they are “completely secure”, the government says.

The decision to remove the camera equipment follows similar decisions in the United States and the United Kingdom, which have also taken measures to ban Chinese-made cameras at sensitive sites fearing Chinese companies could be forced to share intelligence with Beijing’s security services.

“It’s a significant thing that’s been brought to our attention and we’re going to fix it,” Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said of the decision on Thursday.

“It’s important that we go through this exercise and make sure that our facilities are completely secure,” Marles told national broadcaster ABC.

An audit found that at least 913 Chinese-made cameras had been installed across more than 250 Australian government buildings, including the departments of defence, foreign affairs, finance, and attorney general, according to official figures.

The cameras and security equipment made by Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology Co were found in almost every department except the Agriculture Department and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Hikvision and Dahua, which are partly state-owned Chinese firms, have been blacklisted in the US for allegedly helping the Chinese government carry out a “campaign of repression” against the Uighur minority in the Xinjiang region through “high-technology surveillance”.

In the UK, a group of 67 parliamentarians and members of the House of Lords called for the government to ban Hikvision and Dahua in July last year, following reports their equipment had been used to track Uighurs.

Hikvision said it was “categorically false” to paint the company as “a threat to national security”.

“No respected technical institution or assessment has come to this conclusion,” the company told AFP news agency. “Our products are compliant with all applicable Australian laws and regulations and are subject to strict security requirements.”

The Chinese embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was not concerned about how China might react to the removal of cameras.

“We act in accordance with Australia’s national interest. We do so transparently and that’s what we will continue to do,” Albanese told reporters.

Australia, in 2018, was one of the first countries in the world to block Chinese telco Huawei from its 5G mobile network. Similar Huawei bans are now in place in the US, the UK and Canada, which along with New Zealand and Australia form the secretive Five Eyes spying alliance.

Opposition Liberal Party’s cybersecurity spokesman James Paterson said he had prompted the audit by asking questions over six months after the Department of Home Affairs was unable to say how many of the Chinese-made cameras, access control systems and intercoms, were installed in Australian government buildings.

“We urgently need a plan from the … government to rip every one of these devices out of Australian government departments and agencies,” Paterson said.

Both companies were subject to China’s National Intelligence Law which requires them to cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies, he said.

“We would have no way of knowing if the sensitive information, images and audio collected by these devices are secretly being sent back to China against the interests of Australian citizens,” Paterson said.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Dismiss naira lawsuit Nigeria Attorney General says

 Nigeria’s Attorney General Abubakar Malami has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by three state governors which has halted the introduction of new naira notes.

The attorney general’s office argues that the Supreme Court lacks the jurisdiction to rule on issues the suit raises.

With the crucial forthcoming elections, Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner of Nigeria’s electoral body Inec, told the BBC this will not affect the general elections and “the dates fixed by the commission for the conduct of the general election are fixed and firm.”

Last November, Nigeria’s Central Bank redesigned the 200, 500, and 1,000 naira banknotes aimed at curbing soaring inflation, cash hoarding and counterfeiting.

Source: BBC

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