6 killed as new quake hits Turkey and Syria

ANTAKYA, Turkey — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has rocked Turkey's southern province of Hatay and northern Syria, killing six people and sparking fresh panic after a massive February 6 tremor left over 45,000 dead in both countries.

The quake hit the Turkish town of Defne on Monday at 8:04 pm (1704 GMT) and was strongly felt by AFP teams in the nearby city of Antakya. It was also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus.

More than 300 people were injured in Turkey and at least 150 were hurt in northwestern Syria. 

The overall death toll from the earthquakes is now 42,310 in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria, according to authorities.

Turkey's disaster management agency said on Twitter that a 5.8-magnitude quake followed three minutes later, with its epicentre in the Samandag district of Hatay province.

The agency recorded two more tremors with magnitudes of 5.2 around 20 minutes after the first on Monday.

"The road moved like waves. The building moved back and forth, the cars moved left to right. It knocked me off my feet," said Mehmet Irmak, who works at a notary's office in Antakya.

"Hatay is no longer a safe place. We could hear a lot of buildings collapsing," said Irmak, who had been sleeping in his car for two weeks after the first quake.

"We will wait for a new day, but I don't know what I'm going to do," he said.

Among the dead were three people who became trapped after returning to their damaged flats to retrieve belongings, said AFAD, warning people against going back to homes at risk.

"It's no longer a habitable place, that's the reality," Kemal Oflazoglu, aged in his fifties, said. "We have a few things to sort out and we're leaving the town."

On Tuesday, the organisation said it was sending 6,000 extra tents to the region to shelter those in need.

'My heart is broken' 

Images from DHA news agency showed a hospital in Antakya being evacuated, while broadcaster NTV reported that a hospital was evacuated in the city of Iskenderun.

DHA said patients in an intensive care unit were taken by ambulance to field hospitals to continue their treatment.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said rescue workers were trying to find people trapped under rubble.

An AFP journalist reported scenes of panic in Antakya, with the new tremors raising clouds of dust in the devastated city.

The walls of badly damaged buildings crumbled while several people, apparently injured, called for help.

"It's more than fear, my heart is broken. The fear comes and goes, but the pain, the sadness remain," Ayse Altindag, 42, told AFP.

"Because we've lost everything. Not just the house, our things... it's our childhood that's gone, our friends, the school, the street... even the tree where you would pick up fruit has disappeared."

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said five hospitals it supports in northwest Syria received several people who had sustained minor injuries, some when parts of damaged buildings fell on them.

In government-held areas of Syria, Aleppo hospitals also received panic-stricken residents, while six people were injured by falling rubble, the state news agency SANA said.

Al Razi hospital in Aleppo received 47 cases, state media reported.

"We rushed out, we don't know how we left. I was afraid that we would meet the same fate as those who died under the rubble," said Khadija Al Khalaf, a 45-year-old mother, in the rebel-held city of Azaz.

Aftershocks 

According to AFAD, more than 6,200 aftershocks have been recorded since the 7.8-magnitude hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, leaving millions homeless.

Officials said following the quake that aftershocks would be felt for a year because of the force of the first tremor.

The death toll is also expected to rise as the rubble is cleared and rescue operations end.

Eleven provinces in Turkey were hit by the previous tremors and on Sunday, officials said rescue operations would continue in only two -- Hatay and Kahramanmaras.

"My thoughts continue to be with the people of Turkiye and Syria, as they face the impact of new earthquakes striking the region this evening," wrote UN chief Antonio Guterres on Twitter.

UN teams there "are assessing the situation, and we stand ready to provide additional support as needed", he said.

Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had held talks in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, as he wrapped up a visit during which he pledged solidarity after the tremors.

The United States has contributed $185 million in assistance to Turkey and Syria.

Agence France-Presse

Nearly 26 million people affected by Turkey-Syria quake: WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland — Almost 26 million people have been affected by the deadly earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria this week, the WHO said Saturday, warning that dozens of hospitals had been damaged.

As the death toll from the quake rose above 25,000, the UN health agency launched a flash appeal Saturday asking for $42.8 million to help it address the immediate, towering health needs.

The World Health Organization, which has already released $16 million from its emergency fund, had previously said up to 23 million people could be impacted.

But on Saturday, that rose to nearly 26 million, with 15 million affected in Turkey and nearly 11 million in war-torn Syria.

Among them, more than five million people were considered to be particularly vulnerable, including close to 350,000 elderly people and over 1.4 million children.

WHO estimated that in Turkey, where more than 4,000 buildings have collapsed in the quake, 15 hospitals had suffered partial or heavy damage.

In Syria, where the health care system had already been ravaged by 12 years of civil war, at least 20 health facilities across the hard-hit northwest, including four hospitals, had sustained damage.

This is making it all the more difficult to help the tens of thousands of people who have been injured in the disaster.

And while emergency medical services have been overwhelmed with trauma patients, essential health services have been severely disrupted, WHO warned.

The UN agency said there was a dire need for immediate trauma care, post-trauma rehabilitative care, essential medicines, prevention and control to prevent disease outbreaks and access to mental health support.

"WHO's goal is to save lives in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, to minimise its downstream health consequences, including mental health, and to rapidly restore essential health services across all earthquake-affected populations."

The agency added that it had flown 37 metric tonnes of trauma and emergency surgery supplies to Turkey on Thursday, while 35 metric tonnes had arrived in Syria on Friday.

"These life-saving supplies will be used to treat and care for 100,000 people as well as for 120,000 urgent surgical interventions in both countries," it said.

A third flight carrying a similar load was scheduled to reach Syria on Monday.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who arrived in Aleppo on Saturday, tweeted that he was "heartbroken to see the conditions survivors are facing ... freezing weather and extremely limited access to shelter, food, water, heat and medical care".

Agence France-Presse

Turkey's COVID-19 curfew fails to contain surging second wave

ISTANBUL - Coronavirus deaths in Turkey rose to a record for the seventh consecutive day on Sunday and the number of new cases remained high despite efforts by President Tayyip Erdogan's government to contain a second wave of infections.

Turkey is expected to report this week that its economy bounced back from a sharp coronavirus-induced slump earlier this year. But that recovery, key to Erdogan's sustained political support, could be threatened by the new outbreak.

The government introduced tighter measures a week ago including nightly curfews at weekends, restrictions on movements of people of non-working age, a move to online schooling and limiting restaurants and cafes to takeaway services.

However the moves have done little to halt a remorseless rise in cases and fatalities, with Sunday's toll of 185 dead 45% above the peak of the first wave in April, and the number of new cases behind only the United States, India and Brazil - all countries with far larger populations than Turkey.

More than 29,000 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. Saturday's figure of 30,103 was the highest recorded, but authorities have only been including asymptomatic cases - as most other countries have regularly done - since Wednesday.

Doctors and opposition politicians have called for stricter measures, but with shops, restaurants and hotels already hit by the new clampdown, the government is anxious to avoid further economic pain and said people had a personal duty to cooperate.

"Our health army is under a heavy burden," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. "Each of us is responsible for following the measures."

Speaking after midday prayers on Friday, Erdogan attributed the resurgent pandemic to people flouting regulations.

"Masks and (social) distance are very important, hygiene is very important. As long as these are not heeded, especially in big cities, the increasing continuation of (the virus) becomes inevitable," he told reporters.

Opponents say the government needs to take tougher action.

"The lives lost are our lives. But we see that the government is still trying to manage the situation with band-aid measures," Meral Aksener, leader of the opposition IYI Party, said in parliament last week.

"I am calling out to Mr Erdogan from here once again - come, impose a quarantine of at least 14 days."

Celalettin Kocaturk, a specialist chest surgeon at an Istanbul hospital, echoed the call for stricter measures, saying that if the steps taken last weekend were going to be effective, they would have made a difference by now.

"Based on current data, we look to be at the top of the worldwide list of cases per population," he told Reuters. "We need to act very dynamically without waiting further."

-reuters-

Airplane accident kills 3 in Turkey

Police officers inspect the Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-86J plane, that overran the runway during landing and crashed, at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, Turkey on Wednesday. At least three people were reported killed and 173 injured.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Powerful quake kills 20 people in eastern Turkey

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - A powerful earthquake has killed at least 20 people and injured more than 1,000 in eastern Turkey, as rescue teams searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors on Saturday. 

At least 30 people were missing following the magnitude 6.8 quake on Friday night, which had its epicenter in the small lakeside town of Sivrice in the eastern province of Elazig.

"It was very scary, furniture fell on top of us. We rushed outside," 47-year-old Melahat Can, who lives in the provincial capital of Elazig, told AFP.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said all steps were being taken to aid people affected by the quake, which caused widespread fear.

"We stand by our people," Erdogan said on Twitter.

The Turkish government's disaster and emergency management agency (AFAD) said the quake hit Sivrice at around 8.55 pm (1755 GMT). Turkey lies on major faultlines and is prone to frequent earthquakes. 

Turkish television showed images of people rushing outside in panic, as well as a fire on the roof of a building.

Interior, environment and health ministers, who were in the quake zone, said the casualties were in Elazig province and in the neighboring province of Malatya, which lies to the southwest.

At least 20 people died and 1,015 others were wounded, according to AFAD.

"There is nobody trapped under the rubble in Malatya but in Elazig search and rescue efforts are currently under way to find 30 citizens," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Friday.

Rescue teams were searching for survivors trapped in a five-story collapsed building in a village some 30 kilometers from Elazig, according to AFP journalists at the scene. One person was pulled alive from the rubble.

Emergency staff and people waiting at the scene lit fires in the streets to stay warm in freezing temperatures.

Sports centers, schools and guest houses had been opened to accommodate quake victims in Malatya.

'Everybody is in the street' 

Sivrice, a town with a population of about 4,000 people, is situated south of Elazig city on the shores of Hazar lake -- one of the most popular tourist spots in the region and the source of the Tigris river.

The lake is home to a "Sunken City," with archaeological traces dating back 4,000 years in its waters.

The tremor was felt in several parts of eastern Turkey near the Iraqi and Syrian borders, the Turkish broadcaster NTV reported, adding that neighboring cities had mobilized rescue teams for the quake area.

"Everybody is in the street, it was very powerful, very scary," said Zekeriya Gunes, 68, from Elazig City, after the quakes caused a building to collapse on her street.

"It lasted quite long, maybe 30 seconds," added Ferda, 39. "I panicked and was undecided whether to go out in this cold or remain inside."

The US Geological Survey assessed the magnitude as 6.7, slightly lower than AFAD, adding that it struck near the East Anatolian Fault in an area that has suffered no documented large ruptures since an earthquake in 1875.

"My wholehearted sympathy to President @RTErdogan and the Turkish people following the devastating earthquake that has hit Turkey. Our search and rescue teams stand ready to assist," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote on Twitter.

In Athens, the Greek premier's office said later that Mitsotakis had spoken by phone to Erdogan.

"The Turkish president... said Turkish teams had the situation under control for now and that it would be re-evaluated in the morning," his office added.

In 1999, a devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Izmit in western Turkey, leaving more than 17,000 people dead including about 1,000 in the country's largest city Istanbul. 

In September last year, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook Istanbul, causing residents to flee buildings in the economic capital.

Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate the city of 15 million people, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Russia cements role as gas 'kingpin' with 3 new pipelines

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping launch Monday a gas pipeline that is the first of 3 ambitious projects intended to cement Moscow's role as top gas exporter.

Putin and Xi are to inaugurate by video link-up the "Power of Siberia" pipeline, sending Siberian gas to China in a move that will strengthen their ties amid Moscow's confrontation with the West.

Russia is also planning to soon launch 2 more gas pipelines that will ramp up supplies to Europe while bypassing Ukraine.

TurkStream, which Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan hope to launch in January, is to transport Russian gas to Turkey.

Nord Stream-2, which would double Russian gas volumes to Germany, is expected to go online in mid-2020.

Analysts said the three projects have long-term economic and political benefits for Russia, which has inserted itself between European markets to the west and the rapidly growing Chinese market to the east.

"Russia is not only creating new income streams, but hedging its bets and bolstering its position strategically," said energy analyst Andrew Hill.

"The ability to play one off against the other will not have been lost on either Gazprom or the Kremlin," Hill, who leads the S&P Global Platts EMEA gas and power analytics team, wrote in a blog post.

He said the 3 projects were a sign that the Russian gas industry -- "this kingpin of the global gas sector" -- was becoming more mature.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the significance of the 3,000-kilometer Power of Siberia pipeline running from remote regions of East Siberia to Blagoveshchensk on the Chinese border was hard to overestimate.

"This is important for our country, this is important for China," he said ahead of the launch, stressing that the project would create jobs and infrastructure in Russia's Far East.

'BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT' 

The pipeline, which Putin has called "the world's biggest construction project," crowns years of tough negotiations and work in difficult conditions.

A 30-year, $400 billion deal was signed in 2014 after a decade of tortuous talks. It was the Russian gas giant Gazprom's biggest contract.

Gazprom is to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually when the pipeline is fully operational in 2025.

Gazprom stressed that the pipeline ran through "swampy, mountainous, seismically active, permafrost and rocky areas with extreme environmental conditions". 

Temperatures along the route plunge to below minus 60 degrees Celsius in Yakutia and below minus 40 Celsius in the Russian Far East's Amur Region.

Speaking in Moscow last week, Chinese vice foreign minister Le Yucheng said the pipeline would boost cooperation and allow the 2 countries "to complement each other's strengths and pursue common rejuvenation."

Ahead of the launch, officials also said work had been completed on the first road bridge between Russia and China.

The bridge, which is to open next year, will connect the city of Blagoveshchensk and the northern Chinese city of Heihe.

The Power of Siberia launch comes amid continued wrangling over Nord Stream 2.

The 9.5-billion-euro ($10.6-billion) pipeline has faced opposition from countries in eastern and central Europe, the United States and particularly Ukraine because it is likely to increase Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to hit Nord Stream 2 and those tied to it with sanctions.

While praising Russia's gas projects with China and Turkey, Thierry Bros, an energy analyst at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard, said the Baltic energy link had become a victim of strong opposition from many in the West.

"Nord Stream 2 is not a success," he told AFP, noting that it was hard to say when Gazprom would be able to fully capitalize on its investment.

Agence France-Presse 

Erdogan says Turkey will not leave Syria until other countries pull out

ANKARA - Turkey will not leave Syria until other countries pull out, President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Friday, and Ankara will continue its cross-border offensive against Kurdish fighters until every one of them has left the region.

Turkey launched its third military incursion into northeast Syria last month to drive Kurdish YPG fighters from its border and establish a "safe zone" where it aims to settle up to 2 million Syrian refugees.

After seizing a 120-km (75-mile) swathe of land along the border, Turkey struck deals with the United States and Russia to keep the Kurdish militia out of that area.

Speaking to reporters on his flight home from a trip to Hungary, Erdogan said Turkey would only leave Syria once other countries have left as well, adding that the Turkish offensive would continue until all militants leave the area.

"We will not let up until every last terrorist leaves the region," Erdogan said, referring to the YPG, the main component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Ankara views as a terrorist organization.

"We will not leave here until the other countries get out," he was cited as saying by broadcaster NTV.

Ankara began its offensive after Trump announced an abrupt withdrawal of 1,000 US troops from northern Syria last month. The US President has since said that some troops will continue to operate there.

Under its deals with Washington and Moscow, Ankara paused its offensive in return for the withdrawal of the YPG fighters. While US and Russian officials have said the Kurdish fighters have left the region, Erdogan on Thursday accused Russia and the United States of not fulfilling their part.

With the deal Ankara struck with Moscow, Turkish and Russian troops have been holding joint patrols along the Turkish border with Syria. On Friday, the troops completed a third patrol, but a spokesman for the SDF said Turkish troops had used tear gas against some civilians protesting against the patrols.

"Turkish troops targeted civilians peacefully protesting against the patrols...with tear gas and injured 10 people," said SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali on Twitter.

Turkey's defense ministry said in a statement that the third patrol was completed as planned along an 88-km route along the most easterly section of the border at a depth of 10 km.

US VISIT

Turkey's European allies have said the offensive will hinder the battle against Islamic State. Ankara has rejected the accusation, saying its allies should back its plans to resettle the majority of the 3.5 million Syrian migrants Turkey hosts.

Ibrahim Kalin, a top aide to Erdogan, said on Friday that the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Turkey would meet on the sidelines of a NATO summit in London on Dec. 3-4 to discuss the situation in Syria.

The talks in London will follow Erdogan's Nov. 13 visit to Washington, where he will meet Trump to discuss Syria, as well as repercussions of Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems, the threat of US sanctions, and the case of Turkish state lender Halkbank, which has been charged by US prosecutors with being part of a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade US sanctions on Iran.

Washington says the S-400s threaten its F-35 fighters jets and has suspended Turkey from the F-35 program.

"We believe it will be beneficial to discuss certain issues that we tackled before and some that we did not during face-to-face talks on Nov. 13," Erdogan told reporters on his return flight from Hungary, according to NTV.

"Of course, we will discuss the safe zone in Syria and the return of refugees. We will discuss the S-400s, F-35s, our $100 billion trade volume issue. We will also discuss the battle with FETO and the Halkbank issue," he said, referring to the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Ankara blames Gulen for orchestrating a 2016 failed coup, a charge he has denied and has repeatedly demanded that Washington extradite him.

Turkish officials said earlier this week that Erdogan might call off the US visit in protest at votes by US lawmakers to seek sanctions on Turkey over its offensive into northeast Syria, and recognize mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide. The visit was later confirmed after a phone call between Erdogan and Trump on Wednesday.

Erdogan told reporters on Friday that he would hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to "form the basis" of his talks in Washington, according to NTV.

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In historic vote, US House recognizes 'Armenian genocide'

WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives took the historic step Tuesday of passing a resolution officially recognizing the "Armenian genocide," a move sure to anger Turkey amid already-heightened tensions with Washington.

Cheers and applause erupted when the chamber voted 405 to 11 in support of the symbolic resolution "affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide," a first for the US Congress, where similar measures with such direct language have been introduced for decades but never passed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was honored to join her colleagues "in solemn remembrance of one of the great atrocities of the 20th century: the systematic murder of more than 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children by the Ottoman Empire."

The Armenians say the mass killings of their people from 1915 to 1917 amounted to genocide, a claim recognized by some 30 countries. Turkey strongly denies the accusation of genocide.

But Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, delivered bold remarks to the House, saying the truth of the "staggering crime" has been denied too often.

"Today, let us clearly state the facts on the floor of this House to be etched forever into the Congressional Record: the barbarism committed against the Armenian people was a genocide."

The House measure passed three weeks after Turkey invaded northeastern Syria and launched a broad assault on Kurdish-controlled areas that was made possible by the withdrawal of US troops.

Angry US lawmakers launched a one-two punch rebuking Turkey, with the genocide measure passing alongside a bill that slaps sanctions on Turkey for its incursion.

That bipartisan measure imposes sanctions on senior Turkish officials involved in the decision to launch the invasion and a Turkish bank with ties to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and requires the Trump Administration to penalize Turkey's procurement of a Russian-made missile-defense system.

Former vice president Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic White House hopeful, welcomed the Armenia vote, tweeting that "by acknowledging this genocide we honor the memory of its victims and vow: never again."

It was also welcomed outside the political realm. US television reality star Kim Kardashian, who has Armenian ancestry, tweeted about the vote to her 62 million followers.

"This is personal for me, and millions of Armenians who descended from genocide survivors," she said.

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Trump lifts Turkey sanctions, quits 'blood-stained' Syria

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ended sanctions against Turkey on Wednesday, drawing a line under American involvement in "blood-stained" Syria, as Turkish and Russian troops seized territory previously held by US troops and their beleaguered Kurdish allies.

"Let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand," Trump said in a White House speech that formalized the ceding of power in northern Syria to Ankara and increasingly influential Moscow.

Trump said he was lifting the sanctions because a ceasefire was holding in the area, which Turkey invaded to drive Kurdish military groups from their strongholds.

Trump called the ceasefire, which allowed the Turkish takeover to proceed largely unopposed, a "major breakthrough."

Rejecting accusations that he betrayed the Syrian Kurds -- who suffered thousands of casualties fighting alongside US troops against the Islamic State jihadist group -- Trump said they were happy.

The president said the Kurdish commander in the country, Mazloum Abdi, had just told him he was "extremely thankful."

Ankara ordered a cross-border operation into Syria on October 9 because it said it wanted to create a security cordon free of Kurdish armed groups that it considers to be terrorists, linked to Kurdish rebels inside Turkey.

The long-planned operation started after Trump announced the exit of the small, but politically significant US military force which had until then been closely allied with the Kurds.

Trump said he didn't want the US troops caught in the middle of a Turkish-Kurdish war.

Accused both by Republicans and Democrats of abandoning the Kurds, Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey on October 14 and sent a delegation to persuade Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to order a brief ceasefire.

In a tweet from a spokesman on Wednesday, Mazloum thanked Trump "for his tireless efforts that stopped the brutal Turkish attack and jihadist groups on our people."

RUSSIANS MOVE IN 

As US soldiers and the Kurds exited areas near Turkey's border, Turkish troops and Russian troops, who have propped up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad through his country's multi-sided civil war, moved in.

The first Russian patrol in northern Syria got underway on Wednesday, the defense ministry in Moscow announced.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu talked with Mazloum and reassured him that civilians would not have to leave their homes, a spokesman said -- apparently addressing allegations that Turkey will seek ethnic cleansing in the region.

Critics of Trump say he has caved in to Turkey and been outplayed by Russia.

"It is unthinkable that Turkey would not suffer consequences for malevolent behavior which was contrary to the interests of the United States and our friends," tweeted Republican Senator Mitt Romney.

But Trump insisted that the power shift is a win for Washington, because he is fulfilling a campaign promise to step away from "ancient sectarian and tribal conflicts."

ISLAMIC STATE ESCAPEES 

Trump said there was no risk that the turmoil in the area could lead to a reconstitution of the Islamic State, which has lost its once sizable territories and has thousands of members and their relatives kept in camps controlled by the Kurds.

With concerns that the Kurds may no longer be able to monitor Islamic State prisoners, Trump said he expects Turkey to "abide by its commitment" to act as a "back-up to the Kurds."

"Should something happen, Turkey is there to grab them," he said.

He was speaking shortly after a US State Department official, James Jeffrey, testified in Congress that "over 100" Islamic State prisoners had escaped so far and "we do not know where they are."

Trump said that a "small number" of US soldiers would remain nearby, but purely to guard oil facilities.

His central message was clear: that the United States has no business in Syria and that there was never any question of trying to stop NATO member Turkey from carrying out its invasion.

"We have spent $8 trillion on wars in the Middle East, never really wanting to win those wars," Trump said.

However, the isolationist policy grates on many Republicans, whom he is depending upon to save him from a Democratic push to impeach and remove him from office over allegations that he abused his office.

Immediately after the speech, powerful Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the United States had to stay engaged.

The US air power must "continue to control the skies over Syria" he said, adding that the military should "have a small –- but capable –- military partnership" with the Kurds to prevent Islamic State from reemerging.

'KILL, DISPLACE AND OCCUPY' 

The Turkish-occupied area was calm, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said on Wednesday.

However, explosions hit various parts of Syria's northeast, including the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli and the town of Suluk in the Tal Abyad region near Turkey's border.

The car bomb in Qamishli did not cause casualties, according to the Observatory. But the blast in Suluk, controlled by Ankara's rebel proxies, killed three fighters, a rebel commander there told AFP.

It was unclear who was responsible for the blasts.

Kurds staged angry demonstrations Wednesday in their de facto capital Qamishli.

"This deal serves the interests of foreign powers and not the interests of the people," said official Talaat Youndes.

"Turkey's objective is to kill, displace and occupy the Kurds."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hillary Clinton posts parody Kennedy letter mocking Trump

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton on Sunday posted a joke letter on Twitter supposedly sent by John F. Kennedy during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, written in the excitable style of US President Donald Trump's recent letter to Turkey.

The parody letter, originally from ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" TV show, is written on mocked-up White House letterhead and addressed to Russia's then leader Nikita Khrushchev.

"Don't be a d***, ok? Get your missiles out of Cuba," starts the letter pretending to be from president Kennedy.

"Everybody will say 'Yay! Khrushchev! You're the best!' But if you don't everybody will be like 'what an a******' and call your garbage country 'The Soviet Bunion.'"

The letter echoes the bizarre tone of Trump's October 9 letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which he warned that he would wreck Turkey's economy if its invasion of Syria went too far.

"You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy -- and I will," Trump wrote in a letter many people thought was fake until it was verified by the White House.

"Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool," Trump finished, adding: "I will call you later."

The joke letter from Kennedy to Khrushchev ends: "You're really busting my nuts here. Give you a jingle later," before signing off "Hugs, John Fitzgerald Kennedy."

Clinton joked that the letter had been "found in the archives."

UNIQUE COMMUNICATION STYLE

Democrat Clinton, who was defeated by Republican Trump in the 2016 US election, has backed efforts to impeach him over his dealings with Ukraine and is still regularly targeted by the president during his speeches.

In the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, Kennedy and Khrushchev faced off in a moment of high diplomatic tension that threatened to tip the world into nuclear war.

The United States had detected Soviet missile installations in Cuba, just off the Florida coast, and Kennedy imposed a blockade of the island.

Soviet ships laden with nuclear missiles heading for Cuba turned back at the last minute after a secret agreement with Washington.

Trump has defended his diplomacy in the Middle East and his military pullout from northern Syria, which cleared the way for Turkey's cross-border attack against Kurdish forces.

Trump's idiosyncratic communication style was also on display on Twitter Sunday when he misspelled the name of his Defense Secretary Mark Esper as "Esperanto" -- the little-used universal language invented in 1887.

He corrected his error some hours later.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump warned Erdogan in letter: 'Don't be a fool'

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a letter about Turkey's incursion into Syria, "Don't be a tough guy" and "Don't be a fool!"

The Oct. 9 letter was released by the White House on Wednesday as Trump battled to control the political damage following his decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, clearing the way for the Turkish incursion against America's Kurdish allies.

The letter tried to persuade Erdogan to reverse a decision to invade Syria that Erdogan told Trump about in an Oct 6 phone call.

"Let's work out a good deal!" Trump said. "You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy - and I will."

Trump had the letter released to bolster his view that he did not give Turkey a green light to invade Syria. Many lawmakers have been sharply critical of his decision to remove American forces from the conflict zone.

"I have worked hard to solve some of your problems. Don't let the world down. You can make a great deal," said Trump in the letter.

The president wrote that the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, General Mazloum Kobani Abdi, was willing to negotiate and to make some concessions.

He said he had confidentially enclosed to Erdogan a copy of a letter Mazloum had sent him.

"History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen. Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!" said Trump.

He added: "I will call you later." (Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump, Pelosi clash in heated White House meeting on Syria

WASHINGTON — Top congressional Democrats walked out of a fractious White House meeting on Syria policy Wednesday when US President Donald Trump attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a "third-rate politician."

One of the Democrats attending the meeting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said Trump launched into a "nasty diatribe" against them, while Pelosi said the president experienced a "meltdown." 

The toxic exchange was the latest sign of the dramatically deteriorating relations between Trump and Pelosi since she launched an impeachment investigation against him last month.

"He was insulting, particularly to the Speaker.... He called her a third-rate politician," said Schumer after they abruptly left the White House meeting on Trump's controversial troop pullout from northern Syria.

Other lawmakers from both parties remained inside, he noted.

Pelosi said Trump appeared "very shaken up" by an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House earlier Wednesday condemning his troop pullback, which critics say effectively gave Turkey a green light to invade northern Syria and attack Kurdish militia.

"What we witnessed on the part of the president was a meltdown. Sad to say," Pelosi added.

House veteran Steny Hoyer, the number 2 Democrat, said he and others were "offended deeply" by Trump's treatment of Pelosi.

Trump has repeatedly disparaged Pelosi on Twitter in the weeks since the probe began.

Hoyer sounded alarmed at the intensity of the White House confrontation.

"I've been in many, many, many meetings like this," he said. "Never have I seen a president treat so disrespectfully a co-equal branch of the government of the United States."

Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham rejected the Democratic version of events, saying the president had been "measured and decisive," and that Pelosi walking out was "baffling but not surprising."

"Dem 'leadership' chose to storm out & whine to camera," Grisham tweeted. "Everyone else stayed to work on behalf of our country."

Addressing reporters after the talks, top House Republican Kevin McCarthy likewise accused Pelosi of "storming out" and exhibiting behavior "unbecoming of a speaker."

The meeting was the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Pelosi since her explosive September 24 statement announcing a formal impeachment inquiry.

Pelosi said the investigation did not come up during the meeting.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Kurdish forces: Not enough guards at Syria camp holding Islamic State families

BEIRUT - Kurdish-led security forces do not have enough guards for the Ain Issa camp that holds families of Islamic State militants and dozens of them have escaped since Turkish shelling struck the area, an official with the Syrian Democratic Forces said.

Already weakened by the redeployment of forces to front lines, the guarding of the camp was further depleted on Sunday when Turkish shells crashed nearby, prompting some of the remaining personnel to flee, SDF official Marvan Qamishlo said.

"The guarding is very weak now," he told Reuters, saying that there were now just 60-70 security personnel at the camp compared with a normal level of no less than 700.

The camp holds some 12,000 displaced people including some relatives of IS militants and ideally would require 1,500 guards, he said. "We don't have this sufficient number."

Advances by Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies had compounded the concerns of security personnel in the camp, giving rise to fears the site could be encircled, Qamishlo said.

"What is a security person going to do? They are not special forces or SDF." 

(Reporting by Tom Perry Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Thousands flee, hundreds reported dead in Turkish attack on US-allied Kurds in Syria

ISTANBUL/ANKARA - Turkey pounded Kurdish militia in northeast Syria for a second day on Thursday, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee and killing at least dozens of people in a cross-border assault on U.S. allies that has turned the Washington establishment against President Donald Trump.

The offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by Kurdish YPG militia, which began days after Trump pulled U.S. troops out of the way and following a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, opens one of the biggest new fronts in years in an eight-year-old civil war that has drawn in global powers.

"We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win Militarily, hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!" Trump said in a Twitter post on Thursday.

"I hope we can mediate," Trump said when asked about the options by reporters at the White House.

Without elaborating, Trump said the United States was "going to possibly do something very, very tough with respect to sanctions and other financial things" against Turkey.

The SDF have been the main allies of U.S. forces on the ground in the battle against Islamic State since 2014. They have been holding thousands of captured IS fighters in prisons and tens of thousands of their relatives in detention.

SDF forces were still in control of all prisons with Islamic State captives, a senior U.S. State Department official said in a briefing with reporters on Thursday.

The United States has received a high-level commitment from Turkey on taking responsibility for Islamic State captives but has not yet had detailed discussions, the official said.

U.S. lawmakers and media have said Trump essentially gave Erdogan the green light for Turkey's military to go into northeast Syria but the official disputed that. "We gave them a very clear red light, I've been involved in those red lights and I know the President did that on Sunday," the official said.

Turkey's Defense Ministry said 228 militants had been killed so far in the offensive. Kurds said they were resisting the assault. At least 23 fighters with the SDF and six fighters with a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group had been killed, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war.

AIR STRIKES

The SDF said Turkish air strikes and shelling had also killed nine civilians. In an apparent retaliation by Kurdish-led forces, six people including a 9-month-old baby were killed by mortar and rocket fire into Turkish border towns, officials in southeastern Turkey said.

The International Rescue Committee said 64,000 people in Syria have fled since the campaign began. The towns of Ras al-Ain and Darbasiya, some 60 km (37 miles) to the east, have become largely deserted.

The Observatory said Turkish forces had seized two villages near Ras al-Ain and five near the town of Tel Abyad, while a spokesman for Syrian rebel forces said the towns were surrounded after fighters seized the villages around them.

According to a senior Turkish security official, the armed forces struck weapons and ammunition depots, gun and sniper positions, tunnels and military bases.

Jets flew operations up to 30 km (18 miles) into Syria - a limit which Turkey's foreign minister said Turkish forces would not go beyond. A Reuters journalist saw shells exploding just outside Tel Abyad.

Ankara brands the YPG militia as terrorists because of their ties to militants who have waged an insurgency in Turkey. On Thursday, Turkish police began criminal investigations of several Kurdish lawmakers and detained scores of people in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, accusing them of criticizing the military's incursion into Syria, state media reported.

Late on Thursday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar spoke by phone with his French, British and U.S. counterparts, the defense ministry said. It said Akar and U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper discussed defense and security issues, and added that Akar briefed Esper on the aims and progress of the incursion.

TRUMP CRITICIZED

Trump has faced rare criticism from senior figures in his own Republican Party who accuse him of deserting loyal U.S. allies. Trump has called the Turkish assault a "bad idea" and said he did not endorse it.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who usually backs Trump, has been one of the most outspoken critics of the president's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria. He unveiled a framework for sanctions on Turkey with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

"If there is any measure taken against us, we will retaliate and respond in kind," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, adding that "nothing will come of these sanctions."

After the U.N. Security Council met to discuss the fighting, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Turkey faced unspecified "consequences" if it did not meet its pledge to protect vulnerable populations or contain Islamic State fighters.

Later, the U.S. State Department official said the United States would penalize Turkey if it engages in any "inhumane and disproportionate" moves against civilians. That would include "ethnic cleansing, it would include in particular indiscriminate artillery, air and other fires directed at civilian population," the official said. "That's what we're looking at right now, we haven't seen significant examples of that so far."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for an emergency meeting of the coalition of more than 30 countries created to fight Islamic State. The coalition "needs to say today what are we going do, how do you, Turkey, want to proceed and how do we ensure the security of places where fighters are held? Everything needs to be on the table so that we are clear," Le Drian said on France 2 television.

Erdogan said militants from Islamic State would not be allowed to rebuild a presence in the region.

The Kurdish-led authority in northern Syria said a prison that holds "the most dangerous criminals from more than 60 nationalities" had been struck by Turkish shelling, and Turkey's attacks on its prisons risked "a catastrophe".

NATO member Turkey has said it intends to create a "safe zone" for the return of millions of refugees to Syria.

Erdogan threatened to permit Syrian refugees in Turkey to move to Europe if EU countries described his forces' move as an occupation. Turkey hosts around 3.6 million people who have fled the Syrian war.

The European Union should have a dialogue with Turkey despite Ankara's offensive against the Kurds, in order to avoid a fresh wave of migrants coming to Europe, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.

Russia, the main international backer of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, said it planned to push for dialogue between the Syrian and Turkish governments following the incursion.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump: Syrian Kurds 'didn't help us in Normandy'

WASHINGTON - Syrian Kurds facing a Turkish military operation did not "help us in Normandy," US President Donald Trump said Wednesday, defending his widely-criticized decision to clear the way for the assault.

The Kurdish forces -- which the US partnered to combat the Islamic State group in Syria -- are "fighting for their land," Trump said.

"As somebody wrote in a very, very powerful article today, they didn't help us in the Second World War, they didn't help us with Normandy as an example," he said.

The president was apparently referring to a piece by a columnist on the conservative Townhall website supporting Trump's decision to pull American forces back from Syria's northern frontier, which opened the way for the Turkish operation.

The Kurds "are there to help us with their land, and that's a different thing," said Trump.

"We have spent tremendous amounts of money on helping the Kurds in terms of ammunition, in terms of weapons, in terms of money, in terms of pay. With all of that being said, we like the Kurds," he added.

Brett McGurk, who served as the US envoy to the international coalition against the Islamic State group, has in the past disputed Trump's assertions on that subject, saying that the "weapons provided were meager" and "nearly all stabilization funding came from the @coalition."

ISIS FIGHTERS TO ESCAPE TO EUROPE?

Trump's abrupt move on Sunday to remove 50 U.S. troops out of northern Syria, which has allowed Turkey to attack America's Kurdish allies unimpeded, has drawn sharp fire from many Republican lawmakers who are normally his strong supporters.

Trump: US going into Middle East was 'worst decision ever'
https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/09/19/trump-us-going-into-middle-east-was-worst-decision-ever

As Turkey launched an attack on Kurdish militia positions on Wednesday, Trump aligned himself with anti-war voices in the Republican Party like Senator Rand Paul, saying the United States should have never been involved in conflicts in the Middle East in the first place.

Pressed on the situation by reporters during a White House event, Trump said he was open to imposing sanctions on Turkey if the Turks do not treat the Kurds humanely.

Asked what he would do if Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan were to wipe out the Kurds, Trump said: “I will wipe out his economy if he does that."

The Trump pullout has prompted bipartisan concerns that some of the thousands of Islamic State fighters held by Kurdish-led forces might escape in the chaos surrounding the Turkish incursion.

Trump said many of these fighters are of European origin and that he had given European nations four chances to take responsibility for them.

Asked if he had any concerns that some of these ISIS fighters could escape and pose a threat elsewhere, Trump adopted a dismissive tone.

"Well, they're going to be escaping to Europe. That's where they want to go," he said.

Reaction to Trump's move has enraged many Republicans and Democrats.

U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, a national security hawk and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, said in a statement that Trump's decision would have "sickening and predictable consequences."

"The U.S. is abandoning our ally the Kurds, who fought ISIS on the ground and helped protect the U.S. homeland. This decision aids America’s adversaries, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, and paves the way for a resurgence of ISIS. This action imperils American security and that of our allies. Congress must and will act to limit the catastrophic impact of this decision," she said.

Trump cast his decision as in line with his long-held belief that the United States cannot be the world's policeman and must bring some troops home.

But it comes as he needs as much Republican support as possible to fight an impeachment inquiry launched by Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives based on his attempt to get Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is one of Trump's closest confidants in Congress and a frequent golf partner, has angrily split with Trump over Syria.

"This is the pre-9/11 mentality that paved the way for 9/11: 'What’s happening in Afghanistan is no concern to us.' So if he follows through with this, it’d be the biggest mistake of his presidency," Graham told Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends."

Graham said on Twitter that he would lead an effort in Congress "to make Erdogan pay a heavy price" for the incursion. With reports by Reuters and Agence France-Presse

source: news.abs-cbn.com

FIBA World Cup: Americans need OT to survive Turkey scare

Khris Middleton scored 15 points, including the 2 free throws that iced the game, to lead the United States to a 93-92 win in overtime over Turkey in the 2019 FIBA World Cup on Tuesday.

The victory, their second in a row, assured the Americans of a spot in the 2nd round.

They join Australia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, France, and Lithuania.

Ahead 92-91 after a 3-point play by Cleveland Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman with 35 seconds remaining, Turkey had a chance to put the game away after the Americans were called for 2 fouls on separate plays.

But Dogus Balbay missed both his free throws badly after an unsportsmanlike foul on Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris, and Osman muffed his charities, too, off a foul by Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart.

In transition, Milwaukee Bucks swingman Middleton was fouled on the drive by Osman, before knocking down the game-winning free throws.

Celtics playmaker Kemba Walker added 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, and Boston teammate, forward Jayson Tatum, contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds before he was carried out of the floor on the final play because of an apparent injury.

Meanwhile, Brazil advanced in Group F by beating Greece 79-78, leaving reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. to play New Zealand for a ticket to the next round.

Turkey and the Czech Republic, which downed Japan 89-76, dispute the last Round-2 seat in Group E.

Australia, like Serbia, touted as a threat to the US, reached the second round with a Joe Ingles-inspired 81-68 victory over Senegal.

The Boomers defeated Canada in their opener in Group H -- the so-called "Group of Death" -- and recovered from an indifferent start to grind down Senegal with Utah Jazz forward Ingles one assist away from World Cup history.

Australia, who was not at its best, was 36-33 ahead at halftime after narrowly trailing a determined Senegal at the end of the first quarter.

Ingles, who acknowledged that the Australians were "rattled" by Senegal in the first half, was instrumental in the victory with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists -- just one assist short of the first triple-double in World Cup history.

Patty Mills, the 31-year-old San Antonio Spurs guard, was also in the thick of it for the Boomers, drilling 22 points.

Coach Andrej Lemanis called Senegal the tallest team he had faced and said that his side had been "a little clunky at times" offensively.

"Senegal present some unique challenges with their overall size," he said. — With a report from Agence France-Presse

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey leaves over 200 sick across U.S.

More than 200 people from across the United States have fallen ill, 84 of them hospitalized, from an ongoing salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey products that prompted a second voluntary recall on Friday, the US government said.

The latest food-safety advisory from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta came as millions of Americans planned their Christmas holiday menus, updating a notice for contaminated turkey issued in early November.

Since then, 52 more people in 26 states and the District of Columbia have become sick from salmonella-tainted turkey, bringing the total number of documented cases to 216 in 38 states and the district. 

One death from the outbreak, which began in October, was reported in California, the CDC said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has reported an additional 22 turkey-related salmonella infections in 4 provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick - believed to be linked to the US outbreak.

The common strain of salmonella associated with the illnesses has been identified in various raw turkey products, including ground turkey, turkey patties, live turkeys and raw turkey pet food, indicating it may be widespread in the turkey industry.

No single supplier has been identified.

Minnesota-based Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales LLC on Friday voluntarily recalled more than 164,000 pounds of ground turkey products. The company had recalled more than 91,000 pounds in mid-November over the same outbreak.

With the exception of the recalled Jennie-O brand ground turkey, the CDC said it was not advising consumers to avoid eating properly cooked turkey products or for retailers to stop selling raw turkey products.

Anyone can become sick from salmonella bacteria, but young children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of serious illness.

Symptoms, which typically appear 12 to 72 hours after ingesting the bacteria, include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Most people recover within a week.

Infection can best be prevented by thoroughly washing hands after handling poultry, by cooking turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and by thawing frozen turkeys in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature, the CDC said. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

"You are pardoned!"

U.S. President Donald Trump declares a Thanksgiving turkey named "Peas" pardoned as National Turkey Federation Chairman Jeff Sveen looks on during the 71st presentation and pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkeys in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S. on Tuesday.

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Saudi crown prince calls Khashoggi murder 'repulsive'

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's crown prince Wednesday denounced the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and vowed justice would prevail, without addressing US accusations of a botched cover-up over the killing by the Gulf kingdom.

After phoning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the October 2 killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul which has triggered an international diplomatic crisis, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged there would be "no rupture" in ties with Ankara.

"The incident was very painful for all Saudis, it's a repulsive incident and no one can justify it," Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in his first comments since the journalist's murder.

"Those responsible will be held accountable... in the end justice will prevail," the heir apparent to the Saudi throne told a major investment forum in Riyadh, speaking in Arabic in his first public comments on the scandal.

Three weeks since Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen living in self-imposed exile, disappeared after walking into the consulate to get some marriage documents the crisis shows no signs of abating.

Washington moved late Tuesday to revoke the visas of a number of Saudis even though the two countries have long been allies, with Britain following suit on Wednesday.

Saudi leaders have denied involvement in Khashoggi's murder, pushing responsibility down the chain of command.


'No rift' 

But Turkey has been leading their own investigation and Erdogan said the killing was meticulously planned, calling for 18 Saudis who have been detained by Saudi authorities to be tried in Istanbul.

Erdogan spoke with Prince Mohammed in their first telephone conversation since the killing, a Turkish presidential source said.

The two discussed "the issue of joint efforts and the steps that need to be taken in order to shed light on the Jamal Khashoggi murder in all its aspects," the source added. 

Speaking at the investment forum, Prince Mohammed said: "Many are trying to exploit the Khashoggi affair to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey".

"But they will not succeed as long as there is a king named Salman and a crown prince named Mohammed bin Salman."

Since becoming heir apparent last year, Prince Mohammed has won plaudits for reforms including to end a decades-long ban on women drivers.

But his image has been tarnished by Khashoggi's murder despite repeated denials he had any involvement. And Riyadh's changing narrative has triggered deep skepticism abroad.

US President Donald Trump said the Saudis had a "very bad original concept" in killing the 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic.

"It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups," Trump said.


'Punitive measures ' 

Trump for the first time also appeared to indicate Prince Mohammed may have had a role in the Khashoggi case, telling the Wall Street Journal: "Well, the prince is running things over there more... so if anybody were going to be, it would be him."

The conference, nicknamed "Davos in the desert" aimed at drumming up funds to help Riyadh diversify its oil-reliant economy, has been overshadowed by the outcry over Khashoggi's murder with an array of big names pulling out of the event.

Faced with mounting calls for tough measures by US lawmakers across the political spectrum, the State Department said it had identified 21 Saudis whose visas would either be revoked or who would be ineligible for future visas.

"We are making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of action to silence Mr Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

British Prime Minister Teresa May said Britain was "taking action against all suspects to prevent them entering the UK. If these individuals currently have visas, those visas will be revoked today".

France also weighed in, saying it would take "punitive measures" if Saudi Arabia was "proven" to be behind the murder.

'Unravelling the case'

Turkish pro-government media reported Wednesday that Turkish intelligence had shared "all the evidence" with the CIA gathered from its investigation into the killing of the Washington Post columnist.

The evidence included video and audio recordings from the consulate and the consul's residence and were shared with visiting CIA chief Gina Haspel, Sabah newspaper reported.

The whereabouts of Khashoggi's corpse is still unknown.

State media in Turkey said Wednesday that Saudi authorities had denied permission to Turkish police to search a well in the consulate's garden.

Erdogan vowed Turkey would not allow the culprits to get away with their "savage murder".

"It is not over yet," he said. "We are unravelling, dismantling (the case) and the world is closely following."

source: news.abs-cbn.com