 Over 1,500 people died and thousands were injured after an earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday. Damage from the 7.8 magnitude quake was centered in southern Turkey and in the Syrian regions of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus. More: - At least 592 people died and 1,089 were injured in Syria while at least 1,014 people were killed and thousands more were injured in Turkey.
- In Syria, most of the damage occurred in regions that have been ravaged by the ongoing civil war.
- Photographs show the destruction of entire city blocks where rescue workers continue to search for survivors.
- Turkey's disaster agency has made an appeal for international assistance as it carries out rescue operations.
- NATO, the EU, and several countries have offered to help with disaster relief, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Zoom Out: - This was the most powerful quake to strike Turkey since over 17,000 people died following a strong tremor in 1999.
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 Beijing accused Washington on Monday of indiscriminate use of force for shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Chinese officials said the object that was destroyed after traversing U.S. airspace was a civilian aircraft for meteorological research. More: - The U.S. military detected a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over U.S. airspace on Jan. 28.
- A U.S. warplane shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday after it flew over key U.S. military installations.
- China's Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a complaint on Sunday over what he called a "U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship."
- Xie said that Chinese officials had repeatedly told the U.S. the balloon was a civilian aircraft that had accidentally entered U.S. airspace.
- He said the U.S. decision to down the balloon "seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.”
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended Washington's actions, saying: "Any country that has its airspace violated in this way I think would respond similarly," adding that "I can only imagine what the reaction would be in China if they were on the other end.”
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 Dell has told workers in a memo seen by Bloomberg that it plans to cut about 6,650 jobs. The U.S. hardware maker said the decision was made in response to deteriorating market conditions as worldwide demand for personal computers (PCs) continues to decline. More: - Co-Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke sent a memo to staff saying that Dell plans to lay off around 6,650 employees, Bloomberg reports.
- The move will slash the company's global workforce by about 5%, reducing it to levels last seen in 2017.
- Clarke said the decision was made after less drastic efforts to cut costs had proved insufficient to counteract deteriorating market conditions.
- The company's PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022 fell by 37% year over year, according to market research firm IDC.
Zoom Out: - Dell and other hardware makers have seen a sharp fall in demand following a spike in consumer electronics sales during the pandemic.
- Several tech firms have announced major layoffs in recent months, including Cisco Systems, IBM, and Microsoft.
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GOOD NEWS: A Minnesota school has raised over $500,000 for an inclusive playground. Students knocked on doors, cold-called, and collected coins in an effort to raise money that would allow their disabled friends to play with them during recess. More: - Last year, students at Glen Lake Elementary School in Hopkins, Minnesota began fundraising for playground equipment for children with disabilities.
- The school received an anonymous donation of $200,000 after CBS News covered the story in December.
- The project has since raised a further $100,000 from various donors, bringing the total amount raised to over $500,000.
- "I am excited for the wheelchair friends to be able to just have fun on a playground because they haven't been able," said Shujaa Kutto, one of the students at the school.
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 AP. Hong Kong has opened a trial against 47 pro-democracy activists who face up to life in prison. Many of the defendants were arrested during Beijing's crackdown on opposition forces in 2021. More: - 16 of the 47 defendants have pleaded not guilty in the non-jury trial, which is set to run for up to 90 days.
- Defendants include lawmaker and former AFP journalist Claudia Mo, 26-year-old activist and politician Joshua Wong, and pro-democracy journalist Gwyneth Ho.
- The defendants were arrested under a national security law imposed in 2020 that, according to Beijing, is designed to stamp out secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.
- However, human rights groups and foreign governments say the "draconian" legislation is being used to crack down on the city's pro-democracy movement.
Zoom Out: - In 2021, Chinese authorities carried out their largest-ever police raid in Hong Kong after Beijing rolled out the new security law.
- Leading politicians were among the opposition voices arrested during the crackdown, which came after a wave of anti-government protests gripped the city in 2019 and 2020.
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 Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, right, delivers his statement after signing an agreement with French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Chairman and CEO of Thales Group Patrice Caine, left, Feb. 1, 2023. AP. A senior lawmaker said that the Ukrainian government plans to replace its defense minister. Kyiv has sacked and replaced several politicians in recent weeks in a bid to stamp out corruption and prepare for a renewed Russian offensive. More: - Senior Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamia said on Sunday that Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will be replaced by Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the country's military intelligence agency.
- Arakhamia said that agencies like Ukraine's defense ministry should be led by people with defense and security backgrounds during wartime.
- He said Reznikov, a civilian politician, would become Ukraine's minister of strategic industries.
- Reznikov said he was unaware of any plans to replace him and noted that it is up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to decide who is in charge of defense.
Zoom Out: - Reznikov played a major role in securing Western support for Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion.
- Ukrainian officials are concerned that Russia may launch a new offensive this month to mark the invasion's one-year anniversary.
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 |  | Gregory Bridgman is a writer and researcher with an academic background in politics and the philosophy of science and technology. He holds a BA from the University of Cape Town, an MS from University College London, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is interested in climate issues, technological changes, and the implications of the fourth industrial revolution. Please feel free to contact me at gregory@inside.com! | | | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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