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world news Diaranson 4 november 2020

UK raises terror threat level to severe after Europe attacks

(AP) — Britain raised its we face,'' Patel said in a state-
terror threat level to se- ment. “That process will
vere on Tuesday, its sec- continue, and the British
ond-highest level, follow- public should be in no doubt
ing recent attacks in Aus- that we will take the strongest
tria and France. possible action to protect our
national security.''
The threat level of severe
means an attack in the Unit- Patel said the increased secu-
ed Kingdom is considered rity alert is a “precautionary
highly likely. The level had measure and is not based on
previously been at substan- any specific threat.’’
tial, meaning an attack is
thought to be likely. The U.K. government's Joint
The decision announced by Terrorism Analysis Cen-
Home Secretary Priti Patel tre, which was established
came after a man who had in June 2003, sets the terror
previously tried to join the level. The center assesses
Islamic State group stormed intelligence relating to inter-
through the center of the national terrorism, at home
Austrian capital of Vienna and overseas, and sets threat
armed with an automatic rifle levels and issues warnings of
Monday night, killing four threats and other terror-relat-
people before police shot and ed information.
killed him.
Assistant Commissioner Neil counterterrorism police “will places in the coming days. “We need communities and
“We have already taken sig- Basu, U.K. head of Counter of course provide any as- “Now, more than ever, we families to bring to our at-
nificant steps to amend our Terrorism Policing, said that sistance where we can.'' He need communities to stand tention anyone they perceive
powers and strengthen the while there was no intelli- urged the public to be vigilant together and reject those may be vulnerable, a danger
tools for dealing with the gence link between the Eu- and said people can expect to who seek to sow division and or escalating towards terror-
developing terrorist threats ropean attacks and the U.K., see additional police in some hatred between us,'' he said. ism.''

Turkish rescuers pull girl from rubble 4 days after quake

(AP) — Rescuers in the Turkish city of Izmir condition but would be kept under observation in thorities detained nine people, including contrac-
pulled a young girl out alive from the rubble the hospital for a while. She asked for for meatballs tors, for questioning over the collapse of six of the
of a collapsed apartment building Tuesday, and a yoghurt drink on her way to the hospital, buildings.
four days after a strong earthquake hit Turkey state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
and Greece and as hopes of reaching survi- Turkey has a mix of older buildings and cheap or
vors began to fade. Her rescue came a day after another 3-year-old girl illegal constructions that do not withstand earth-
and a 14-year-old girl were also pulled out alive quakes well. Regulations have been tightened to
Wrapped in a thermal blanket, the girl was taken from collapsed buildings in Izmir, Turkey's third- strengthen or demolish older buildings, and urban
into an ambulance on a stretcher to the sounds of largest city. renewal is underway in Turkish cities, but experts
applause and chants of “God is great!" from rescue say it is not happening fast enough.
workers and onlookers. “We will not lose hope (about finding survivors) The country sits on top of two major fault lines and
until our search-and-rescue efforts reach the last earthquakes are frequent.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca identified her as person under the wreck,” President Recep Tayyip
3-year-old Ayda Gezgin on Twitter. The child had Erdogan said following a Cabinet meeting.
been trapped inside the rubble for 91 hours since Erdogan said around 6,700 people who lost their
Friday's quake struck in the Aegean Sea and was homes or were too frightened to return to them
the 107th person to have been pulled out of col- were being temporarily housed in tents. Authorities
lapsed buildings alive. After she was pulled from on Tuesday began assembling containers homes for
the rubble, little Ayda called out for her mother, in the survivors, he added.
video of the rescue broadcast on television.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the earthquake
But Ayda's mother did not survive. Her body was climbed to 112, after emergency crews retrieved
found amid the wreckage hours later. Her brother more bodies from toppled buildings in the city. Of-
and father were not inside the building at the time ficials said 138 quake survivors were still hospital-
of the quake. Rescuer Nusret Aksoy told reporters ized, and three of them were in serious condition.
that he was sifting through the rubble of the top- The U.S. Geological Survey registered the quake’s
pled eight-floor building when he heard a child's magnitude at 7.0, though other agencies recorded
scream and called for silence. He later located the it as less severe.
girl in a tight space next to a dishwasher. The vast majority of the deaths and some 1,000 in-
juries occurred in Izmir. Two teenagers also died
The girl waved at him, told him her name and said and 19 people were injured on the Greek island of
that she was okay, Aksoy said. Samos, near the quake’s epicenter in the Aegean
“I got goosebumps and my colleague Ahmet cried,” Sea.
he told HaberTurk television.
Ibrahim Topal, of the Humanitarian Relief Foun- The quake also triggered a small tsunami that hit
dation, or IHH said: “My colleague and I looked Samos and the Seferihisar district of Izmir prov-
at each other like ‘Did you hear that, too?’ We lis- ince, where one elderly woman drowned. The
tened again. There was a very weak voice saying tremors were felt across western Turkey, including
something like ‘I’m here.’ Then we shut every- in Istanbul, as well as in the Greek capital of Ath-
thing down, the machines, and started listening ens. Hundreds of aftershocks followed.
again. And there really was a voice.”
In Izmir, the quake reduced buildings to rubble
Health ministry officials said the girl was in good or saw floors pancake in on themselves and au-