Day: February 17, 2023

A large fire engulfed agricultural lands in al-Wardiya area, south of Hilla, on Friday evening.Civil Defense Media Director, Aqil Abdullah, said, "The civil defense teams were able, this evening, Friday, to put out a large fire that broke out in agricultural lands in al-Wardiya area outside the south of Hilla, without injuries, indicating that the police opened an investigation to find out the causes of the fire."Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Customs Authority seized an Iraqi traveler with (fake) Iraqi currency in his possession at Shalamcheh border crossing.The Customs stated in a statement: "The Directorate of the Shalamcheh Border Crossing has arrested an Iraqi traveler and seized a forged Iraqi currency amounting to (1,250,000) in his possession."It added: "The seizure process was carried out in the arrivals hall by employees of the customs police station and employees of the authority."Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed tens of thousands across Turkey's southeast has reignited fears of an even more catastrophic death toll if a long-feared one hits Istanbul.Seismologists warn that a massive earthquake is likely to strike Turkey's biggest city — officially home to 16 million people but estimated to hold up to 20 million — by 2030.The city lies on the northern edge of one of Turkey's main fault lines and is densely packed.A 7.6 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter on the city's eastern outskirts killed more than 17,000 people in 1999. The number of Istanbulites has roughly doubled since then.Independent urban scholar Murat Guney said carnage can be avoided if the government has the political will to relocate people from shoddy buildings filling the city's shanty tow...

Rescue teams pulled three people alive from under collapsed buildings in Turkey on Friday, 11 days after earthquakes that have killed more than 45,000, left millions homeless and sparked a huge relief effort.Mosques around the world performed absentee funeral prayers for the dead in Turkey and Syria, many of whom could not receive full burial rites given the immense damage from the disaster.While many international rescue teams have left the vast quake zone, survivors were still emerging from under a multitude of flattened homes, defying all the odds.Hakan Yasinoglu, in his 40s, was rescued in the southern province of Hatay, 278 hours after the first quake, of 7.8 magnitude, struck in the dead of night on February 6, the Istanbul Fire Brigade said.'A true miracle'Earlier, Osman Halebiye, 1...