Six Killed after Fresh Earthquake Hits Türkiye-Syria Border

This photograph shows a partially damaged building in Antakya, southern Türkiye on February 20, 2023, after a 6,4-magnitude second earthquake hit the Hatay province in southern Türkiye, in Antakya, on February 20, 2023, two weeks after a 7,8-magnitude one hit the first time the same region. (AFP)
This photograph shows a partially damaged building in Antakya, southern Türkiye on February 20, 2023, after a 6,4-magnitude second earthquake hit the Hatay province in southern Türkiye, in Antakya, on February 20, 2023, two weeks after a 7,8-magnitude one hit the first time the same region. (AFP)
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Six Killed after Fresh Earthquake Hits Türkiye-Syria Border

This photograph shows a partially damaged building in Antakya, southern Türkiye on February 20, 2023, after a 6,4-magnitude second earthquake hit the Hatay province in southern Türkiye, in Antakya, on February 20, 2023, two weeks after a 7,8-magnitude one hit the first time the same region. (AFP)
This photograph shows a partially damaged building in Antakya, southern Türkiye on February 20, 2023, after a 6,4-magnitude second earthquake hit the Hatay province in southern Türkiye, in Antakya, on February 20, 2023, two weeks after a 7,8-magnitude one hit the first time the same region. (AFP)

Six people were killed in the latest earthquake to strike the border region of Türkiye and Syria, authorities said on Tuesday, two weeks after a large tremor killed more than 47,000 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.

Monday's quake of magnitude 6.4 was centered near the Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.

It was followed by 90 aftershocks, Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said, even as rescue work from the initial tremors on Feb. 6 have been winding down.

"I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet," said Muna Al Omar, holding her seven-year-old son. She now lives in a tent in a park in Antakya after the first quakes forced her from her home.

The Hatay provincial governor's building, damaged by the first quakes, collapsed in the latest tremor, television footage showed. Six thousand more tents were sent to the area overnight.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has faced criticism over what many Turks said was a slow emergency response to the first quake and over construction policies that meant thousands of apartment buildings crumbled on victims when disaster struck.

Erdogan, in power for two decades, faces presidential and parliamentary elections in May, although the disaster could prompt a delay. Even before the tremors, opinion polls showed he was under pressure from a cost of living crisis, which could worsen as the disaster has disrupted agricultural production.

He has promised a swift reconstruction effort, although experts say it could be a recipe for another disaster if safety steps are sacrificed in the race to rebuild.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 294 people had been injured in the latest quake, adding that patients were evacuated from some health facilities that had remained in operation after the first quakes, as buildings cracked.

In Samandag, where AFAD reported one person dead on Monday, residents said more buildings collapsed, although most people had already fled the town. Mounds of debris and discarded furniture lined the dark, abandoned streets.

'As long as it takes'

AFAD said the death toll in Türkiye from the Feb. 6 disaster had reached 41,156 and was expected to climb, while 385,000 apartments were known to have been destroyed or damaged.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Türkiye on Monday that Washington would help "for as long as it takes". The US State Department said US humanitarian assistance for Türkiye and Syria had reached $185 million.

Governments from around the world have pledged assistance.

The United Nations said the earthquake survivors included about 226,000 pregnant women in Türkiye and 130,000 in Syria, with about 39,000 due to deliver in the next month.

Many now live in camps in freezing conditions and with limited access to food and clean water.

In Syria, already shattered by more than a decade of war, most deaths have been in the northwest, where the United Nations said 4,525 people were killed. The area is controlled by opposition factions at war with President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria said 1,414 people were killed in areas under government control.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said 14 trucks with aid had entered northwestern Syria from Türkiye on Sunday. As of Monday morning, the United Nations said 197 trucks with UN aid had entered via two border crossings.

The World Food Program has been pressing the authorities to allow aid to pass from government-controlled areas.

Thousands of Syrian refugees in Türkiye have returned to their homes in northwest Syria to contact relatives caught up in the disaster or sending family members back to Syria after their homes in Türkiye were destroyed.

At the Turkish Cilvegozu border crossing, hundreds of Syrians lined up starting early on Monday to cross.

Mustafa Hannan, a 27-year-old Syrian, dropped off his pregnant wife and three-year-old son at the crossing to Syria, after their home in Antakya collapsed.

"I'm worried they won't be allowed back," he said. "If I rebuild here but they can't return, my life will be lost."



Trump Nominee Pete Hegseth Weathers Democrats’ Grilling to Emerge Largely Unscathed

US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Nominee Pete Hegseth Weathers Democrats’ Grilling to Emerge Largely Unscathed

US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
US Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, endured fierce Democratic grilling over everything from his inexperience and his past opposition to women in combat to emerge largely unscathed among Republicans at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host and decorated veteran, is one of the most controversial figures ever nominated to be Secretary of Defense and any vote to confirm him is expected to be very close.

But he weathered the four-hour hearing without making any major gaffe that might have alienated Republicans and even won critical backing from Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who holds sway in her party.

Several other committee Republicans, to laughter from a friendly audience packed with supporters wearing Hegseth hats, praised the 44-year-old, who has slammed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, and, in his latest book, questioned whether the top US general has the job because he's Black.

Asked if he would fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C.Q. Brown, if he takes over the military, a possibility first reported by Reuters, Hegseth declined to rule it out, saying he would be carrying out a broad review.

"Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given," Hegseth said.

Hegseth had strongly opposed women in combat roles but walked back that stance during the hearing.

"Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job," said Senator Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

A number of episodes have sparked concern, including a 2017 sexual assault allegation against Hegseth that did not result in charges and which he denies. He has also been accused of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at veterans' organizations. Hegseth has vowed to abstain from alcohol if confirmed and said he made financial errors but denied wrongdoing.

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand slammed Hegseth's past remarks about women, saying he would have to fundamentally change how he sees women who constitute 18% of the US military.

"We have hundreds - HUNDREDS - of women who serve in the infantry, lethal members of our military ... But you degrade them," Gillibrand said in a heated exchange.

"Please explain these types of statements because they're brutal, and they're mean."

Despite strong support from Trump's Republicans, Hegseth's confirmation will likely be by a narrow margin, compared with the 93-2 vote for President Joe Biden's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and 98-1 for Jim Mattis, Trump's first nominee for the position.

After the hearing, Ernst, who pundits speculated could vote against Hegseth and perhaps convince others to do the same, said she supported Hegseth.

"Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense," Ernst said in a statement.

As Hegseth walked into the packed hearing room, he was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation, with chants of "USA, USA, USA" and a shout of "Get 'em, Petey."

Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican who leads the committee, endorsed Hegseth, calling him "unconventional," and adding, "Regarding his personal conduct, Mr. Hegseth has admitted to falling short, as we all do from time to time."

Republican senators, including Markwayne Mullin and Tim Sheehy, strongly backed Hegseth. Mullin dismissed concerns about him, particularly his personal life, as political theater.

"It's all for show," Mullin said.

ACCOUNTABILITY IS COMING

Hegseth's opening remarks, praising Trump, were repeatedly interrupted by protesters. He vowed to restore a "warrior culture" to the US military and said accountability was coming for those who fall short.

"Everyone from the top, from the most senior general to the most lowly private, (we) will ensure that they're treated fairly," Hegseth said.

When asked about remarks opposing women in combat, Hegseth cited the need to eliminate quotas for frontline roles. Gillibrand fired back that no such quotas exist.

During the hearing he told Ernst, herself a veteran, that he would support women in combat "given the standards remain high, and we will have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded."

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran who lost both legs during combat in Iraq, chided Hegseth over gaps in his knowledge of foreign policy and lack of management experience.

"You say you care about keeping our armed forces strong ... then let's not lower the standards for you. You sir, are a no-go at this station," Duckworth said.

In a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was branded an "insider threat" by a fellow member of the Army National Guard over his tattoos. Hegseth noted the incident during the hearing, which led him to be pulled from Guard duty in Washington during Biden's inauguration.

In recent weeks, Trump's party has coalesced around his pick.

Still, the slim Republican Senate majority means that Hegseth can lose support from no more than three senators to be confirmed, if Democrats and independents unite against him.

Cabinet nominees almost never lose Senate votes. The last nominee who was defeated was former Senator John Tower, a nominee to be Secretary of Defense, in 1989. Tower was investigated over claims of drunkenness and inappropriate behavior with women.

If confirmed, Hegseth could make good on Trump's promises to rid the military of generals he accuses of pursuing progressive diversity policies.

The next secretary of defense faces huge challenges, including active conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and the expansion of China's military, which received only glancing attention during a hearing focused far more on culture war issues.

The committee is expected to vote on Hegseth's nomination as soon as Monday, the day of Trump's inauguration, paving the way for his consideration by the full Senate.