5:55 am: Turkish authorities challenged to rescue the homeless
While the chances of finding survivors are almost nil, the priority now is to help the hundreds of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed by the earthquake.
According to the Turkish government, some 1.2 million people have been housed in student residences, more than 206,000 tents have been erected and 400,000 victims evacuated from the devastated areas.
1:11 am: Syria opens two crossing points with Turkey
"I welcome Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's decision today to open the two crossings of Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra'ee between Turkey and northwestern Syria for an initial period of three month," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
Calls to open new crossing points between Turkey and northwestern Syria, some areas of which are controlled by the rebellion, had multiplied in recent days.
Bashar al-Assad announced his decision to UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, whom he met Monday in Damascus, when the Security Council was meeting to discuss the subject.
The opening of the two new crossing points "will allow more help to enter, faster", rejoiced Antonio Guterres.
"It will be very simple", commented the French ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, after the meeting of the Security Council.
"Either the two extra points work, and that's good (...) There should be no hurdles to cross. If it doesn't, if it doesn't work, I think the Security Council will have to get back to work,” he warned.
"If the regime is serious about this, if the regime is ready to walk the talk, then it would be a good thing for the Syrian people," said Ned Price, spokesman for the Department of Security. US state.
With AFP
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