The first 72 hours following a disaster are critical. The chances of finding survivors in the rubble of buildings diminishes with every passing breath. That is why it is vital that the international community comes together to do whatever it can to assist in southern Turkey and northern Syria following the devastating earthquakes.
To that end, the UK has sent 76 search-and-rescue specialists, equipment and trained dogs to Turkey. But the scale of the disaster has long since emerged following the first earthquake which struck near Gaziantep — a city of more than two million people — at 4.17am local time, while many were asleep in their homes.
The official death toll passed 5,000 this morning, amid warnings that the figure could pass 10,000. Freezing winter conditions have heaped further hardship on the thousands of injured and homeless people, as well as hampering efforts to find survivors.
Assisting in Syria is more challenging still. The earthquake has destroyed opposition-held areas, home to millions of people internally displaced as a result of the ongoing civil war. Conditions even before the earthquake struck were appalling and healthcare severely limited.
After those 72 hours elapse, ordinary people in Turkey and Syria will continue to need our help.
A risky reshuffle
Cabinet reshuffles, even limited ones, are fraught with risk. They may be engineered to project authority — but can deliver the opposite result, as politics gets in the way.
Rishi Sunak has freshened up his Cabinet, though partly under duress, following the departure of Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi over his tax affairs. And it may not stay settled for too long, given that Deputy PM Dominic Raab is under investigation over allegations of bullying.
What could prove more consequential is the Prime Minister’s decision to slice and dice ministerial departments. Machinery of Government changes — for example the creation of the Business, Innovation, Energy and Industrial Strategy department in 2016 — are hazardous. While the hope is that new or bolstered ministries are better able to drive through policy change, more often they consume vast reserves of Whitehall energy simply procuring enough chairs for workers and establishing new HR protocols.
With only 18 months until the next election, it is unlikely that any acronym changes at the top of Government will be felt positively by voters.
Court of Queen Bey
The Tottenham Hotspur stadium will play host to a truly world-class performer this May, when Beyoncé comes to the capital as part of her much-anticipated world tour.
Tickets went on general sale today at 10am, with more than 370,000 people in the queue hoping to snap them up. Queen Bey will be giving the King’s coronation a run for its money.
