Another Earthquake in Türkiye
Yet another earthquake has hit the already badly affected south-eastern region of Türkiye overnight, making this one the fourth quake to strike in the past three weeks since the original disaster.
Authorities have said that at least one person has been confirmed to have died in the magnitude 5.6 tremor while at least 110 people have been injured. 29 buildings collapsed in the shock and search and rescue teams are still sifting through the rubble to find survivors.
This quake was centered in the town of Yesilyurt in the Malatya province which is further to the north than where previous ones have struck. Malatya was one of the 11 Turkish regions to be hit by the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit both Türkiye and Syria on February 6. So far, the death toll from these earlier events is thought to have passed 50,000 across both countries.
A New Push for The Voice
Dozens of Australia’s most prominent social justice and civil society groups have joined forces to advocate for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The ‘Allies for Uluru Coalition’ is made up of nearly 150 organisations working across human rights and the not-for-profit sector, including Oxfam, UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Fred Hollows Foundation.
The group has said in a statement that they “stand ready to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards a better, brighter future, and extend the invitation to other organisations to join them in the alliance for this historic vote”.
The launch of the Coalition follows the formal launch of the First-Nations-led ‘Yes’ campaign in Adelaide last week. The group plans to use its considerable reach and public influence to speak with the public and bring the conversation over The Voice “back where it belongs – with the people of Australia.”
There is currently no date yet set for the referendum on The Voice, although October is looking increasingly likely as a potential date.
UK May Have Solved the Tricky Northern Ireland Issue
In 2016, the UK made the *certainly a choice* decision to effectively impose trade sanctions on itself by leaving the economic block of the European Union, its largest trading partner. Since then, the country has slowly descended into chaos, with five Prime Ministers in the intervening years, economic recession, and, now, the rationing of food supplies.
One of the major sticking points of Brexit is the fact that Northern Ireland, part of the UK, shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU nation. With the UK now no longer part of the EU, the border would seem to require the imposition of the usual checks you might expect crossing into any nation.
However, such border controls would be in direct violation of the Good Friday Agreement, a landmark peace deal signed in 1998 by the two nations that effectively put an end to 30 years of bloody conflict. Going back on it could risk reigniting the violent conflict.
It’s been a thorny issue that no PM has been able to solve. Until, maybe, now.
The new ‘Northern Ireland Protocol’, which has been years in the making, will allow goods to flow freely between Northern Ireland and the Republic, with goods headed for the UK subject to checks. It gives the Northern Ireland government, which effectively shut down during negotiations, the power to choose which EU laws it wants to adhere to and which it doesn’t, while still recognising the region as part of the UK.
“We may have had our differences in the past, but we are allies, trading partners and friends,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. “This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.”
EU President Ursula von der Leyen said that she felt a “great sense of satisfaction” in reaching the agreement and was confident that the deal “would work for all.”
Related: Earthquake in Turkey: Here’s What You Can Do to Help
Related: Turkey or Türkiye? Why the Earthquake-Hit Country Has Had a Name Change
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.