LONDON: The UN is under growing scrutiny for failing to provide immediate assistance to northwestern Syria, which has yet to receive adequate aid after an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude struck the region, The Guardian reported on Friday.

The UN Security Council has authorized cross-border aid to Syrians in the country’s northwestern region and beyond since 2014. This is due to Syrian authorities illegally obstructing humanitarian access in areas under their control, according to the Cross Border Legal organization. 

AMMAN: Jordan’s armed forces have sent a field hospital and the medical team to staff it to Turkiye to help treat victims of the earthquake that struck the south of the country on Monday.
Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met the medics before they departed, passed on the greetings of King Abdullah, told them to help those in need, and urged them to be good ambassadors for the Jordanian Armed Forces, the Jordan News Agency reported on Friday.

TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied has decided to strengthen diplomatic ties with Syria, the presidency said on Thursday, the clearest sign yet of Tunisia’s intention to fully restore relations days after a deadly earthquake that has devastated large parts of Syria.
Tunisia cut off diplomatic relations with Syria nearly a decade ago to protest the government’s brutal crackdown on protesters and activists opposed to the regime of President Bashar Assad.

BEIRUT: European Union member states, Norway and Switzerland on Friday urged Lebanese stakeholders to allow a “fair and transparent” probe into the Beirut port blast and refrain from “all acts of interference.”
The EU member states and the Swiss and Norwegian missions expressed in a joint statement grave concern about the current situation in Lebanon.

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday announced an initial $85 million package for emergency relief after a devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria.
The US Agency for International Development that the funding will go to partners on the ground “to deliver urgently needed aid for millions of people” including through food, shelter and emergency health services.
The funding will also support safe drinking water and sanitation to prevent the outbreak of disease, the agency said in a statement.