Anger mounts as Turkey-Syria death toll continues to rise

Building regulations are being questioned after newly constructed apartments collapsed. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Anger mounts as Turkey-Syria death toll continues to rise [Local residents walk in front of a destroyed building in Nurdagi, southeastern Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.] Credit: Petros Giannakouris/AP Turkey-Syria The fact that newly constructed apartment buildings collapsed to dust during Monday's deadly earthquakes is raising questions about [construction regulations]( and building safety standards. Measures put in place following similar disasters in Turkey should have ensured that buildings could withstand the quakes. Anger is growing as the death toll from the quakes that decimated parts of Turkey and Syria continue to rise — now reaching [nearly 20,000 people](. Tens of thousands of others are wounded and rescue teams are desperately searching for survivors. Nicaragua A Nicaraguan court has sentenced seven [members of the clergy]( to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges, including four Catholic priests for "treason" and "spreading false news." They were found guilty on Jan. 27 and were awaiting sentencing. Rights groups have condemned the decision and say its part of the [latest crackdown]( by President Daniel Ortega’s administration on the Church. Nord Stream Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has posted that [US navy divers]( were responsible for destroying the Nord Stream gas pipelines with explosives in September on the orders of President Joe Biden. The White House has categorically denied the claim, while the Kremlin has said the matter deserves more attention. A Swedish investigation in November into ruptures of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines across the Baltic Sea — that carried Russian gas as far as Germany — found residue from explosives, and concluded that the ruptures were a [result of sabotage](. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [The geology behind the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria]( [A man walks through the rubble of destroyed buildings in Antakya, southern Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.]( Credit: Khalil Hamra/AP This corner of the globe sits at the [intersection of three tectonic plates](, including the Arabian Plate that’s moving northward into Europe. Pressure along the fault has been building, and when it finally released, it appears that an area nearly 120 miles long and 15 miles wide got displaced, unleashing the earthquake. [Kiribati rejoins collective of Pacific Island states after ‘crisis’ withdrawal period]( [Kiribati Minister of Justice, Hon Takarabu Tofinga, speaks at a panel discussion on climate security in the Pacific, in the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion of the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022.]( Credit: Thomas Hartwell/AP The island nation of Kiribati has said it will return to the Pacific Islands Forum, ending more than six months of [turmoil for the strategic bloc]( that represents nearly 20 nations and territories across the Pacific Ocean. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot NASA is working with astronomers, including Maram Kaire, to measure the dimensions of an asteroid visible over Senegal. Kaire speaks with The World's host Marco Werman about the NOVA documentary ["Star Chasers of Senegal"]( that discusses the project, and about his personal journey. 🌠[Listen]( to the interview. 🎧 In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.