Turkish authorities have arrested 180 people amid a continuing inquiry into building collapses during the February 6 earthquake which killed more than 50,000 people.
The majority of those arrested are contractors and building managers, according to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, who was speaking after a meeting with Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu in the quake-hit city of Diyarbakir.
Ankara opened an investigation after more than 160,000 buildings collapsed across the south of the country, leaving millions homeless in freezing temperatures.
The earthquake killed more than 44,000 people in Turkey and almost 6,000 in neighbouring Syria, where survivors are still struggling to meet basic needs.
Victims are still being extracted from the rubble and the death toll continues to rise.
Almost 80 building contractors are among those in custody, the minister said, as well as 13 people who had made alterations to buildings.
No debris is being removed without searching for evidence, Mr Bozdag said.
He said more than 600 people have been investigated over building collapses following the quake, which was followed by more than 9,000 aftershocks.
A mayor in Gaziantep province was arrested in connection with the investigation, state media reported.
The government will introduce legislation to impose “severe penalties” on people seeking to profit from the earthquake, including renting to displaced families, Mr Bozdag added.
Speaking shortly after the earthquake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to completely rebuild quake-hit areas within a year, a mammoth task with some cities almost completely reduced to rubble.
On Saturday, the World Food Programme chief said the situation in the city of Antakya was “apocalyptic”.
“Entire neighbourhoods have been flattened; homes destroyed, schools and shops closed; lives torn apart. The scale of devastation here is truly incomprehensible,” said David Beasley.
Mr Erdogan has defended the government's response to the disaster after survivors complained of a slow response by authorities and a complete lack of assistance in some areas.
The government will begin the construction of 200,000 homes in the next two to three months for earthquake survivors, according to the Ministry for Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.
None of the buildings will be more than four storeys tall and their distance from fault lines will be calculated, according to the rebuilding plan announced by the ministry.
Authorities will also look to reduce density in previously built-up areas.
Nearly two million people left homeless by the disaster are being housed in tents, container homes and other facilities in the region and in other parts of Turkey, the national disaster management authority said.
More than 335,000 tents have been erected in the quake zone and container home settlements are being established at 130 locations, while nearly 530,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas, it added.
But near Antakya, Syrian Omran Alswed and his family are still living with makeshift shelter.
“Our houses are heavily damaged so we have taken shelter here, in a garden in our neighbourhood,” Mr Alswed said.
“The biggest issue is tents. It has been 19 days and we are yet to receive a single tent. We also applied to move into a tent camp but they said the ones nearby are full.”
Millions of Syrians fled across the border to Turkey after civil war broke out in 2011.
In Syria's north-west region, the only remaining rebel-controlled area, families who lost their homes after the earthquake were forced to move out of temporary shelters in schools as classes resumed on Saturday.
Prices of tents in the region have been shooting up amid shortages and now sell for about $200 — four times more than before the earthquake. A solid tent with metal stands can cost up to $400, in a region where more than 90 per cent of the population live in poverty and rely on aid for food and medicine.
With reporting from agencies
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Western Clubs Champions League:
- Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
- Friday, Sep 15 – Kandy v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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More on Palestine-Israeli relations
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7
World Sevens Series Pools
A – Fiji, France, Argentina, Japan
B – United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland
C – New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Wales
D – South Africa, England, Spain, Kenya
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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THE SPECS
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
