The Biden administration plans to end both the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency on May 11.
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Without oxytocin receptors, voles are just as lovey-dovey
The standard understanding of oxytocin, colloquially known as the “love hormone,” may be all wrong.
Researchers report surprising results from a study that turns a dogma concerning the biology of friendliness, romantic attachment, and parental probity on its head.
They found that stifling the activity of oxytocin in prairie voles doesn’t change these rodents’ behavior—they remain the monogamous, protective parents they’ve always been.
“As you can imagine, this is huge,” says Nirao Shah, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Long considered important in mammalian pair bonding and good parenting, oxytocin has been stewarded into numerous clinical trials on the assumption that, administered as a drug, it might encourage sociability in people with conditions such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder.
The new study in Neuron seriously challenges that assumption.
Oxytocin signaling
Hormones are chemical messengers that influence the way cells act. (And multi-celled organisms such as humans are, after all, composed of cells.) Hormones circulate throughout the body doing various things from regulating sugar uptake and sodium retention to sex drive and the menstrual cycle. In every case, they work by latching on to molecular receptors.
Different hormones latch on to different receptors. Some cells have receptors for hormone A or hormone B; others don’t. A cell without a matching receptor for a given hormone has no way of knowing a hormone is in the neighborhood, much less which one it is. So, it won’t respond to that hormone.
Oxytocin, too, is understood to act by binding to its own dedicated receptor, a cell-surface protein that abounds in distinct structures in the brain.
Previous studies of oxytocin’s activity have largely relied on drugs that block or mimic the molecule’s binding to its receptor. But drugs can be notoriously imprecise in space and time, Shah says. They can diffuse to areas unrelated to the one under study, and they can persist in a tissue or on a cell surface for longer than scientists intend, producing a spurious result. And they can trip off, or inhibit, activities in cells that weren’t meant to be part of the experiment. They’re never 100% perfect at mimicking the action of the substance they’re supposed to mirror.
“We were curious about whether oxytocin signaling in fact mediated all the various aspects of social attachment and other behaviors attributed to it, because most of the work had been done with pharmacological agents,” Shah says.
He and his colleagues turned to a more meticulous genetic technology. They used CRISPR—an extremely precise molecular editing technique used to snip out stretches of DNA—to delete the gene for the oxytocin receptor in prairie voles.
Prairie vole families
Not all that many animals are doting parents, mind you. (Scorpions sometimes eat their young.) And very few are monogamous. But as a species, prairie voles serve as the ultimate commercial for lifetime marriage and nuclear families. Couples, once bonded, stick together for the long run. They huddle over their pups to keep them warm, and they retrieve any of their offspring who wander too far from the nest and into harm’s way. Plus, these fuzzy, nuzzling natives of the US Midwest are quite cute.
The investigators’ experiments showed that long after mating, pairs of voles that lacked oxytocin receptors continued to hang out together. Not only that, but they displayed outright aggression toward opposite-sexed strangers of the same species—the opposite of what would be expected of a non-monogamous animal of any species. Moms happily nursed their newborns. Dads chipped in, helping keep the pups warm, clean, and close by.
In short, prairie voles whose oxytocin receptors are non-existent still exhibit monogamous behavior and conscientious co-parenting. Apparently, oxytocin signaling through its receptor isn’t required for this loving behavior, as has been assumed, Shah says.
In fact, no result from the study—which was 15 years in the making—indicated a critical role for the oxytocin receptor in pro-social behavior (at least, not in prairie voles) or, by extension, for oxytocin.
Either oxytocin just plain isn’t essential to the cuddly camaraderie long attributed to it, or maybe in the total absence of this receptor, compensatory brain circuitry arose in early development to step up and take on pair-bonding and parenting responsibilities.
Or could it be that this hallowed hormone is two-timing its acknowledged receptor via covert liaisons with some mysterious, as-yet-unidentified receptor hiding in plain sight?
It’s also possible that some other, more relevant biological pathway—perhaps involving another hormone such as vasopressin, which is structurally and physiologically similar to oxytocin—may be underlying all these pro-social effects attributed to oxytocin.
In any case, the study’s findings may explain why several clinical trials of oxytocin as a treatment for alleviating social symptoms of autism or schizophrenia have generated mixed or downright disappointing results in the past year or so, Shah suggests.
“It looks as though people may have been barking up the wrong tree,” he says.
Source: Stanford University
Funeral for Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf held in Karachi, attended by over 2,500 mourners
Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf was buried Tuesday in his family’s hometown, the southern port city of Karachi, a day after a special plane transported his body from the United Arab Emirates where he died on the weekend.
About 2,500 mourners — including Musharraf’s family and relatives, senior politicians and retired and serving military officials — attended the funeral at a military cemetery inside a high-security area in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.
Musharraf, who died at age 79, seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 by ousting the elected government of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose younger brother Shahbaz Sharif is now the country’s prime minister.
Amir Muqam, a senior leader from Sharif’s party, attended the funeral. Musharraf’s coffin was draped in the national flag in a sign of respect, though the ceremony was not a state funeral.
PLANE CARRYING DECEASED PAKISTANI EX-PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN KARACHI
Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and former army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, also attended.
“Gen. Pervez Musharraf always put the interests of Pakistan first, and he even put his life at risk by waging a war against militancy,” Moinuddin Haider, a retired army general, told reporters.
Several politicians and government officials also paid glowing tributes to Musharraf.
During his tenure as president, Musharraf made Pakistan a key ally of Washington in the war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. That angered Pakistani and foreign militants who at least twice tried to assassinate him in the city of Rawalpindi in 2003, but he escaped unhurt.
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, FORMER PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN, SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TREASON
Musharraf lost his grip on power in 2008 when the party of former president Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan People’s Party, defeated his longtime political allies in parliamentary elections. Zardari later forced him to resign. The new government instigated a treason case against Musharraf — but allowed him to leave the country on bail to travel to Dubai in the UAE in 2016 for medical treatment while the proceedings were underway.
Musharraf remained in Dubai after being sentenced to death for treason at home in 2019, although the death penalty was later overturned by another court.
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However, Prime Minister Sharif’s government last year said Musharraf would not be arrested if his family wanted to bring him back home. But Musharraf’s doctors and his family said adequate medical treatment for him was unavailable in Pakistan.
White House looks to undercut GOP arguments ahead of border security hearing
CNN
—
The White House tried to flip the script on border security politics, accusing House Republicans of “staging political stunts” and undermining border security ahead of a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday that probed the Biden administration’s handling of the US southern border.
In a memo obtained by CNN, the White House counsel’s office spokesman Ian Sams credited a series of new immigration and border security actions by the administration with reducing southern border crossings last month and slammed House Republicans for voting against the omnibus spending bill last year that included billions of dollars in border security funding and accused them of “pushing an agenda that would make border security worse.”
“It is clear that House Republicans are more interested in staging political stunts than on rolling up their sleeves to work with President Biden and Democrats in Congress on legislation to strengthen border security and fix our immigration system that has needed repair for decades,” Sams wrote in the memo. “But beyond their refusal to work constructively to pursue concrete solutions, they and their allies in the states are actually pushing an agenda that would make things worse at the border.”
The memo was distributed Tuesday morning to Democrats on Capitol Hill and other allies, just hours before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee held a hearing with two chief patrol agents of the US Border Patrol.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, has accused the Biden administration of igniting “the worst border crisis in American history.”
“Starting on day one in office, President Biden and his administration rolled back deterrent focused policies, halted the construction of the border wall, gutted interior enforcement, pushed amnesty for illegal immigrants – all of which have made it difficult for US Border Patrol agents to secure the border,” Comer said in a statement announcing Tuesday’s hearing, vowing to hold the administration accountable.
Southern border crossings have hit record levels under Biden, making the issue a key political vulnerability that the newly empowered House Republican majority is eager to exploit. But Biden administration officials saw progress last month as daily migrant encounters dropped by more than half on the heels of new policies enacted by the administration.
During that hearing, Republicans slammed the Biden administration over its handling of the US southern border, claiming that the administration is to blame for the uptick in fentanyl being smuggled into the country and doubling down on their intentions to investigate.
“We will investigate. We will reveal the truth. And we will force accountability,” said Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana.
The back and forth between Republicans and Democrats over fentanyl in the over three-hour hearing underscored the highly political nature of the border, including over drug smuggling.
GOP lawmakers repeatedly cited so-called “gotaways” – migrants who evade capture – arguing that the thousands of known “gotaways” are evidence of what lawmakers described as an “open border” policy despite the Department of Homeland Security continuing to rely on a Trump-era border restriction that allows authorities to turn migrants away.
Democratic lawmakers on the committee, meanwhile, frequently cited data that shows fentanyl primarily comes in and is stopped at ports of entry. Republicans pushed back, saying that it’s unclear how many individuals may be carrying drugs into the United States.
“All we’re doing in this hearing is politicizing another issue in this country that doesn’t need to be politicized. We all agree that fentanyl is a problem,” said Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida.
DHS has said it’s false that migrants seeking asylum between ports of entry are bringing fentanyl, which is instead often smuggled via vehicles through ports of entry.
The White House is also putting the spotlight back on GOP state officials who are suing to end Biden administration immigration policies, including most recently a lawsuit by 20 Republican-led states to block the expansion of a program that will allow up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti to enter the US each month. Ending those policies “would lead to more unlawful border crossings,” the White House said.
“Why won’t House Republicans stand up to Republican state attorneys general who are trying to create more unlawful border crossings by ending President Biden’s new measures for border enforcement and safe, orderly migration?” Sams asked in the memo.
“House Republicans should join the President in pursuing real solutions, not political stunts – and they should answer for their opposition to funding for border security and their refusal to stand up to Republican officials trying to create more unlawful border crossings,” he added.
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Neighborhood ‘walkability’ may boost exercise, lower BMI
People in highly walkable neighborhoods are more likely to engage in adequate physical activity, walk near their home, and have a lower body mass index, according to a new study.
Three out of four adults do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity, which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week.
As obesity and related chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, and diabetes continue to rise in the US, the study in the journal Obesity examined perceived neighborhood walkability, physical activity, and obesity among adults in the US. Lower body mass index (BMI) is an established indicator of obesity.
Previous studies have linked walkability with increased physical activity and lower obesity rates, but this study is the first to examine this relationship on a national level.
Notably, the findings revealed that the link between perceived walkability and physical activity differed by race and ethnicity. Black, Hispanic, and Asian residents were less likely to engage in physical activity or walk near their home, despite a greater proportion of residents of color living in high-walkability neighborhoods, compared to white residents.
These racial inequities in physical activity reflect persistent inequitable neighborhood conditions borne from systemic racism and policies that have created barriers for many communities of color to embrace health-protective behaviors, the researchers say.
“In cities and counties across the US, the legacy of racial residential segregation and policies like redlining resulted in poorer built physical activity environments, characterized by decreased walkability, street connectivity, and green space, and increased pollution that disproportionately impact communities of color,” says lead author Monica Wang, associate professor of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health.
“We’re continuing to see the effects of structural racism on physical activity and obesity risk in the data today.”
Wang and colleagues used demographic and health-related data from a nationally representative survey that gathers information on illness, disability, chronic impairments, health insurance, health care access, and health services use in 2020, among US adults ages 18 and older.
They found that adults who live in walkable neighborhoods were 1.5 times more likely to engage in adequate levels of physical activity, and 0.76 times less likely to have obesity, compared to adults living in neighborhoods with low walkability.
However, the team found that the association between perceived walkability and BMI levels differed among certain racial/ethnic groups. Among white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian participants, BMI levels decreased as their perception of their neighborhood walkability increased.
But among American Indian/Alaska Native and multiracial/other-race adults, BMI levels increased as perceptions of neighborhood walkability increased.
“While individuals may perceive their neighborhoods to be walkable, it may not be safe, desirable, or normative to walk in these communities,” Wang says. “This is particularly relevant for communities who have been displaced, whether historically by force or through gentrification.
“This suggests that a combination of approaches—such as improving pedestrian and public transit infrastructure, implementing policies that slow traffic, enhancing park quality, and community programming—are needed to promote walkability and well-being.”
Marie-Rachelle Narcisse, assistant professor and senior data analyst at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is the study’s corresponding author. T Pearl McElfish, director of research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest is the study’s senior author.
Source: Boston University
Patriots' Bill Belichick lauds Tom Brady, reminisces about coaching him: 'Just the greatest player'
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick appeared on the “Let’s Go!” podcast Monday to reminisce with Tom Brady and the 20 years the two spent together, winning six Super Bowl titles.
Belichick lauded Brady and was thankful to get the chance to work with him for so long. New England selected Brady with the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe during the 2001 season and the rest is history.
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“Just the greatest player,” Belichick said. “The greatest career. A great, great person. It was such an opportunity and an honor for me to coach Tom. I guess it’s got to end at some point, you know, but it’s the greatest one ever. So, congratulations, Tom.”
Belichick explained he learned a lot from Brady when he was able to pick the quarterback’s mind during film sessions. He recalled at times when Brady would point things out to him, and he would think, “this guy sees everything.”
Belichick praised Brady’s ability to remember plays that happened from two years ago and the same situations he has been in over times during his career.
TOM BRADY OPENS HIMSELF UP TO RAZZING FROM FORMER NFL COLLEAGUES OVER UNDERWEAR SELFIE
“We all have decent memories, but to be able to process it that quickly in a matter of literally seconds and split seconds on the field or during a timeout or going back on the field with how much time’s left,” he explained on the podcast. “… Those are the things that I learned from Tom as a quarterback – was how to see the game as a quarterback instead of a coach.”
Belichick made clear that he and Brady had a “good relationship” despite the rumors of a rift between the two during the latter part of the quarterback’s time in Foxborough.
“We had a really good relationship, especially in the film room and talking football and all that, that I’ll always treasure and I learned so much from,” he said. “Because nobody sees the game better than Tom Brady sees it or saw it, and I was so lucky to learn from him and his vision. No other coach will get that experience. I mean, it was incredible.”
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Brady announced last week that he was “retiring for good” after finishing up his 23rd season in the NFL.
Massive Microsoft Outlook outage brings email to a halt
New York
CNN
—
Microsoft
(MSFT) reported that a “full restoration” of its Outlook service was nearly complete mid-morning Tuesday after a widespread outage for several hours overnight halted email and disrupted Teams and other products.
Earlier Tuesday morning, Microsoft said on its service page that it had “applied mitigation throughout the affected infrastructure, and we’re starting to see gradual recovery.”
Users in North America, and around the world, were unable to send, receive, or search email since late Monday. Calendar functions were also affected.
Microsoft tweeted that “a recent change” was partly to blame for the outage, which appears to have started after 10:30 p.m. ET Monday, according to Downdetector.
In an update posted at 4 a.m. ET Tuesday, Microsoft said users outside North America might continue to “experience some residual impact due to the affected portions of infrastructure.”
“We’re continuing to perform targeted restart operations on the primarily affected infrastructure in North America in order to restore the availability of the service,” it added.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday morning.
US releases first images of China spy flight recovery efforts as divers recover debris
U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) released its first official images off the effort to recover debris from the downed Chinese spy balloon Monday night.
U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels deployed off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday after the U.S. shot down China’s surveillance craft. Divers and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are working to locate and recover pieces of the downed craft, which military officials say weighed thousands of pounds.
President Biden’s administration hopes to gain significant intelligence from the craft, which was allowed to cross the entire continental United States last week.
Once recovered, the debris is being transferred to the FBI facility in Quantico for analysis.
AIR FORCE WARNS CHINESE COMPANY’S NORTH DAKOTA MILL WOULD BE ‘SIGNIFICANT’ NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT
NORTHCOM also released images of the F-22 fighter jet that took off from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to shoot down the balloon on Saturday.
Biden is said to have ordered the Chinese craft shot down on Wednesday, but the military advised holding off for safety purposes until the balloon was over open water.
NORAD chief Gen. Glen VanHerck spoke to reporters in a press call on Monday and faced questions as to why the U.S. did not shoot down China’s surveillance craft as it crossed Alaska’s Aleutian Islands earlier in the week. VanHerck confirmed that NORAD had detected the craft before it entered Alaskan airspace, but said he “could not” take immediate action because the balloon did not pose a direct threat.
“The domain awareness was there as it approached Alaska. It was my assessment that this balloon did not present a physical military threat to North America,” VanHerck said Monday. “This is under my NORAD hat and therefore, I could not take immediate action because it was not demonstrating hostile act or hostile intent.”
CHINA SPY BALLOON SHOWS COUNTRY IS PREPARING CITIZENS FOR WAR THAT COULD COME ‘AT ANY POINT’
Reporters then pressed VanHerc on why the U.S. was so confident that it had limited the Chinese craft’s ability to gather information as it crossed the continental U.S. VanHerck says the military took precautions to cover all sensitive areas the craft flew over, but declined to go into specifics.
VanHerck also said officials assumed out of an abundance of caution there may be explosives aboard the craft meant to destroy it in the event of discovery or capture.
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Republicans on Capitol Hill have blasted Biden’s handling of the incident and are demanding to know further information about what intelligence the Chinese craft may have gathered during its journey across the U.S.
Survivors are still being pulled from the rubble more than 24 hours after Turkey earthquake
Gaziantep, Turkey
CNN
—
Survivors are still being pulled from the rubble in Turkey and Syria, more than 24 hours after a powerful earthquake toppled thousands of homes, killing more than 7,000 people.
The 7.8-magnitude quake hit just after 4 a.m. local time Monday, sending tremors hundreds of miles and creating disaster zones on both sides of the Turkey-Syria border, including areas home to millions of people already displaced by the civil war in Syria.
A CNN team has witnessed the ongoing rescue efforts in Gaziantep, southern Turkey. From the ruins of one seven-story building, two adults and two children were rescued on Tuesday afternoon local time. Rescuers said that at least 20 more people were thought to be beneath the debris.
Three hours later the team said they hadn’t seen any more survivors rescued, but voices could be heard from beneath the rubble.
As darkness fell outside another building in Gaziantep, English teacher Alptekin Talanci told CNN about his concerns for a friend trapped under the rubble.
“The weather conditions are really so bad,” said Talanci, who said temperatures were very cold.
“I can’t believe that he (his friend) can make it but, you know, I always have my hope,” he added. “We’re just praying.”
Drone footage shows massive destruction after earthquake
Elsewhere, CNN affiliate CNN Turk broadcast the rescue of a 14-year-old boy in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, live on air. He had a black eye but appeared to be conscious as rescuers carried him on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.
“Finally. He has been rescued,” said a CNN Turk reporter.
While the boy’s rescue offers a glimmer of hope that others will survive the freezing conditions, the death toll continues to climb as search teams navigate blocked roads, damaged infrastructure and violent aftershocks to reach the affected area.
At least 125 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have occurred since the quake, according to the United States Geological Survey.
While the frequency and magnitude of aftershocks are decreasing as is expected, 5.0-6.0 magnitude shocks are still possible and could cause further damage.
Up to 23 million people, including 1.4 million children, could be affected by the quake, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling efforts to help them a “race against time.”
Here’s what we know:
The death toll has risen to 5,434 in Turkey, according to officials.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces for three months.
The region has experienced several aftershocks, creating treacherous conditions for rescuers and survivors – dramatic video showed buildings collapsing hours after the initial quake, sending dust piles into the air as people ran away screaming.
The weather and the scale of the disaster were making it challenging for aid teams to reach the affected area, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, adding that helicopters were unable to take off on Monday due to the poor weather.
Heavy snowstorms have recently hit parts of Syria and Turkey, according to CNN meteorologist Haley Brink, and by Wednesday already cold temperatures are expected to plummet several degrees below zero.
Photos taken in earthquake-hit cities in southeastern Turkey show families huddling around fires to keep warm. Some sought shelter in buses, sports centers, mosques and underneath temporary tarpaulin tents – structures sturdy enough to withstand further aftershocks or flimsy enough not to cause severe injury should they collapse.
At least 5,606 structures crumbled during the quake and in the hours after, Turkey’s disaster agency said. Iskenderun State Hospital in the city of the same name was among them, Koca, the health minister said.
“We are trying to save the medical workers and patients there,” he added. “These sorts of disasters can only be overcome with solidarity.”
Authorities in Turkey have advised drivers to stay off the roads to leave them clear for rescue operations. Broken concrete, scraps of metal, and overturned cars remain strewn across many roads and streets, making it difficult for rescuers to reach some areas.
By late Monday, at least 300,000 blankets, 24,712 beds, and 19,722 tents had been sent to the quake-affected areas, AFAD said.
‘Speed is of the essence’: How Europe is helping quake-hit Turkey
Kishor Jaiswal, a structural engineer at the US Geological Survey, warned there was a risk more buildings could collapse, presenting challenges to rescue operations.
“There is still a small chance of seeing an aftershock strong enough to bring those deteriorated structures down,” he told CNN Tuesday. “People should take a lot of care in accessing those weakened structures for these rescue efforts.”
In neighboring Syria, a country already suffering the effects of civil war, the devastation is widespread. At least 1,832 were killed across government-controlled areas and opposition-controlled areas, officials said.
The “White Helmets” group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, which operates in opposition-controlled areas, said Tuesday “the numbers are expected to rise significantly because hundreds of families are still under the rubble.”
Much of northwestern Syria, which borders Turkey, is controlled by anti-government forces, and aid agencies warn of an acute humanitarian crisis that is likely to be felt for months to come.
Dr. Bachir Tajaldin, Turkey country director at the Syrian American Medical Society, told CNN’s “This Morning” that the situation in Syria is complicated by political instability.
“The situation in Turkey is coordinated through a very well developed government. They have infrastructure, they have rescue teams,” Tajaldin said.
“In northern Syria, most of the services are provided by NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and through humanitarian aid. There is no central government to take care of the multi-sectoral response,” he said.
El-Mostafa Benlamlih, the United Nations’ Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, told CNN the search and rescue mission was being hampered by the lack of heavy equipment and machinery.
He said the UN’s supply of stock has been distributed and more medicine and medical equipment is needed, and especially fresh water or tools to repair damaged water tanks.
“Most of the communities depend on elevated tanks of water. Most of these elevated tanks of water were the first ones to fall, or to fall into disrepair. They need replacements or they need repair. We need all of this,” he said.
Around 4 million people in northern Syria were already displaced and relying on humanitarian support as a result of war, according to James Elder, spokesman for UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. This winter had been particularly tough due to the freezing conditions and a cholera outbreak.
“Everyone is overstretched in that part of the world … there is an enormous amount do,” he said. “People have fled their homes often standing around in bitterly cold conditions really without access to safe water. So water is key. Blankets, food, psychological support.”
In photos: Deadly quake strikes Turkey and Syria
Hospitals in the country are overwhelmed as victims seek help, with some facilities damaged by the quake. And there is particular concern about the spread of illness, especially among children, who were already living in extreme hardship.
A volunteer with the “White Helmets” said the organization does not have enough help to handle this disaster.
“Our teams are working around the clock to help to save the injured people. But our capabilities, our powers are not enough to handle this disaster. This disaster is bigger than any organization in northwest Syria,” Ismail Alabdullah told CNN. “This disaster needs international efforts to handle.”
The international community has been quick to offer assistance to Turkey and Syria as the full scale of the disaster becomes clear.
By Tuesday morning, planes carrying aid from Iraq and Iran, including food, medicines and blankets, arrived at Damascus International Airport in Syria, Syrian state media SANA reported.
Japan announced it would send the country’s Disaster Relief Rescue team to Turkey, and on Monday night, the first of two Indian disaster relief teams left for Turkey with dog squads and medical supplies. Pakistan has also dispatched two search and rescue teams to the ravaged country, while Australia and New Zealand committed funds for humanitarian assistance.
The European Union activated its crisis response mechanism, while the United States said it would send two search and rescue units to Turkey. Palestinian civil defense and medical teams will also be sent to Turkey and Syria to help in rescue operations.
Meanwhile, 10 units of the Russian army with more than 300 soldiers are clearing debris and helping in search and rescue operations in Syria, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Russia is the strongest foreign power operating in Syria, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has long allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said emergency response teams from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and the WHO’s Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) are being mobilized to Turkey to assist in the humanitarian response.
“The UN and partners are closely monitoring the situation on the ground and are looking to mobilize emergency funds in the region,” the UNOCHA said in a report Monday.
But on Tuesday, UNOCHA spokesperson Madevi Sun-Suon told CNN that aid shipments from Turkey to Syria have been “temporarily disrupted due to road challenges.”