UK

'Warm words and applause don't pay bills' - MPs visit nurses picket line

Patrick Barlow
Mon, 6 February 2023

Caroline Lucas and Lloyd Russell-Moyle at the picket line in Brighton 

(Image: Caroline Lucas | Simon Dack)

Politicians have been seen supporting NHS staff after visiting picket lines of striking workers.

Brighton MPs Caroline Lucas and Lloyd Russell-Moyle have been speaking to workers who have taken industrial action to pile pressure on the government.

The MPs have been supporting the workers as they protest about patient safety and health sector pay freezes, with Ms Lucas calling nurses struggling to pay for food “a scandal”.

The Green MP for Brighton Pavilion said: “It was so powerful hearing from nurses on the picket line in Brighton this morning.

The Argus: Caroline Lucas on the picket line at the Royal Sussex County Hospital

Caroline Lucas on the picket line at the Royal Sussex County Hospital (Image: Matt Traini)

"Conditions in the NHS are simply not sustainable, for staff or patients, with critical staffing shortages putting the future of the NHS at risk.

"Many of the nurses are exhausted, working extra shifts to make ends meet with some in Brighton describing working in the NHS 'like being in a war zone'.

"Last year 14 per cent of nurses used food banks, while 30 per cent struggled to pay for food. That is a scandal.

READ MORE: Constance Marten: Footage shows missing couple near A259 in Sussex

"Government ministers often spoke of healthcare workers’ heroism throughout the peak of the pandemic, but warm words and applause don’t pay bills.

"With Green Party colleagues, I am demanding fair and decent pay for NHS workers, long-term investment, a staff recruitment and retention plan, and for the NHS to remain in public hands.”

Ms Lucas spoke to striking nurses as well as holding a banner in support of the NHS staff outside of the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Labour MP for Kemptown, was also seen at the picket speaking to workers out on strike on Monday, February 6.

Mr Russell-Moyle was also previously seen on a march from the hospital to The Level organised by Sussex Defend the NHS.

The latest strikes by the Royal College of Nursing and the GMB Union, have coincided for the first time causing many health sector services to slow.

Protesters gathered outside the Royal Sussex as well as Worthing Hospital in an effort to force the government to act on the NHS crisis.

Some placards with RCN branding said “staff shortages cost lives” while other homemade signs read “negotiating with the government is harder than buying Taylor Swift tickets”.

'Pay us properly' Ambulance workers strike across the North East and County Durham

Michael Robinson
Mon, 6 February 2023

Ambulance workers are striking all across the North East today (February 6) to campaign for better pay and working conditions Credit: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Ambulance workers are striking all across the North East today (February 6) to campaign for better pay and working conditions.

As ambulance workers across the region took strike action on Monday morning, The Northern Echo travelled to picket lines in Hartlepool and Bishop Auckland to talk to those taking part.

According to GMB union, more than 750 GMB Union ambulance workers across the North East have walked out as part of the protests.


Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are all taking part in the action, with some in Bishop Auckland and Gateshead striking alongside their nursing colleagues.

Read more: Woman dies after medical emergency at Houghton Superdrug

The Northern Echo:

Speaking to The Echo at the protest taking place outside Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Michael Hunt, GMB regional officer, said ambulance workers were taking industrial action in response to the unsatisfactory pay rise offered by Government.

He said: "Pay's obviously an issue with the cost-of-living crisis, some of the ambulance crews are on less money than you can make in Aldi as a checkout operator.

"We really need to do something, the ambulance have said 'you know what, we've had enough of this', we've had years of being put down by the Tory government.

"We really need to do something, because if we don't do it now, if not now, when?

"We want a decent pay rise, it's all very well [that] all the MPs telling everyone to clap for us, we'd rather they just pay us properly."

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The Northern Echo:

This comes after ambulance service workers in the region voted to strike over the Government’s imposed 4 per cent pay award, and what the GMB said is the Government’s apparent attempts to ‘smear’ them over life and limb cover on strike days.

Workers from North East Ambulance service took part in the action, which began at 6:01am and is expected to last for 24 hours.

Meanwhile, workers are expected to be picketing between 8am and 6pm.

In the North East, strike action took place in Bishop Auckland, Gateshead, Coulby Newham, Consett, Hartlepool North, Pallion, Hawkeys Lane, Russell House, and South Shields.

While in Hartlepool, there was a great show of support for strikers as they picketed in the cold, with passing cars honking and being met by strikers cheers.

The Northern Echo:

Jo Hepworth, 35, from Hartlepool, senior organiser for GMB, said ambulance workers did not wish to be striking today and would rather provide care to patients, but current conditions have left them no choice.

She said: "They're here asking for a better pay rise, better terms and conditions, they obviously don't want to be here.

"They want to be able to provide the care they've signed up to do the job for, but the strike is not just about pay.

"It's about patient safety as well, it's about saying to the government the NHS needs help, and that's why they're here today.


The Northern Echo:

"When the paramedics pick up their patients, they're standing for hours and hours outside A+E with that one patient, sometimes it's a full shift.

"It's not just the ambulance system that's broken, it's the whole NHS. That's why everybody's standing here today to say something needs to give."

She also called on the government to resume negotiations with the union so an agreement on pay and working conditions could be made.

Union leader calls Rishi Sunak deluded as NHS pay row escalates

Denis Campbell, Kiran Stacey and Rachel Hall
Mon, 6 February 2023

Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock

A health union leader has described Rishi Sunak as deluded for suggesting NHS staff should abandon their campaign to secure a bigger pay rise this year.

The GMB’s national secretary, Rachel Harrison, made the remark in response to Downing Street’s insistence that it would not talk about improving the £1,400 pay award for frontline personnel for 2022/23 even though it has triggered the wave of NHS strikes.

The spat blew up on Monday, the day tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance staff staged an unprecedented joint stoppage in the biggest strike in NHS history.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sunak wanted to look ahead to the pay deal for 2023/24 and “not backwards”.

Asked what the government’s plan for ending the escalating series of walkouts was, the spokesperson reiterated its position that large pay rises risked fuelling already rampant inflation.

“But we do want to find a path forward. We think the right way to do that is to talk about this year’s [2023/24] pay offer prior to evidence being submitted to the pay review body.”

Pressed on whether unions should “give up hope” of negotiating on pay levels for 2022/23, the No 10 official said: ‘I think we would say we want to keep talking about ways forward.”

Unions responded furiously and accused Sunak of trying to ignore the key reason for nurses, ambulance staff and paramedics staging stoppages since 15 December.

“GMB ambulance workers and other health workers are on strike over this year’s pay. Ignoring their calls and kicking the can into next year’s pay does nothing to solve the current dispute,” Harrison said.

“If he thinks GMB members will be fobbed off by pretending this year’s cost of living crisis hasn’t happened, he’s deluded.”

The health minister, Maria Caulfield, who used to be an NHS cancer nurse, reiterated the government’s line. She said: “We’ve been pretty clear that we’re not going to look at the current year’s pay award.”

One union official said: “Simply saying ‘forwards not backwards’ is just nonsense. Unions made very clear to the health secretary, Steve Barclay, when we met him last month that there has to be movement on NHS pay now or that strikes will continue, possibly for months.”

Unison’s head of health, Sara Gorton, said: “Under the Westminster government’s watch, it’s NHS pay that’s gone backwards. Health workers are on strike to improve pay and staffing this year. Talking about the wage rise they’re due in April won’t end the dispute.”

Both unions urged Sunak to follow the more proactive approach taken by the Scottish National party and Labour devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales. Both governments have offered NHS staff significantly more than Barclay’s £1,400 in an effort to break the deadlock.

Unions in Wales called off planned strikes last week after the Cardiff government offered staff an extra 3% over and above the £1,400, which equates to a rise of about 4% for many staff. Only half of the 3% would increase base salaries though. The other 1.5% would be a one-off payment.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, accused ministers of doing nothing to settle the dispute. Many people would be “absolutely flabbergasted that the government is still sitting this one out, not showing any leadership in the middle of a cost of living crisis, making the situation much worse than it otherwise would be”, he said.

The chief executive of King’s College hospital NHS trust in London, Prof Clive Kay, said that walkouts last month by nurses, ambulance crews and paramedics had forced it to reschedule 431 non-urgent operations and 938 outpatient appointments.

Related: Deadlock over NHS pay putting patients in danger, chief nurses warn

Referring to the fact that the NHS in England would be hit by stoppages every day this week except Wednesday, he said: “This week’s strike action is likely to have a similar impact, which is why we would urge all parties to find a way forward as quickly as possible.

“We support the right of nurses to take strike action, and to date we have been able to continue delivering life-preserving and emergency care on the strike days.

“However, the longer the strikes continue, the harder it becomes for our teams to deliver the care they want to, and sadly, this will have an impact on patients, many of whom have been waiting a long time for treatment as a result of the pandemic.”

In an urgent question debate on the strikes in the Commons on Monday, Conservative MPs largely backed the government’s refusal to discuss this year’s pay settlement with unions. But Steve Brine, the Tory chair of the health select committee, urged ministers to speed up the NHS pay review process for next year, which he believes could help bring an end to the current dispute.

The Guardian view on Rishi Sunak’s NHS plans: ramping up private medicine

Editorial
Mon, 6 February 2023 

Photograph: Leon Neal/PA

Last October, Rishi Sunak sat down beside Catherine Poole, a 77-year-old patient at Croydon University hospital, no doubt hoping for a breezy on-camera conversation. When Mr Sunak asked whether staff had looked after her “really nicely”, Ms Poole replied: “They always do. It’s a pity you don’t pay them more.” That sentiment seems to have hardened. Health workers in Britain began their largest strike on Monday and polls showed the public solidly behind them.

The disputes will eventually be settled, but patients will suffer more the longer they go on. Yet it seems that Mr Sunak’s government is in no mood to end the quarrel. That is why Monday’s strike, the biggest in the 75-year history of the NHS, largely affected English health services. Walkouts have been suspended in Scotland and Wales after new pay offers. Ministers need to face up to reality. The NHS in England is in crisis. This might lend weight to the argument that the system is in crying need of correction, yet the health service in England was just reorganised under the Health and Care Act 2022 so that the NHS could plan “integrated” services – reversing a decade of pro-market reforms.

Hugh Alderwick of the Health Foundation wrote perceptively last month that “these changes were introduced under Boris Johnson’s government. Two prime ministers later, Rishi Sunak and his health secretary, Steve Barclay, are emphasising patient choice of provider … to improve the NHS”. The Health Foundation’s polling shows that while public satisfaction in the health system has declined because of waiting times, support for its core principles – free at the point of use, available to everyone and funded by tax – remains as strong as ever.

This faith in the egalitarian and redistributive health system is being tested by Mr Sunak’s parsimony. Overall health spending will now grow by 1.2% a year in real terms over the next two years – less than in the decade before the pandemic (2% a year) and less than a third of the long term average (3.8%). With the NHS unable to provide comprehensive cover, the private sector is moving in. Last year, in the richest parts of the UK, a quarter of all NHS elective care was being delivered by private providers. In the poorest areas, the proportion is more than a tenth.

If wealthier areas see the biggest reductions in waiting times, then it would be another example of inverse care law – where health provision varies inversely with the need of the population served. Having to wait for care encourages people to try to jump the queue. In his forthcoming book, Shattered Nation, Oxford University’s Danny Dorling calculates that in 1980, about 0.5% of GDP was spent on private health insurance. In 2021 it was more than 2%.

Health spending is rising because we are living longer and there are more people with long-term conditions. It is also going up because medical advances allow us to live healthier and longer lives. Prof Dorling says that from the 1970s to 2015, people in 20 countries had longer life expectancy than Britons. By 2021 that was true in more than 30 nations. He argues that this “disturbing and sudden fall was not due to the pandemic; it was due to austerity”. It makes sense to spend money on things that improve our existence – unless, it seems, you are a Conservative minister.

Sunak accused of ‘abject failure’ on workers’ rights as broken promises revealed

Adam Forrest
Mon, 6 February 2023 

(PA)

Rishi Sunak’s government has been accused of “abject failure” on employment rights, as new analysis shows the Conservatives have failed to implement dozens of promised protections for workers.

The Tories pledged to bring enhanced rights for millions of Britons after 2018’s landmark Taylor Review outlined major changes needed to boost working practices.

But five years on from the landmark report commissioned by Downing Street, Labour analysis shows only six of the review’s 26 recommendations have come into force.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner branded the record a “devastating blow” to both employees and firms. “The Tories’ record on workers’ rights is one of broken promises and abject failure,” she said.

Ms Rayner added: “The Conservatives’ failure to deliver what they promised is a devastating blow to the millions of working people trapped in a cycle of low pay and insecure work, and employers who desperately need new guidance and regulations to keep up with the modern realities of work.”

Despite the Tory government’s promise to “embrace” the Taylor review recommendations – labelling the proposals “the largest upgrade in a generation to workers’ rights” – 20 proposals have fallen by the wayside, according to Labour analysis.

Matthew Taylor, Theresa May’s former employment tsar, recently accused the Tory government of “abandoning” his proposals – including rights allowing workers to ask for more predictable contracts and stronger paternity leave rights for men.

“There comes a point when repeated delay starts to feel like an abandonment of an agenda,” he told The Guardian last month, amid widespread public sector strikes over pay and conditions.

He added: “That is a great pity because, at a time when industrial relations are at the forefront, the challenge of improving the quality of work is, if anything, even more urgent than when I wrote my report.”

Labour highlighted the lack of action on the Taylor review’s proposal for workers on zero-hours contracts for 12 months getting the right to request a contract that better reflects the hours they work.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party said it would ban zero-hour contracts entirely, and ensure anyone working for 12 weeks or more will gain a right to a regular contract to reflect the hours usually worked.

Ms Rayner said a Labour government would deliver “a stronger, fairer and more aspirational future of work for Britain fit for our modern economy”.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Mr Sunak’s ministers considered moving unemployed people who have been off sick long-term up NHS waiting lists in a bid to encourage them to get back into work.

But reports suggest that the proposal is unlikely to go ahead because of NHS rules which mean decisions must be based on clinical need rather than employment status or any other factor.

Conservative MPs have urged the government to consider giving agency employees the right to request more predictable terms and conditions, arguing that it could help in its quest to get more over-50s back to work.

Tory MP Scott Benton’s Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill – which would let workers request a predictable working pattern – has cleared the second reading stage and has won support from across the Commons.

UK's Royal Mail workers call off 24-hour strike, union says

Mon, 6 February 2023

A postal worker makes a delivery in London


(Reuters) -Postal workers at Britain's Royal Mail called off a planned 24-hour strike over pay next week after receiving legal challenges by the company, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said on Monday.

Lawyers have advised that the union could defend its position in court, CWU said in a statement, but it added that the risk of losing in court may potentially impact a new ballot.

"The laws of in this country are heavily weighted against working people," the union's lawyers said, adding "the risks of losing in court may potentially impact on the re-ballot – we simply cannot allow this happen."

The union, which represents more than 115,000 postal workers at Royal Mail, will also re-enter negotiations with the Royal Mail Group this week, the statement added.

The CWU had served a notice to Royal Mail Group for a 24-hour strike for all shifts starting after 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 16.

Royal Mail did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

With inflation running at more than 10% - the highest level in four decades - Britain has seen a wave of strikes in recent months across the public and private sectors, including health and transport workers, Amazon warehouse employees and Royal Mail postal staff.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Stephen Coates)

Royal Mail faces threat from ransomware group LockBit


Tue, 7 February 2023 

Illustration shows displayed CYBER SECURITY words and binary code

(Reuters) -UK's Royal Mail is facing a threat from ransomware group LockBit, according to information published on a website, at a time when the British postal and parcel firm is grappling with the fallout of a "cyber incident" from last month.

LockBit has said it would publish stolen data on Feb. 9 if Royal Mail failed to pay a ransom, a screenshot of the group's blog on the dark web on darkfeed.io, a website which tracks ransomware groups, showed.

TechCrunch, earlier in the day, reported that Royal Mail was added to LockBit's dark web leak site this week and the group was threatening to publish "all available (Royal Mail) data".

In an emailed response to Reuters, Royal Mail said evidence from its investigation so far suggested that the data allegedly obtained from its network did not contain any financial information or other sensitive customer information.

LockBit was behind a ransomware attack that hit ION Trading UK recently.

Ransomware is a form of malicious software deployed by criminal gangs which works by encrypting data, with hackers offering the victim a key in return for payments. Such ransom demands can total millions of dollars.

Separately, Royal Mail said on its website that the disruptions to its international services due to the cyber incident were continuing and only some of the services have been restored.

Royal Mail said its teams were working to reinstate the remaining export services, adding that its import operations continued to perform fully with some minor delays.

The company reported on Jan. 11 that its international export services were severely disrupted by a cyber incident.

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru and James Pearson in London; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)

Strikes to hit 11 Scottish airports as workers demand pay rise

Hamish Morrison
Mon, 6 February 2023

Barra Airport, which operates beach landings for planes, is among those to be affected by strikes (Image: Jamie Simpson)

STRIKE action has been announced at 11 Scottish airports over several days in February.

Unite has set new dates for industrial action at Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) in a dispute over pay.

The union represents security staff, baggage handlers, ground crew and firefighters at the airports.


Three of HIAL’s airports were closed in December during previous strike days.

Union members have rejected the 5% pay rise they were offered by management.

READ MORE: SNP accidentally publish Nicola Sturgeon's bank account details in tax release

On February 17 and 20, strikes will take place at Dundee Airport.

A total of 10 other airports will be affected by strikes on February 21, 22 and 23.

These are the airports in Barra, Benbecula, Campbelltown, Inverness, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Inflation is at a generational high yet the HIAL group believe a substantial real-terms pay cut is what our hard-working members deserve.

“This is completely unacceptable.

“Strike action is now inevitable at all 11 airports and this is entirely the fault of airport management and the Scottish Government. Unite will fully support our members in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions across the Highlands and Islands.”

Unite industrial officer Shauna Wright said: “Unite believes our hard-working members who keep the airports operating in isolated and rural communities across Scotland deserve far more than what is currently on the table.

“Unite is once again calling on the Scottish Government to meet with us, the workers and HIAL management to fund an improved pay offer, and to deliver more investment in these communities.”

A spokesman for HIAL said: “We are currently liaising closely with our local teams and airlines to determine the impact of this industrial action and the potential disruption for passengers and will post further updates and information on our website and airport social media channels.

“In the meantime, we would advise passengers who intend to travel on these days to keep in touch with their airline.”

Hydrogen fuel could double your energy bills - and isn’t as green as you think, research warns

Charlotte Elton
Mon, 6 February 2023 



Heating Europe with hydrogen gas could double energy bills, a new study has warned.

Hydrogen - which can be produced by superheating water - is often touted as a green alternative to fossil fuels.

But switching European customers to the gas would cost €240 billion, investigative NGO Global Witness has warned - a bill that gas companies plan to pass on to consumers.


Renewable energy is a far cheaper and more environmentally-friendly option, Global Witness say.

“Europe does need to stop using gas, but there is a better alternative to hydrogen: energy savings and home heating sources such as heat pumps and district heating using renewable electricity,” the NGO said.

Why the world’s first hydrogen rail may not be as environmentally friendly as it seems


EU to impose world-first ‘carbon tariff’ on environmentally damaging imports
What is hydrogen fuel?

When natural gas is burnt as a fuel, it produces heat energy - and climate-wrecking carbon dioxide.

‘Burning’ hydrogen doesn’t release this greenhouse gas, making it a potential green energy fuel.

But it’s not so simple. Hydrogen can be produced in a number of ways, like by splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen atoms. But this production needs energy - and 96 per cent of hydrogen fuel is currently produced by burning fossil fuels.

This is why you might have heard of ‘green,’ ‘blue’, and ‘grey’ hydrogen fuel. Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy. Blue hydrogen is produced by fossil fuels, but the CO2 is captured and stored. Grey hydrogen is produced by fossil fuels and the CO2 is released into the air.
Is hydrogen gas expensive?

As countries slowly commit to phasing out oil and natural gas, fossil fuel giants are starting to pivot to hydrogen gas.

They favour the technology because of its similarities to natural gas; it is also burned to produce energy and is transported by pipe.

But the switch won’t come cheap.

At the end of 2021 - the last period for which data is available - Europeans spent an average of €67cents per kilowatt hour of energy.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has since pushed up gas prices - but hydrogen doubles the cost of this pre-war bill.

Global Witness estimates that households will spend an estimated average of €12.5cents per kilowatt hour of hydrogen energy by 2050.

For a medium-sized house, this would represent an annual household hydrogen bill of €1,580 (inflation discounted).

The organisation bases this estimate on the cost of building and operating hydrogen infrastructure - costs that would tally a €240 billion bill over 40 years.

This mammoth charge would cover the new gas pipelines required to transport the fuel. If costs like storage and electrolysers - the technology that creates hydrogen gas from water - are accounted for, the costs mount further.

Other studies have supported this conclusion. According to a study released this month, green hydrogen will be between two and three times more expensive than electrification for heating homes.

So who’s going to foot the bill?

Is green hydrogen less sustainable than we thought?


Green hydrogen: Fuel of the future has ‘big potential’ but a worrying blind spot, scientists warn
Do gas companies want customers to pay for the hydrogen transition?

Gas companies have lobbied the European Commission to make current gas consumers - even those who don’t plan to switch to hydrogen - cough up for the switch.

In 2021, the EC requested consultation on its ‘gas package.’The German Gas and Water Association (DVGW) - which counts nearly 1,900 utilities as members - argued that ‘all current gas-end users’ should have to pay for the new infrastructure.

This position has been echoed by Southern Germany’s Erdgas Schwaben DSO, and Italian lobby group ANIGAS. It is also supported by many transmission system operators - the companies who run the gas pipelines.

The draft gas package proposal - released in December 2021 - states EU countries may allow companies supplying hydrogen to share infrastructure costs between their hydrogen and gas consumers. Such costs cannot, however, be shared forever, and could only be charged for “one third of the depreciation period of the infrastructure concerned.”

Some hydrogen fuel is produced by renewable energy - but most is still produced by burning fossil fuels. - canva

What energy source is better than hydrogen?

To meet its climate goals, Europe needs to turn off the fossil fuel tap.

For heavy industries and large transportation sectors - shipping, long-haul air transport - hydrogen fuel might be the best alternative.

But households should rely on renewables instead, Global Witness advise.

“It is clear that for households, switching to hydrogen would make Europeans already facing energy poverty even poorer,” the report urges.

Reporter abandons live broadcast to rescue young girl from Turkey earthquake

Aditi Bharade
Tue, 7 February 2023 


A journalist from Turkish media outlet A News was reporting live on earthquake rescue efforts.

His broadcast was interrupted by the onset of a second earthquake, per a video by The Telegraph.

The journalist ran towards a little girl, carried her to safety, and tried to calm her down.

A journalist abandoned his live broadcast while reporting on the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey so he could carry a little girl to safety.

Yuksel Akalan, a journalist from the Turkish media outlet A News, was reporting on Monday on rescue efforts in the aftermath of the first earthquake. Akalan was filming with his cameraman on a street in Malatya, Turkey, per CBS News.

But Akalan's broadcast was cut short when he was caught in the middle of a powerful second earthquake, a video published by The Telegraph and Reuters showed. In the video, Akalan is seen running while the ground shakes. Sirens can be heard blaring in the background and structures can be heard crashing to the ground.

According to The Telegraph, Akalan said in the video: "As we were heading to the rubble to film search and rescue efforts, there were two consecutive aftershocks with a loud noise and the building you are seeing on my left was brought down to earth."

The video then cuts to the journalist running towards a young girl in distress, lifting her up and carrying her out into the open street.

After setting the crying girl down, Akalan is seen comforting her and telling her to remain calm, per The Telegraph's subtitles. He then resumed his broadcast. 

—Reuters (@Reuters) February 6, 2023

The first quake was one of the strongest to hit the region in over 100 years.

It was followed by a second earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter Scale and struck the Kahramanmaras province in southern Turkey at 1:24 p.m. local time, per Bloomberg.

The death toll from the quakes has exceeded 4,300 and is expected to rise, CNN reported.

Representatives for A News did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

‘Like the apocalypse’: Videos show devastation after huge earthquakes in Turkey, Syria

Aspen Pflughoeft
Mon, February 6, 2023 

A powerful earthquake and numerous large aftershocks rocked southern Turkey and northern Syria throughout the day on Monday, Feb. 6. Videos showed the devastating scenes where thousands have been killed or injured.

The initial 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Nurdağı, Turkey, in the middle of the night on Feb. 6, according to the United States Geological Survey. A series of aftershocks — including a massive quake with a 7.5 magnitude — rocked the Gaziantep region for hours.

The earthquakes flattened buildings in southern Turkey and northern Syria. Videos shared on Facebook by India Today and RTE News showed multi-story buildings crumbling in seconds, filling the streets with dust and rubble.


Thousands of people have been killed or injured from the earthquakes, but the exact death toll remains unclear. CNN reported that “more than 1,500 people” were killed across both countries. The Associated Press reported that the earthquakes have killed “more than 2,300 people.” Rescue teams are searching to find survivors amid the rubble.

Cold winter weather in the region is complicating rescue efforts and further endangering trapped survivors, CNN reported. The weather could reduce the time rescuers have to find and save people trapped under the rubble.


The earthquakes were felt as far as Cairo, Egypt, and Beirut, Lebanon, The Associated Press reported.

A survivor in Atareb, Syria, told Reuters the earthquakes felt “like the apocalypse.”

Drone footage shared by The Daily Sabah, Anadolu Agency and Reuters showed scenes of devastation from multiple cities in Turkey.



Rescue and relief operations are underway in Turkey and Syria, The Associated Press reported.

A map from the U.S. Geological Survey shows where the earthquakes hit. Nurdağı is a city in the Turkish province of Gaziantep and about 610 miles southeast of Istanbul. The Gaziantep region is along the Turkey-Syria border.

A map shows the location of the earthquake and aftershocks that rocked southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Race to find survivors as quake aid pours into Turkey, Syria

APTOPIX Turkey Earthquake
A woman sits on the rubble as emergency rescue teams search for people under the remains of destroyed buildings in Nurdagi town on the outskirts of Osmaniye city southern Turkey, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. A powerful earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing and injuring thousands of people. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)


Rescue workers and medics carry a woman out of the debris of a collapsed building in Elbistan, Kahramanmaras, in southern Turkey, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria. (Ismail Coskun/IHA via AP)

APTOPIX Turkey Earthquake 2/14

MEHMET GUZEL, GHAITH ALSAYED and SUZAN FRASER
Mon, February 6, 2023 

NURDAGI, Turkey (AP) — Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkey and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug — sometimes with their bare hands — through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.

But with the damage spread over a wide area, the massive relief operation often struggled to reach devastated towns, and voices that had been crying out from the rubble fell silent.

“We could hear their voices, they were calling for help," said Ali Silo, whose two relatives could not be saved in the Turkish town of Nurdagi.

In the end, it was left to Silo, a Syrian who arrived from Hama a decade ago, and other residents to recover the bodies and those of two other victims.

Monday's quake cut a swath of destruction that stretched hundreds of kilometers (miles) across southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, toppling thousands of buildings and heaping more misery on a region shaped by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.

Aftershocks then rattled tangled piles of metal and concrete, making the search efforts perilous, while freezing temperatures made them ever more urgent.

The scale of the suffering — and the accompanying rescue effort — were staggering.

More than 8,000 people have been pulled from the debris in Turkey alone, and some 380,000 have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels, said Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay. They huddled in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers, while others spent the night outside in blankets gathering around fires.

Many took to social media to plead for assistance for loved ones believed to be trapped under the rubble — and Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Interior Ministry officials as saying all calls were being “collected meticulously” and the information relayed to search teams.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 13 million of the country's 85 million were affected in some way — and declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces in order to manage the response.

For the entire quake-hit area, that number could be as high as 23 million people, according to Adelheid Marschang, a senior emergencies officer with the World Health Organization.

“This is a crisis on top of multiple crises in the affected region,” Marschang said in Geneva.

Teams from nearly 30 countries around the world headed for Turkey or Syria.

As promises of help flooded in, Turkey said it would only allow vehicles carrying aid to enter the worst-hit provinces of Kahramanmaras, Adiyaman and Hatay in order to speed the effort.

The United Nations said it was “exploring all avenues” to get supplies to rebel-held northwestern Syria, where millions live in extreme poverty and rely on humanitarian aid to survive.

Nurgul Atay told The Associated Press she could hear her mother's voice beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in the Turkish city of Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, but that her and others' efforts to get into the ruins had been futile without any heavy equipment to help.

“If only we could lift the concrete slab we'd be able to reach her,” she said. “My mother is 70 years old, she won't be able to withstand this for long.”

But in the northwestern Syrian town of Jinderis, a young girl called Nour was pulled alive from the wreckage of a collapsed building Monday.

A rescuer cradled her head in his hands and tenderly wiped dust from around her eyes as she lay amid crushed concrete and twisted metal before being pulled out and passed to another man.

Turkey has large numbers of troops in the border region with Syria and has tasked the military to aid in the rescue efforts, including setting up tents for the homeless and a field hospital in Hatay province. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said a humanitarian aid brigade based in Ankara and eight military search and rescue teams had also been deployed.

A navy ship docked on Tuesday at the province’s port of Iskenderun, where a hospital collapsed, to transport survivors in need of medical care to a nearby city. Thick, black smoke rose from another area of the port, where firefighters have not yet been able to douse a fire that broke out among shipping containers toppled by the earthquake.

In northern Syria, meanwhile, Sebastien Gay, the head of mission in the country for Doctors Without Borders, said health facilities were overwhelmed with medical personnel working around “around the clock to respond to the huge numbers of wounded.”

The affected area in Syria is divided between government-controlled territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey is home to millions of refugees from the Syrian civil war.

The rebel-held enclave is packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the war. Many live in buildings that were already damaged by military bombardments.

Erdogan said the total number of deaths in Turkey had passed 3,500, with some 22,000 people injured.

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed over 800, with some 1,400 injured, according to the Health Ministry. The country’s rebel-held northwest also saw at least 800 die, according to the White Helmets, the emergency organization leading rescue operations, with more than 2,200 injured.

The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles). Hours later, another quake, likely triggered by the first, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away with 7.5 magnitude.

Alsayed reported from Azmarin, Syria, while Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok, Zeynep Bilginsoy and Robert Badendieck in Istanbul, Bassem Mroue and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Riazat Butt in Islamabad, contributed to this report.

  

Is the Turkey earthquake related to the one in Buffalo and Ontario? 'The timing isn't right,' seismologist says

'We do see earthquakes caused by that large main shock, 

but they tend to be within the length of the rupture zone,'

expert says

Elianna Lev

Mon, February 6, 2023 

The powerful and devastating earthquake that has killed thousands in Turkey and Syria is unrelated to the 4.2-magnitude earthquake that shook Buffalo and parts of southern Ontario Monday morning.

John Cassidy, an earthquake seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, says both instances are relatively rare events. The 7.8 shallow quake in Turkey is one of the largest experienced in the region in 100 years, and ruptured a fault hundreds of kilometers long.

The earthquake felt in Buffalo and Ontario, however, is most likely unrelated.

“There are a lot of aftershocks and we do see earthquakes caused by that large main shock, but they tend to be within the length of the rupture zone” he tells Yahoo News Canada. “In this case, within 500 kilometers is where you’d see potential for other earthquakes to be triggered.”

There have been studies that look at earthquakes triggered at great distances, but they’re related to the seismic waves of a large earthquake as they roll through a region, triggering tiny earthquakes, Cassidy explains. That’s generally observed in volcanic regions.

“That’s not the case in New York (and Ontario),” he says. “The timing isn’t right either.”

That’s not to say large earthquakes aren’t to be expected in different parts of Canada. While it’s not unheard of for parts of Ontario to be shaken by earthquakes, they’re rather rare. But the Ottawa Valley region is a seismic zone, which continues up to Temiscaming, the St. Lawrence Valley and the Lower St. Lawrence. The Charlevoix Region of Quebec has had many large earthquakes, including ones up to magnitude 7 on the Richter scale.

RELATED: B.C.'s big earthquake: 'It could be tomorrow, it could be 200 years from now'

There’s also been large earthquakes along the eastern boundaries of Canada, such as off the coast of Newfoundland and Baffin Island.

“While they’re rare events, they do happen,” says Cassidy.

However, the largest and most frequent earthquakes take place along Canada’s West Coast, from Vancouver Island, all the way up to the Yukon, where up to magnitude 9 earthquakes have been recorded.

As for the “Big One”, which is expected along the South coast, Cassidy says it’s not overdue but we’re well into the cycle of when it can be expected.

These earthquakes are rare and happen roughly every 300 to 800 or 900 years. The last one was in 1700, so three 323 years ago, so we’re certainly into the cycle.John Cassidy, earthquake seismologist, Natural Resources Canada

Other types of extreme earthquakes have been felt in recent years. In 2012, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake - the same magnitude as the one in Turkey - occurred offshore in Haida Gwaii. It quake triggered lots of landslides and a tsunami, but it was a sparsely populated area and there was little damage to structures because of the distance factor.

Canada earthquake warning system in the works

Erie County Executive describes Buffalo-area earthquake: 'Maybe my house got hit by a car'  Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz described what he felt as a magnitude 3.8 earthquake rattled western New York. He says he thought maybe his house got hit by a car.

While there’s no way to predict earthquakes, Cassidy says the way we protect ourselves from them are through building codes, which are updated every five years, and bridge codes. There are also models developed of what we can expect across Canada when it comes to the types of ground shaking and how long it could last.

Experts do this by looking at recorded earthquakes across the country and large ones across the world, which are similar to the ones that are known to happen in Canada.

What’s currently being developed are early warning systems, which don’t predict earthquakes but provide people with seconds to minutes of time before strong shaking arrives. The system detects the waves that occur after the earthquake has happened, so those in the surrounding areas can be alerted.

“It takes time for those waves to travel,” Cassidy explains. “Really strong waves travel at about three and a half kilometers each second. So if you’re a distance away from the earthquake, it’s possible to get some warning before it arrives.”

Similar systems currently operate in Mexico, Japan, California and Oregon. It allows for high speed trains and traffic to stop from running into tunnels, alarms in hospitals to alert surgeons from operating, and elevators to stop working.

“There’s a lot of automated systems that do some very simple but very useful things before strong shaking arrives,” he says.

Cassidy says that warning system should be available across Canada by next March.

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/b_6.html

B.C. rattled by a 3.9-magnitude earthquake, shaking reported

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/turkey-earthquake-latest-news-second.html

WORST QUAKE IN 70 YEARS

Turkey earthquake latest news: Second massive 7.7 magnitude quake strikes

FELT IN CANADA

Buffalo, New York, area is hit with the strongest earthquake in 40 years


USGS

Marlene Lenthang and Colin Sheeley
Mon, February 6, 2023

A 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck Monday morning near Buffalo, New York, the strongest recorded in the area in 40 years.

The quake hit 1.24 miles east-northeast of West Seneca, New York, with a depth of 1.86 miles, around 6:15 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said no damage had been reported so far in West Seneca, a suburb of Buffalo near the U.S.-Canada border.

He said he had spoken with the deputy commissioner of the Erie County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Gregory J. Butcher, who said a “confirmed quake was felt as far north as Niagara Falls and south to Orchard Park.”

“It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed,” Poloncarz said.

Yaareb Altaweel, a seismologist at the National Earthquake Information Center, said Northeast earthquakes “happen all the time” and quakes can strike anywhere at any time.

Since 1983, there have been 24 earthquakes above magnitude 2.5 in the West Seneca region, with Monday’s being the largest so far in the area.

Altaweel said another 3.8-magnitude quake took place in 1999 in western New York.

“On a scale of earthquakes, 3.8 isn’t that big. But the crust in that region is old crust. It’s old and cold, and the efficiency of transferring the seismic waves versus sedimentary areas — that’s why people can feel it more. That’s why earthquakes can be felt even at 1.0 in some places,” he said.

Altaweel said a 3.8-magnitude quake is “not a big earthquake that you’d expect damage from.”

Existing fractures and fault lines can cause earthquakes to hit so far inland, he said.

Altaweel said there was nothing abnormal about this shock.

“I’d say it’s very normal. There was one, a 2.6, in March 2022. There was another 2 in 2020. These keep happening in this region at low magnitude,” he said.

Around the globe, an initial 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey was followed hours later by a 7.5-magnitude quake that shook buildings and killed more than 3,600 people in the country and neighboring Syria. The toll is expected to rise sharply on both sides of the border.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

4.2 magnitude earthquake felt in Ontario largest to hit Buffalo area in decades

Mon, February 6, 2023 


A 4.2 magnitude earthquake was "lightly felt" in Ontario after it hit near Buffalo, N.Y., Earthquakes Canada said Monday – a light quake by international measures but the largest to hit the area in more than a half-century.

No significant damage was reported in the hours after Monday morning's earthquake and none would be expected to accompany one of its size, said Stephen Halchuk, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada.

A search of recorded seismic activity within 100 kilometres showed the last one to measure higher on the Richter scale was 4.5 magnitude in 1967 near Buffalo, Halchuk said.

"It is larger than we would normally see," he said.

The earthquake was reported at 6:15 a.m. and pinpointed around six kilometres east of Buffalo. The U.S. Geological Survey measured it slightly lower at 3.8.

Just across the U.S.-Canada border in Fort Erie, Ont., Mayor Wayne Redekop said he was stirred awake by the sound of the earthquake's rumble. His house shook, but everything stayed on the shelves, he said.

"It was fairly mild, but it was definitely noticeable," he said.

Redekop said he exchanged texts with his two daughters who also live in town and they told him they also felt their homes shake.

"It was a sufficient magnitude that it woke everybody up except my youngest grandson, who apparently slept right through it," Redekop said. "But he's four. He probably ran the batteries down yesterday and needed to recharge."

The area, referred to by seismologists as the Niagara-Attica zone, sees regular activity, with records indicating about 60 earthquakes in the past decade, Halchuk said. But the vast majority have been magnitude two or smaller – too small to be felt.

The zone is far from North American tectonic plate boundaries in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. But as the plate crawls along, at a pace of around five to ten centimetres a year, stresses build up in the earth's crust, leading to "areas of weakness", such as the Niagara-Attica zone, Halchuk said.

"You get these stresses being released in the form of these small earthquakes that occur occasionally in the region," he said, noting there's no reason to expect more frequent earthquakes.

The quake came on the same day as a major 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked large parts of Turkey and Syria, toppling buildings and killing thousands. Halchuk said Turkey lies near an intersection of three tectonic plates, creating high seismic activity and the potential for large damaging earthquakes.

In the Niagara-Attica zone, the largest earthquake ever recorded was a 4.9 magnitude quake in 1929 near Attica, N.Y., which caused only moderate damage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press

FACT CHECK

Florida High School Athletic Assoc. weighs mandating menstrual cycle details for female athletes




Associated Press
Sat, February 4, 2023 

CLAIM: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is requiring all female student-athletes in the state to provide detailed information about their periods in order to compete in organized sports.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The Florida High School Athletic Association is weighing the recommendation from an advisory committee, but no final decision has been made. DeSantis’ education commissioner is a member of the association’s board of directors and the commissioner also appoints three others, but the association is a private nonprofit organization, not a state agency under the purview of the governor’s office.

THE FACTS: Social media users are suggesting the conservative Republican governor, who has been an outspoken critic of transgender athletes, is again using sports to stoke controversy as he weighs a run for president in 2024.

“BREAKING: Ron DeSantis wants female student-athletes to submit menstrual information. THIS IS INSANE!,” wrote one Twitter user in a post.

“Ron DeSantis: The government has no right in telling federal employees to wear masks. Also, Ron DeSantis: The government has every right to know when every single high school girl has her period,” wrote another Twitter user in a post that had been liked or shared more than 3,000 times as of Friday. “Ron DeSantis is the epitome of hypocrisy and quite the creep!”

But the proposed mandate hasn’t had final approval and wasn’t developed by DeSantis’ office.

Florida currently asks female high school athletes to provide information about their menstrual cycle on health forms required to participate in sports, but it is not mandatory.

Ryan Harrison, the association’s spokesperson, confirmed the new recommendations were developed by its sports medicine advisory committee and approved in late January. It will now be considered by the association board of directors at its next meeting in Gainesville from Feb. 26-27.

The association is recognized as the state’s official governing body for interscholastic sports. Its board includes a representative for the office of state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, who DeSantis appointed. Diaz also picks three others to serve on the 16-member board.

DeSantis and Diaz’s offices didn’t respond to emails seeking comment this week, but Harrison stressed the proposed changes are not in response to concerns about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, as some social media users claim.

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“There is absolutely no support of the argument that their recommendation is aimed towards addressing an individual group of people,” he wrote in an email.

The athletic association’s current Preparticipation Physical Evaluation Form, which must be completed by a student and their physician and kept on file at their school, asks female athletes five questions about their periods, but they’re all listed as optional.

The questions, which association officials say have been on the form for at least two decades, including when a student had their first menstrual period, when the most recent one was, how long the interval between their periods typically lasts, how many they’ve had in the past year and the longest interval between periods in the last year.

The proposed revisions to the form include four mandatory questions about menstruation, including if the student has ever had a period, the age they had their first period, the date of their most recent period and how many periods they’ve had in the past year.

Robert Sefcik, a member of the sports medicine advisory committee, said making the menstrual cycle questions mandatory rather than optional is consistent with national guidelines for sports physicals developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Sports Medicine and other groups.

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He said having a form that has been vetted and published by national organizations provides an “extremely credible resource” for doctors conducting sports physicals.

“We appreciate the medical necessity of the questions, including menstrual history, that are included on this form and support their inclusion on the form,” Sefcik, who was the committee’s previous chairperson and voted in favor of recommendations, wrote in an email

The national guidelines say menstrual history is an “essential discussion for female athletes” because period abnormalities could be a sign of “low energy availability, pregnancy, or other gynecologic or medical conditions.”

“Menstrual dysfunction is 2-3 times more common in athletes than nonathletes, and 10-15% of female athletes have amenorrhea (loss of menstrual cycle) or oligomenorrhea (a decrease in the number of menstrual cycles per year),” the guidelines read. “Amenorrhea occurs more frequently in players of sports that emphasize leanness, such as running, gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, and figure skating.”

This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.