A woman takes a photo of her child in front of a "Slam Dunk" poster at a movie theater in Seoul on Jan. 23, 2023. Kyodo
SEOUL – A recently released reimagining of hit Japanese anime “Slam Dunk” has proven hugely popular in South Korea and brought with it a wave of nostalgia for the 1990s manga and television series as well as the underdog basketball team the film features.
Jeong Jin Hyeok is one of many South Koreans in their 30s and 40s revisiting their childhood with “The First Slam Dunk,” a new film version of the beloved and wildly popular basketball manga.
The film has currently sold the third-most theater tickets ever for a Japanese anime film shown in South Korea, according to the Korean Film Council.
Written and directed by the manga’s author Takehiko Inoue, the film now trails only the blockbuster hit “your name.” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” from Studio Ghibli, the film promotion group said. It has moved into third ahead of 2020’s “Demon Slayer.”
This latest theatrical hit demonstrates Japan’s soft power can to some degree overcome historical issues such as compensation over wartime unpaid labor and comfort women who were forced to work in wartime brothels.
While these issues occupy the political classes of both countries, South Koreans have appeared to be happy to embrace Japanese culture through the film that started showing in early January.
A special section for “Slam Dunk” comic books is created at a bookstore in Seoul on Jan. 23, 2023. (Kyodo)
Lee Dalho, a 31-year-old actor who performs in musical theater, said he sees the current status of South Korea-Japan relationship having “no impact” in people simply enjoying the Slam Dunk movie.
“The boom is all about nostalgia and old good memories about our childhood,” he added.
As of Wednesday, more than 2.49 million people in total have seen the movie.
On the first day the film was shown, Jeong, 32, watched it with his basketball-loving friends. He recounted his passion for the sport and how when they were younger he and his friends would give each other nicknames based on Slam Dunk characters.
The country’s biggest theater complex CGV said people in their 30s and 40s made up more than 70 percent of the moviegoers. Some brought their children to theaters, South Korean local media reported, creating a whole new generation of fans.
In some parts of the country, specially-arranged sections for the Slam Dunk manga can be seen in bookstores, with translations in Korean. The manga has been translated into other languages including English and French.
The craze has also led to brisk sales of Slam Dunk-related merchandise. For example, The Hyundai, one of the nation’s department store chains, has opened a pop-up store where official merchandise such as uniforms attract many shoppers daily.
The story has also attracted new fans like Park Jeong Ah.
“I really liked how everyone in the movie put their best efforts possible to win the game. It’s entertaining enough for someone like me new to the manga series,” said the 30-year-old Park.
Chinese tourists pose for photos at the Grand Palace scenic spot in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)
BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) — China on Monday resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries, including Thailand, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and New Zealand.
Group tours between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions also resumed.
The move came after the country downgraded its management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B on Jan. 8. Resuming outbound travel is one of the measures in China’s COVID-19 response adjustment.
Customers learn about outbound travel at a travel agency in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
It has been three years since the country suspended outbound group tours — the major form of travel for outbound tourists. The rebooting of the services is undoubtedly part of the certainty and momentum that the world’s second-largest economy is contributing to a world faced with uncertainties and bleak growth prospects this year.
Countries like Thailand, Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates welcomed the first tour groups from China in three years on Monday. Chinese tourists used to account for about a quarter of all arrivals in Thailand, which aims to receive 7 million Chinese tourists this year.
Tourists bound for Thailand pose for photos at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
During the Spring Festival holiday from Jan. 21 to 27, China saw nearly 2.9 million cross-border trips, up 120.5 percent year on year, and 308 million domestic trips, up 23.1 percent and back to 88.6 percent of the 2019 level for the same period.
With the gradual and orderly recovery of outbound tourism, more countries are expected to receive tour groups from China.
An Egyptian artist performs a traditional folk dance to welcome Chinese tourists at the Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
Over the past three years, China’s average growth rate was 4.5 percent, far higher than the global average of 1.8 percent. The resumption of group tours shows that in the new phase of its COVID-19 response, China will strengthen people-to-people and economic exchanges with other countries, and inject more confidence and strength into global economic recovery.
Tourists from China are welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City, the Philippines, Jan. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, left, calls on a reporter during a briefing with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby right, at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the object was downed because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance. Asked about the object’s downing, Biden on Friday said only that “It was a success.”
Commercial airliners and private jets can fly as high as 45,000 feet (13,700 meters).
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car, much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fighter jets Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.
The twin downings in such close succession are extraordinary, and reflect heightened concerns over China’s surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it. Still, there were few answers about the unknown object downed Friday and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Officials couldn’t say if the latest object contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.
The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didn’t appear to be manned. Officials said the object was far smaller than last week’s balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.
Kirby maintained that Biden, based on the advice of the Pentagon, believed it posed enough of a concern to shoot it out of the sky — primarily because of the potential risk to civilian aircraft.
“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace,” Kirby said. “The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount.”
The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.
President Joe Biden waits to greet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife Rosangela da Silva upon their arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon nearly a week ago.
The object flew over one of the most desolate places on the nation. Few towns dot Alaska’s North Slope, with the two apparently closest communities — Deadhorse and Kaktovik — combining for about 300 people. Unlike the suspected spy balloon, which was downed to live feeds and got U.S. residents looking up to the skies, it’s likely few people saw this object given the blistering frigid conditions of northern Alaska this time of the year, meaning there are few people outside for a prolonged period of time.
Ahead of the the shoot-down, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted flights over a roughly 10-square mile (26-square kilometer) area within U.S. airspace off Alaska’s Bullen Point, the site of a disused U.S. Air Force radar station on the Beaufort Sea about 130 miles (210 kilometers) from the Canadian border, inside the Arctic Circle.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet Friday that he had been briefed and supported the decision. “Our military and intelligence services will always work together,” he said.
The object fell onto frozen waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week’s massive balloon. Ryder said the object was traveling northeast when it was shot down. He said several U.S. military helicopters have gone out to begin the recovery effort.
Later Friday, the Pentagon said: “Recovery is happening in a mix of ice and snow. Units located in Alaska under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, along with the Alaska National Guard, are involved in the response.”
The unknown object was shot down in an area with harsh weather conditions and about six and a half hours of daylight at this time of year. Daytime temperatures Friday were about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).
After the object was detected Thursday, NORAD — North American Aerospace Defense Command —sent F-35s to observe it, a U.S. official said, adding that the military queried U.S. government agencies to make sure it did not belong to any of them, and had confidence it was not a U.S. government or military asset. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about sensitive national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Because it was much smaller than the suspected Chinese spy balloon, there were fewer safety concerns about downing it over land, so the decision was made to shoot it down when it was possible. That happened over water.
The mystery around what exactly the flying object was lingered late into Friday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a statement saying it was “not a National Weather Service balloon.”
“They do not hover,” said NOAA spokesperson Scott Smullen.
The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.
Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.
The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.
China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage contributed to this report.
The Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and Human Rights, House of Representatives held a seminar on “the direction of Thai judicial and police reform” at Parliament on February 10, 2023.
Representatives from the Royal Thai Police, the Department of Special Investigations, the Drug Control Agency, the Anti-Money Laundering Bureau, the Immigration Department, the Border Guard Police and other involved government agencies attended the event.
Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a Thammasat University law scholar, said a suspect or an accused who cannot get bail himself/herself must be placed in a non-prison facility and not treated as a criminal. He cited the case of activists Tawan and Bambam as an example.
Move Forward Party (MFP) MP Rangsiman Rome mentioned that he has listed several issues on justice and police reform such as how to improve the quality of policing or how the police can work proudly and happily. He also mentioned that he wants all police officers to have a camera with them when they work for the benefit of the people and themselves.
Rangsiman Rome
MP Rangsiman said he wanted police officers to be allowed to wear any hairstyle they preferred as long as it was polite. He said he did not want police officers to be restricted to a clean-shaven hairstyle because he is sure that the hairstyle will not make the police work better. It is the ability to work that makes Thai police better, he said.
He also mentions the ‘coupon’ system, in particular the so-called “elephant coupon”, i.e. a high-level corruption to reach a higher position. MP Ransiman mentioned that the coupon system has caused a big problem. In a system where the value of ‘coupon’ correlates with a higher rank, a police officer cannot work normally.
They have to look for loopholes. If this problem is solved, a police officer will no longer have to look for a corrupt way to reach a higher post, as all promotions will be based on his skills.
Former Thai politician Chuwit Kamolvisit said the real problem with police reform was the badly decayed core of the organisation due to the fact that no one dared to tell the truth.
Chuwit Kamolvisit
He cited as an example the traffic checkpoints where there were always reports of people being asked for money because the police officers were given instructions by commanders. When they were caught, the lower police officers were punished without investigating who had ordered such activities, but never the higher ones. He also mentioned that the Tuhao case could not happen without the help of the police.
Chuwit said he wanted the Thai police to dare to tell the truth because telling the truth does not harm anyone and helps the public to be informed.
Photo taken Feb. 8, 2023, in Manila shows vehicles transporting Yuki Watanabe and Tomonobu Kojima, two of the four Japanese men suspected of being behind a string of robberies across Japan, for their deportation to Japan from the Philippines, where they were detained on local charges. (Kyodo)
A man suspected to be behind a string of robberies across Japan that were coordinated from the Philippines also allegedly committed fraud remotely from Thailand, investigative sources said Friday.
Police sent Yuki Watanabe, 38, and another apparent senior member of the group, Tomonobu Kojima, 45, to prosecutors Friday after they were deported to Japan from the Philippines this week. Among the robberies being investigated is one that resulted in the murder of a 90-year-old woman in Tokyo in January.
Watanabe, whose immigration record shows he was in Thailand in 2017, allegedly collaborated with a partner in Japan between August and December of that year to obtain cash cards from people, including the elderly, by claiming someone had withdrawn money from their bank accounts, according to the sources.
In December 2017, a group of people were stopped by police when they tried to leave Japan for Thailand carrying concealed cash totaling around 36 million yen ($274,000). The money was believed to have been obtained using the cash cards, said the sources.
Watanabe later moved his base to the Philippines but was detained in April 2021. He and Kojima were deported to Japan on Thursday at the request of the Japanese authorities and arrested the same day for alleged theft related to a scam.
Two other members of the fraud group, Kiyoto Imamura and Toshiya Fujita, both 38, were repatriated from the Philippines and arrested on Tuesday also for alleged theft.
The group is estimated to have defrauded people of over 6 billion yen before appearing to switch its activities to robberies, according to the police.
The four suspects returned to Japan likely include the person, or persons thought to have used the pseudonyms “Luffy” and “Kim” when the crimes were allegedly committed.
VIENTIANE, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) — Laos is looking forward to welcoming back Chinese tourists after China optimized its COVID-19 response.
The Lao government and private sectors are preparing for the arrival of Chinese tourists after it was listed among countries greenlit by the Chinese government for outbound group tours.
“We are working in partnership with travel agencies, hotels and other tourism-related businesses to improve facilities and services in readiness for the return of Chinese tour groups,” Darany Phommavongsa, director general of the Tourism Management Department of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, told the media last Friday.
“We held a meeting with private companies to discuss ways to improve facilities and design activities to entice more Chinese visitors to Laos,” he added.
President of Inthira Group Inthy Deuansavanh, who has been in the hospitality sector for almost 25 years, told Xinhua on Tuesday that tourism in Laos was severely damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the absence of foreign tourists.
Tourists walk at a square by Mekong River in Lao capital Vientiane on Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
Since China resumed outbound group travel to countries including Laos, Inthy believed that it will bring a large number of Chinese visitors to Laos.
“We are waiting to welcome Chinese visitors again. And I believe that traveling to Laos will be more convenient because of the operation of the Laos-China Railway,” he noted.
“The local tourism businesses need to get ready to attract and welcome back inbound tourists. One of the most important things is that we need to promote our outstanding tourist attractions, especially nature-based tourism, to reach our target customers as much as possible.”
Inthy said tourism-related businesses must improve their services and make sure that customers can easily get access to their products.
“We opened a new department recently with Chinese-speaking staff. It aims to provide the best service to the Chinese visitors and try to reach the Chinese market increasingly,” he said.
He strongly believes that China’s resumption of outbound group tours after the optimization of its COVID-19 response will be a strong boost to revitalize Laos’ economy and tourism.
“Anyone who wants to explore rich natural resources and biodiversity will never get disappointed when traveling to Laos,” Inthy said, adding that Laos is also a fascinating destination for anyone seeking cultural immersion and outstanding eco-tourism.
Fireworks over the That Luang Stupa in Vientiane, Laos. That Luang Festival, running from Nov. 6 to 8 in 2022, is one of the most important religious festivals in Laos. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
In October 2021, the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism launched the Lao Tourism Recovery Roadmap for 2021-2025, which aims to support the recovery of the tourism sector in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
One of the three main policy options in the roadmap is the greening of tourism for environmental friendliness and better long-term recovery.
With its rich natural resources and biodiversity, Laos can offer an opportunity to promote nature-based tourism for sustainable and inclusive growth which will lead to green jobs and livelihood opportunities, thereby attaining green recovery and green growth.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Somphet Maopaseuth, president of Forestry Area Conservation Ecological Tourism, endeavored to transform challenges into opportunities.
“During our temporary close, we had a chance to restore ecosystems, train our staff and improve our service standard to another level. Therefore, we are more than ready to welcome back an influx of visitors,” he said.
Somphet advised tourism-related businesses to focus on ensuring the safety of tourists, training staff and upgrading their services to meet international standards.
He pointed out that the Laos-China Railway is a great advantage for Laos because it facilitates tourist travel, adding that the return of Chinese tourists will bring a lot of opportunities, as China is one of the world’s largest outbound tourism markets.
“I am very pleased to welcome back Chinese tourists. Their presence is vital to the country’s tourism and economic growth,” Somphet said.
A conductor serves drinkable water for a passenger on a train of the China-Laos Railway, Nov. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)
The Lao government considers tourism as its top priority in revitalizing the economy.
“We need to improve facilities so we can accommodate more tourists this year and ensure that tourism makes a strong contribution to economic growth,” said Lao Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune during a meeting held by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in January.
Kikeo stressed that tourism-related businesses must improve their services and tourist attractions, as well as diversify tourism products and activities in response to travelers’ needs and expectations.
The government hopes to attract 1.4 million visitors in 2023, which is expected to generate more than 340 million U.S. dollars.
Pavina Phouminh, a receptionist at Landmark Hotel, a top-ranking hotel in Vientiane, told Xinhua on Tuesday that the hotel is all prepared with added facilities, amenities, and products to welcome the return of tourists from China.
This aerial photo taken on Feb. 7, 2023 shows the view along the Mekong River at Lao capital Vientiane. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
“We have a lot of Chinese-speaking staff here. We are ready to provide all travelers with the best service. We are 100 percent ready! And we are looking forward to the mass return of Chinese travelers,” she said.
Viengxay Phasith, a 56-year-old van driver from Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge to the city, told Xinhua on Tuesday, “I was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic because most of my clients are foreign travelers. The return of Chinese tourists gives me hope to get more income.”
“Welcome to Laos! Laos has a lot of beautiful places to visit. Please come and see for yourself. We are ready to give you the best service!”
Tourism experts predict that millions of Chinese tourists will visit ASEAN countries and many of them will travel on the China-Laos Railway, which runs from Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, to Vientiane.
Stewardesses wait for passengers beside a Lane Xang EMU train at the Vientiane Station of China-Laos Railway in Laos on May 24, 2022. (Photo by Yang Yongquan/Xinhua)
Meanwhile, Lao Airlines plans to operate more flights in response to the expected influx of Chinese visitors. The airline currently operates three flights a week from the Lao capital Vientiane to China’s Kunming.
It is set to launch additional flights from Vientiane to the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Changzhou, and Hangzhou. The airline also mulls increasing flights from the northern Luang Prabang province and the southern Champasak province to China.
Students join an anti-government protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Bangkok on Aug. 19, 2020.
BANGKOK — Amnesty International released a report on Wednesday saying the government has suppressed the rights of child protesters through tactics such as surveillance, intimidation, asking invasive questions, and pressuring parents of child protesters.
“Chompoo, a Bangkok-based 13-year-old child protester, told Amnesty International that she has been followed around by authorities since she started her activism in March 2022. Similarly, a 16-year-old LGBTI activist was trailed by authorities to his house and school, which affected his mental health with panic attacks, insomnia and other stress brought on by the continuous surveillance,” the report entitled “We Are Claiming Our Future: Children’s Right to Peaceful Assembly in Thailand” stated.
“Anna, a Bangkok-based student activist who advocates for education reforms, said she and her friends were physically dragged out of a restaurant by police and officials from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the main agency in charge of child protection, because the authorities feared they were going to stage a protest at Democracy Monument as members of the royal family were due to travel past the area.”
Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, Thailand researcher at Amnesty International who interviewed 30 child protesters said, “Children with their whole lives ahead of them now face severe repercussions merely for participating in peaceful protests.”
Chanatip, who spoke at the press conference on Wednesday, added that the majority of monarchy-reform protesters between 2020 and 2022 were people under the age of 18. At least 59 incidents of harassment occurred between 2021 to 2022.
The rights group is calling all the charges, including lese majeste, sedition, and violation of the COVID-19 emergency decree, to be dropped and for harassment to end.
“To date, nearly 300 under-18s have faced criminal charges,” the researcher said.
Speaking through a pre-recorded video message, Clement Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, said at the press conference held at Bangkok Arts and Culture Center that the lese majeste law continues to affect the rights to free assembly in Thailand.
Voule says the lese majeste law “justifies oppression.”
“I was in contact [with the Thai government] to raise serious concerns … This is a direct violation of the fundamental freedom and right of the people. We consider the law to be contradictory to fundamental rights … including freedom of assembly. The Thai government needs to take into account children’s rights to protest peacefully.”
Petch was one of the young protesters who attended the event. He joined the monarchy-reform movement back in 2020 when he was 17 and now faced multiple charges including lese majeste.
During a questioning by a government psychologist, he said he was asked: “Do you have sex with a person of the same sex?” Petch, who is LGBTI says he “felt unsafe” as a result.
Petch, now 20, said his future prospects have been much affected as a result of his political activism and he now tries to balance politics and personal life.
Another young protester, Sand, 17, who faced 11 charges, told the audience she “confessed” in some of the charges “so it will be over quickly”.
FILE - A destroyed building in Antakya, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey (AP) — Emergency crews made a series of dramatic rescues in Turkey on Friday, pulling several people, some almost unscathed, from the rubble, four days after a catastrophic earthquake killed more than 20,000.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the border region between Turkey and Syria, an area home to more than 13.5 million people, early Monday morning. With morgues and cemeteries overwhelmed, bodies lay wrapped in blankets, rugs and tarps in the streets of some cities.
Rescuers pull out a woman from a collapsed building 87 hours after the earthquake in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. ( IHA via AP)
Temperatures remain below freezing across the large region, and many people have no place to shelter. The government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but was still struggling to reach many people in need.
Mustafa Turan rushed to his hometown of Adiyaman from Istanbul hours after the quake struck to check on his relatives. He counted 248 collapsed buildings between the airport and the city center.
The journalist said Friday that 15 of his relatives had been killed, and scores of people were sleeping outside or in tents.
“At night, about 4 a.m., it got so cold that our drinking water froze,” he said.
Aerial photo showing the destruction in Kahramanmaras city center, southern Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (IHA via AP)
Turkey’s disaster management agency said 18,342 people had been confirmed killed in the disaster so far in Turkey, with nearly 75,000 injured. No figures have been released on how many have been left homeless, but the agency said more than 75,000 survivors have been evacuated to other provinces.
More than 3,300 have been confirmed killed on the other side of the border in war-torn Syria, bringing the total number of dead to more than 21,600.
Engineers suggested that the scale of the devastation is partly explained by lax enforcement of building codes, which some have warned for years would make them vulnerable to earthquakes. The problem has been largely ignored, experts said, because addressing it would be expensive, unpopular and restrain a key engine of the country’s economic growth.
Before dawn in Gaziantep, near the epicenter of the quake in Turkey, rescuers pulled Adnan Muhammed Korkut from the basement where had been trapped since the temblor struck Monday. The 17-year-old beamed a smile at the crowd of friends and relatives who chanted “Adnan,” “Adnan,” clapping and crying tears of joy as he was carried out and put onto a stretcher.
Rescuers and mother surround Adnan Mohammet Korkut after he was rescued in Gaziantep, southern Turkey, early Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (IHA via AP)
“Thank God you arrived,” he said, embracing his mother and others who leaned down to kiss and hug him as he was being loaded into an ambulance. “Thank you everyone.”
Trapped for 94 hours, but not crushed, the teenager said he had been forced to drink his own urine to slake his thirst.
“I was able to survive that way,” he said.
“I have a son just like you,” a rescue worker, identified only as Yasemin, told him after giving him a warm hug. “I swear to you, I have not slept for four days. I swear I did not sleep; I was trying to get you out.”
FILE – People sit and stand around a collapsed buildings in Golbasi, in Adiyaman province, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Dramatic rescues were reported elsewhere, including in the city of Antakya, where crews saved a 10-year-old girl overnight and on Friday. Elsewhere in Hatay province, in the city of Iskenderun, nine survivors were located Friday trapped in a building.
Six, all relatives, were saved and work was ongoing to reach the others.
The six were helped to survive by huddling together in a small pocket left within the collapsed structure, said Murat Baygul, a rescue worker.
The building, a high rise apartment, stands only 600 feet (200 meters) from the Mediterranean Sea. The massive earthquake caused water from the sea to rise into the city center of Iskenderun, and streets were flooded to within feet of the building.
FILE – Aerial photo shows the destruction in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Ahmet Akpolat/DIA via AP)
Elsewhere, in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, a woman was rescued and rescuers were still trying to reach her child.
The death toll from the earthquake has eclipsed the more-than 18,400 who died in the 2011 earthquake off Fukushima, Japan, that triggered a tsunami and the estimated 18,000 people who died in a temblor near Istanbul in 1999.
Some 12,000 buildings in Turkey have either collapsed or sustained serious damage, according to Turkey’s minister of environment and urban planning, Murat Kurum.
Aerial footage from over the earthquake zone in Turkey revealed entire neighborhoods of high-rises reduced to twisted metal, pulverized concrete and exposed wires.
Collapsed buildings are seen in Antakya, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Even though experts say trapped people could survive for a week or more, the chances of finding survivors in the freezing temperatures are dimming. As emergency crews and panicked relatives dug through the rubble — and occasionally found people alive — the focus began to shift to demolishing dangerously unstable structures.
In Kahramanmaras, the city closest to the epicenter, a sports hall the size of a basketball court served as a makeshift morgue to accommodate and identify bodies.
In northwestern Syria, the first U.N. aid trucks since the quake to enter the rebel-controlled area from Turkey arrived Thursday, underscoring the difficulty of getting help to people there.
Collapsed buildings are seen through the windows of a damaged house following a devastating earthquake in the town of Jinderis, Aleppo province, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023.. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
The winter weather and damage to roads and airports have hampered the response. Some in Turkey have also complained that the government was slow to respond, a perception that could hurt Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a time when he faces a tough battle for reelection in May.
Erdogan has been visiting affected cities over the last two days.
With the majority of Turkey’s media under the control of the government, television stations have been mainly focusing on rescue efforts, with hardly any reports on the hardship suffered on the ground.
Turkey’s disaster-management agency said more than 120,000 rescue personnel were now taking part in the effort and more than 12,000 vehicles, including tractors, cranes, bulldozers and excavators had been shipped.
The Foreign Ministry said 95 countries have offered help, and already nearly 7,000 rescue personnel from 60 countries were on the ground. Another 19 countries were expected to send teams, the ministry said.
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Alsayed reported from Bab al-Hawa, Syria, and Bilginsoy from Istanbul. Associated Press journalists Mehmet Guzel in Antakya, Turkey; Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Emrah Gurel and Yakup Paksoy in Adiyaman, Turkey; Robert Badendieck in Istanbul; Bassem Mroue and Abby Sewell in Beirut; and David Rising in Bangkok contributed.
Four members of a group of student rights activists calling themselves “Bad Students” travelled from Bangkok to Bueng Sam Phan district in Petchabun province on February 10, 2023 to distribute the manual “How to Survive in a School” and a sticker reading “Free Haircut” to students at the alleged school where teachers have shaved part of the hair of more than 100 students since 7 February.
The members brought 1,200 manuals, which they displayed in shops near schools. They hoped to get students and teachers to recognise their own rights and avoid a repetition of the incidents.
Anna, the representative of the group, told reporters that they travelled to the school from Bangkok to distribute the handbook and sticker because they hope to educate people about the rights of young people and how to deal with possible harassment after hearing that there was an incident at this school where parts of students’ hair were shaved off. Anna said the action was wrong and violated the assault law, which clearly states that shaving part of a person’s hair is assault.
It was reported that some students put the handbook and sticker they received in their pockets, while some refused to even accept them as teachers stood outside the school. It was also reported that a police officer from Bueng Sam Phan Police Station observed the action.
Thai Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong told reporters on 8th February that she had seen the video of the incident and thought it was inappropriate as the Ministry of Education had issued the ministry’s decree revoking the previous ministry regulation on a hairstyle on 16 January 2023. She also said that the ministry is in the process of reforming the hairstyle policy.
Trinunch added that students are allowed to wear a short or long hairstyle, while the school can prescribe hairstyles depending on the context. However, shaving part of the student’s hair is a wrong act and inappropriate. According to the 2005 Ministry of Education Decree, a school can punish students in four ways: verbal warning, probation, deduction of behavior score and behavioral modification activities.
She said she has directed the office of the Basic Education Commission to investigate the incident of the headmaster and the male teacher. If found guilty, they will be sent to the disciplinary committee for investigation and punished.
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