LONDON: Britain’s King Charles met volunteers from the Turkish and Syrian diasporas in London on Tuesday to express his support after more than 37,000 people died and thousands left homeless by the recent earthquake in Turkiye and north-west Syria.
Charles shook hands with charity workers during a visit to West London Turkish Volunteers (WLTV), and chatted with them as they packed scarves, blankets, jumpers, and packets of biscuits as part of earthquake relief efforts.
He also formally launched Syria’s House, a temporary Syrian community tent in Trafalgar Square in central London, where he met the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, among others.
Britain dispatched 76 search-and-rescue specialists and equipment as an immediate response to the disaster on Feb. 6, and has since set out further support, including items such as tents and blankets. The combined death toll has now crossed 37,000.
After the disaster Charles said he “wanted to convey our deepest and most heartfelt sympathy to the families of all those who have lost their loved ones.”
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which represents 15 aid charities in the United Kingdom, has also appealed for donations and has raised 60 million pounds ($73 million)o far, including “a generous donation” from the royal family, the DEC said. ($1 = 0.8218 pounds)
Britain’s King Charles meets Turkiye-Syria earthquake volunteers
https://arab.news/2kxwy
Britain’s King Charles meets Turkiye-Syria earthquake volunteers
- Charles shook hands with charity workers during a visit to West London Turkish Volunteers, chatted with them
- He also formally launched Syria's House, a temporary Syrian community tent in Trafalgar Square in central London
Lebanon approves release of former minister accused of corruption
- Salam is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019
- The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s judiciary approved the release on bail of former economy minister Amin Salam on Tuesday after six months of detention over corruption linked to contracts deemed suspicious, a judicial official said.
Salam, who served in the cabinet of former prime minister Najib Mikati from 2021 to 2025, is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019.
The official, who requested anonymity, told AFP Lebanon’s judiciary “agreed to release former economy minister Amin Salam on bail of nine billion Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $100,000” and a travel ban.
The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison.
In June, another judicial official said Salam had been arrested in connection with alleged “falsification, embezzlement and suspicious contracts.”
Salam’s adviser Fadi Tamim was sentenced in 2023 to one year in prison for blackmail and personal enrichment at the expense of insurance companies.
The former minister’s brother Karim Salam was also arrested earlier this year in a “case of illicit enrichment, forgery and extortion of insurance companies,” committed “under cover of the minister himself,” the official said in June.
Many in Lebanon attribute the economic crisis to mismanagement and corruption that has plagued state institutions for decades.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who both took office this year, have vowed to make the fight against endemic corruption a priority, as part of the reforms demanded by international donors.
Both have vowed to uphold the independence of the judiciary and prevent interference in its work, in a country plagued by official impunity.
In September, former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, was released after being detained for over a year by paying a record bail of more than $14 million.
