Follow the latest news on the earthquake in Turkey and Syria
Turkey has issued warrants for the arrest of 130 people over breaches of safety codes they say caused unnecessary deaths, six days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the southern part of the country.
The quake levelled at thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria, with the death toll exceeding 35,000 on Monday.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay confirmed the arrest warrants on Sunday, and police said at least 12 people had been arrested.
Last week, Turkey’s Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag said “those who have been negligent, at fault and [are] responsible for the destruction following the earthquake will answer to justice”.
Safety guidelines for projects in earthquake-prone areas have been in place in Turkey for about two decades but experts say they have rarely been enforced.
Among those facing scrutiny were two people arrested in Gaziantep province on suspicion of cutting down columns to make extra room in a building that collapsed, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.
Three people were arrested, seven others were detained and another seven were barred from leaving Turkey, the Justice Ministry said.
Two contractors suspected of ignoring building standards in Adiyaman were arrested on Sunday at Istanbul Airport while trying to leave the country, the private DHA news agency and other media reported.
One detained contractor, Yavuz Karakus, told DHA: “My conscience is clear. I built 44 buildings. Four of them were demolished. I did everything according to the rules.”
Eyup Muhcu, the president of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, told AFP last week that many buildings near the epicentre of the disaster had been hastily erected with “weak and not sturdy” construction.
The Turkish government is now racing to evaluate which buildings collapsed as a result of negligence by contractors.
Authorities at Istanbul Airport on Sunday detained two contractors held responsible for the collapse of several buildings in Adiyaman, the private DHA news agency and other media reported. The pair were reportedly on their way to Georgia.
Two more people were arrested in Gaziantep, accused of removing columns to make extra room in a building that collapsed, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.
Turkey’s Justice Ministry has announced the planned establishment of Earthquake Crimes Investigation bureaus, which will seek to identify contractors and others behind substandard constructions.
The bureaus will gather evidence, instruct experts including architects, geologists and engineers, and check building permits and occupation permits.
A building contractor was detained by authorities on Friday at Istanbul airport before he could board a flight out of the country.
He was the contractor behind a luxury 12-storey building in the historic city of Antakya, in Hatay province, which collapsed, causing many deaths.
Meanwhile, Hatay’s airport reopened early on Monday after its runway was repaired, allowing military and commercial planes to ferry in supplies and fly out evacuees.
The arrest warrants could help to direct public anger towards builders and contractors, deflecting attention away from local and state officials who allowed the apparently substandard constructions to go ahead.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, already burdened by an economic downturn and high inflation, faces parliamentary and presidential elections in May.
Survivors, many of whom have lost loved ones, have directed their frustration and anger at authorities.
Rescue crews have been overwhelmed by the widespread damage which has affected roads and airports, making it even more difficult in the race against the clock to rescue people.
Mr Erdogan acknowledged earlier in the week that the initial response has been hampered by the extensive damage.
He said the worst-affected area was 500km in diameter and home to 13.5 million people in Turkey.
During a tour of quake-damaged cities Saturday, Mr Erdogan said a disaster of this scope was rare, and again referred to it as the “disaster of the century”.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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