7.2 quake jolts Turkey, over 1,000 feared killed

Van (Turkey), October 23
A powerful 7.2- magnitude earthquake shook southeast Turkey on Sunday killing up to 1,000 persons as it triggered the collapse of dozens of buildings across the region, media reported the Kandilli Observatory as saying.
Emergency workers battled to rescue people trapped in buildings in the city of Van and its surrounding districts on the banks of Lake Van, near Turkey's border with Iran.
Around 10 buildings collapsed in Van city and about 25-30 were brought to the ground in the nearby district of Ercis, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told reporters. "We estimate around 1,000 buildings are damaged and our estimate is for hundreds of lives lost. It could be 500 to 1,000," Kandilli Observatory general manager Mustafa Erdik told a news conference.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was travelling to Van and the Cabinet was expected to discuss the quake at a meeting called for Monday morning. "A number of buildings collapsed, many people were killed, but we don't know the number. We are waiting for emergency help, it's very urgent," Zulfukar Arapoglu, the mayor of Ercis, told news broadcaster NTV. Cihan news agency said 30 persons had been killed in Ercis district.
"We need tents urgently and rescue teams. We don't have any ambulances, and we only have one hospital. We have many killed and injured," he said.
Turkey's Red Crescent said one of its local teams was helping in the rescue of people from a student residence in Ercis. It said it was sending tents, blankets and food to the region.
More than 20 aftershocks shook the area, further unsettling residents who ran out on the streets when the strong quake struck. Television pictures showed rooms shaking and furniture falling to the ground as people ran out from buildings.
Dozens of emergency workers and locals crawled over the rubble of a multi-storey building in Van searching for people who could be trapped inside.
Elsewhere, vehicles lay crushed by falling masonry in the street while dazed-looking persons wandered past.
Some 50 injured people had been taken to hospital in Van, state-run Anatolian news agency reported, but it did not give details on how serious their injuries were.
The Kandilli Observatory, which initially cited a magnitude of 6.6, said the earthquake struck at 1041 GMT and was 5 km deep. The US Geological Survey had earlier reported that the magnitude was 7.6.
Turkish media said phone lines and electricity had been cut off. The quake's epicentre was at the village of Tabanli, 20 km north of Van city, Kandilli said.
In Hakkari, about 100 km south of Van, a building could be felt swaying for about 10 seconds during the quake but there was no immediate sign of casualties or damage in the town, about two and a half hours drive through the mountains from Van.
Major geological fault lines cross Turkey and small earthquakes are a near daily occurrence. Two large quakes in 1999 killed more than 20,000 people in northwest Turkey.
Two people were killed and 79 injured in May when an earthquake shook Simav in northwest Turkey.

Video chat facility for NRIs a non-starter

Jalandhar, October 20
In spite of having immense utility for Punjabi NRIs living in different parts of the world, the much-publicised video conferencing facility introduced by the NRI affairs wing of the Punjab Police has turned out to be a non-starter with only two NRIs availing the facility since its launch about a month ago, mainly owing to the lack of awareness.
Meanwhile, NRIs facing problems or those having suggestions for the betterment of NRIs would now be able to hold video conferencing with Gurpreet Deo, Chief Inspector General, NRI affairs wing, on all working days. Earlier, the video calling facility was available just for an hour a week, but from now on, the NRIs would be able to participate in video chat on the basis of a prior appointment with the NRI wing.
“From now on, they (NRIs) can seek a prior appointment for seeking redressal of their grievances either by way of calling at our office or via email at nri.pbpolice@gmail.com or at the Punjab Police website. During the past one month, we have observed that the one-hour long video chat from 4 pm to 5 pm on Mondays was not convenient for people residing in some countries. So we have come out with an alternative in the shape of a prior appointment,” said Deo.
The NRIs could contact Deo directly at landline phone no. 0172-2749353 or its helpline no. 0172-2748100 for fixing an appointment for video chat. “The only requirement for video chat on all working days at nri.pbpolice@gmail.com is that the caller should be having a google mail account and he or she should be having a prior appointment fixed with us,” said Deo. Interestingly, the NRIs have evinced little interest in availing the facility containing aimed at extending help to them. Only two NRIs, including a woman from San Jose, US, came forward to participate.

Lanka to release 400 ex-LTTE militants on eve of Diwali

Colombo: Sri Lanka will release a big batch of nearly 400 ex-LTTE militants on the eve of Diwali next week as part of moves to rehabilitate the former combatants.

"We will be releasing them to mark the Diwali festival", Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reform Chandrasiri Gajadeera said on Saturday. "We have by now released most of the 11,000 former LTTE members after rehabilitation," Gajadeera stressed.

Lankan officials said the process of rehabilitation had been quicker than expected with the programme coming to a conclusion before the originally set December 31 deadline.

The LTTE members, who had surrendered to the government troops at the end of the 30-year conflict in May, 2009, were put through rehabilitation by providing them vocational training, counselling and language skills. All of them recruited by the LTTE during the height of the conflict had not come in contact with the majority Sinhala population, officials said.

The government provides loans for self employment to these rehabilitated youth to restart their lives, they added.

Tri-Valley case: US approves transfer of 435 Indian students

Washington: US authorities have "examined individually" cases of over 1,000 Indian students who had enrolled at California-based "sham" Tri-Valley University, approving transfer of 435 of them to other institutions.

Officials of Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Citizenship and Immigration Services met representatives of Indian embassy here on Friday and discussed several issues relating to Indian students at the Tri-Valley University, which was raided and shut down by authorities earlier this year on charges of a massive immigration fraud.

The US officials informed that out of more than 1000 students, who were being considered for transfer to other universities, 435 transfers were approved, 145 were denied and about an equal number were issued Notices of Intention to Deny, the Indian embassy said in a statement. The remaining transfer cases are still under examination.

London Mayor stresses on waste segregation at domestic level

Chandigarh, October 19
No solid waste management technology can function successfully unless the municipal corporation authorities strictly adopt the practice of segregating the garbage at domestic level, said Amrit Mann, Mayor of Borough of Hounslow, London, here today.
He said segregation of garbage at household-level was initiated by the local government in London long ago, for which the key aspect was to make the residents aware about the utility and necessity of this system.
In fact, the cost of the three-coloured bins, which are positioned in front of every house in London, is borne by the residents. The corporation’s responsibility is only to lift the garbage regularly and dispose it off, he said.
Sharing his experiences, Amrit Mann said to facilitate the public and attend to their grievances, the authorities should constitute quick reaction teams in every wing of the corporation.
Citing example of London, he stated that the complaints of residents like non-functional streetlights and potholes in roads is resolved by the authorities promptly.
Suggestions were made by Amrit Mann to Ravinder Pal Singh, Mayor, Chandigarh MC, that both the corporations should share the technologies in respective areas which they are adopting in various wings of their corporations.