Rescue forces race against time
Death toll in earthquakes in Turkey and Syria increase to at least 7,100The window to find survivors is start narrowing. Rescue workers are digging through rubble in icy conditions. The World Health Organization says the expected death toll will be increase by thousands.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declare a state of emergency for three months in 10 affected provinces of Turkey. “We are facing one of the greatest disasters ever to hit our region,” he said in a nationally televised address. This is live updatesAnd photos and videos of consequences.
Personal account: Garo Paylan, a member of the Turkish parliament from Diyarbakir, one of the hardest hit cities, lost three loved ones in the earthquake. “People are trapped under the rubble,” he told “The Daily.” “We received information from them, but today, we no longer receive information from them.”
Get aid for Syria: The only border crossing with Turkey approved by the United Nations to transport international aid into Syria closed due to earthquake damage. The quake zone also includes government and opposition-controlled lands, complicating relief efforts. Sanctions against the government of President Bashar al-Assad mean the country cannot receive direct aid from many countries.
Turkish politics: The state of emergency could include curfews and travel bans. Some fear that Erdogan can use power to crack down on dissent as he fights for his political future just months before an election in May.
tectonic plate: The major earthquake and aftershock are among the more than 70 major earthquakes that have hit the area since 1900. Turkey’s two main fault zones making it one of the most seismically active regions in the world.
Chinese censors are restricting coverage and managing online chats to ensure that the balloon doesn’t become a domestic or international headache. Still, Jokes about suspected spy balls has been making rounds on social media.
Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said the government’s apparent acceptance of humorous reactions could be an attempt to allow an outlet for a sense of nationalism. means.
“Perhaps it was an attempt to placate sentiment in the country,” he said, “but also try not to let things get out of hand.” State media largely avoided covering the story, with the exception of the State Department.
United States: At least 11 states are considering the bill that will bar Chinese citizens and companies buy land. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has announced that he will sign a broad moratorium on any sale of real estate or land in his state by Chinese entities.
Can Russia sustain an attack?
Russia is rely on a large army Ukrainian officials say they have made slow progress in their efforts to capture more of eastern Ukraine. But it remains unclear whether Moscow can mobilize enough forces to sustain a protracted offensive and change the course of the war.
Russia is seeking to capture Ukrainian positions in the east by pouring more conscripts into the battle, especially around Bakhmut. That has allowed it to reap more benefits, according to US officials, but at the expense of hundreds of soldiers killed and wounded every day.
Ukraine’s military intelligence has warned Russia plans to mobilize half a million more troops to sustain the operation, but Western officials question whether President Vladimir Putin can mobilize hundreds of thousands more. without causing more backlash in water.
Military analysts say the Kremlin is having a hard time training and arming the troops it has. British intelligence said that Russia is aiming to capture the rest of the Donetsk region but is “only gaining a few hundred meters of territory per week” because of a lack of ammunition and mobile units.
Energy war: Russia has Western superiority curb on oil revenues by redirecting exports to Asia. But there are signs that new sanctions are starting to have an impact on energy income.
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David Solomon, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, has set records for years as an amateur DJ, a hobby that has taken him from tiki bars in the Bahamas to clubs in midtown Manhattan.
But Some see potential conflicts of interest — like when a Goldman client helped Solomon get the rights to remix a Whitney Houston hit.
Biden prepares
President Biden will deliver one of the most important speeches of his presidency in the coming hours. Preparations for the State of the Union began several weeks ago to help him navigate his stuttering.
The president met with a group of close aides at the White House and read the manuscripts aloud from top to bottom. He practices in front of the typewriter, making sure the language is easy to understand and clear. Biden noted to a former aide that one of the hardest things for a stutterer is to speak while standing.
He also uses a system of captioning his speech with lines and dashes, to remind himself to breathe or to help him through a difficult transition. Looks like he’s marking a track.
The keynote will begin at 9pm Eastern Time (which is 10am in Hong Kong). This is a preview.
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