‘Scope of This Earthquake Is the Biggest in Turkiye’s History’, Turkish Seismologist Says

Professor Dogan Perincek, a Turkish seismologist, commented to Sputnik on the aftermath of the devastating tremors in Kahramanmaras.

"This is a great tragedy. The earthquake affected a very large area - 470 km (in diameter). For comparison, the length of the Sea of Marmara is about 250 km. This means that the area affected by the earthquake is almost twice as long. The aftershocks after the earthquake reached 6.6 points, which is almost the same as the main quake. In terms of magnitude, this is probably the first earthquake of its kind in Turkiye. We have experienced a number of earthquakes on tectonic faults. For example, the Erzincan earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9, but the area affected was much smaller," the professor said.

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Ukrainian Forces Reportedly Prepared to Use UK's Long-Range Missiles to Hit Crimea

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a speech in UK Parliament, asked the country to supply fighter jets to Kiev. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also said he had spoken with Zelensky on Wednesday, among other things, about providing Ukraine with longer-range weapons than Kiev currently had.

Ukrainian defense source confirmed to the newspaper that Kiev would use missiles to strike Crimea following a warning from Zelensky that longer-range weapons from western allies would strike "deep in the occupied territories."

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National Security Adviser to President Biden Jake Sullivan played a prominent role in plotting the September 26, 2022, sabotage against the Russo-European Nord Stream pipelines, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh has revealed.

▪️ So, who is Jake Sullivan: "the cat's meow," "once-in-a-generation intellect," or a reckless hawk?

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⚡️ Turkiye's earthquake death toll has risen to 18,342 with 74,242 injured, the country's Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) says

❗️ Death toll from the earthquake in Syria rises to 1,347, another 2,295 injured, authorities say

🇺🇸 🇰🇷 🇯🇵 The strengthening of defense cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan under the guise of deterring North Korea can be considered as the basis for the establishment of "Asian NATO" that would be aimed against China and Russia, Russian Ambassador in Seoul Andrey Kulik has told Sputnik.

🗣 "In fact, under the guise of expanded deterrence of the 'North Korean threat,' there is a strengthening of the 'triangle' of the US-South Korea-Japan, which in the future can be seen as one of the cornerstones of the future 'Asian NATO.' Moreover, the bloc's headquarters in Brussels makes no secret of its plans to expand the alliance's area of responsibility to the Indo-Pacific region in order to deter China and Russia," the ambassador said.

▪️ Kulik noted that the three states have noticeably strengthened cooperation in defense and security and resumed various military exercises off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, citing the growing threat and "provocations" by North Korea as the reason.

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❗️ Chinese Foreign Ministry: If Hersh's Nord Stream investigation is true, the US should explain itself to the world community

⚡️🇮🇩 Karangetang volcano erupts in Indonesia, residents evacuated from nearby villages

📹 Russia's MoD has revealed footage showing a Russian Su-35S destroying a Ukrainian Su-25 warplane

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💡"Ayatollah Khameini"

A House Oversight Committee hearing aimed to shed more light on former Twitter executives and their actions halted in the middle of the questioning due to a power outage.

▪️ A power outage brought the hearing to a halt while Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., was asking questions about how Twitter allowed supporters of terror to use the platform to promote their views. Palmer noted that Twitter had banned former President Donald Trump after an examination of his tweets and how they were interpreted, yet they continued to allow Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to use Twitter.

▪️ As the congressman uttered the words, "Ayatollah Khameini," the room went dark.

🗣 Many social users reacted to what happened in ironic way, saying "What a coincidence!" or "Looks like God is sending a message"

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📊 Which countries have the largest number of earthquakes?

Sputnik has prepared an infographic that shows which parts of the world suffered the largest number of earthquakes since the 20th century.

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❗️ Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ A Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly will take place on February 21st;

▪️ The Kremlin is not aware of any "Russian plan to destabilize Moldova";

▪️ The possible deprivation of Putin of the French Order of the Legion of Honor will not be a problem, the president has other, higher-priority issues;

▪️ Putin's approval of the new Foreign Policy Concept is expected in the near future.

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📹 🇹🇷 One of the buildings in Kahramanmarash, Turkiye has fallen on its side due to the earthquake

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🇿🇦 Turmoil erupted in South Africa’s parliament ahead of president’s address on Thursday

▪️Members of the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) tried to stop President Cyril Ramaphosa from delivering his annual State of the Nation address.

▪️At first, the group of EFF legislators succeeded in delaying the speech for several minutes, and then made an attempt to storm the podium where the president was waiting to start his address.

▪️House Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula ordered security guards to remove the legislators from the parliament. Proceedings were suspended for ten minutes.

▪️The leader of EFF Julius Malema later told media that they were kicked out of the house for questioning the legitimacy of the incumbent president

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📹 Russia’s MoD has revealed footage showing Russian servicemen assisting in eliminating consequences caused by the earthquakes in Latakia, Aleppo, and Hama

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