Earthquake Death Toll Tops 36,000 as U.N. Admits Failure in Delivering Aid to War-Torn Syria

The U.N.’s head of aid operations said the earthquake rescue phase is “coming to a close” and efforts would turn to providing shelter, food and care to survivors, as the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria tops 36,000, though that number is expected to continue rising. A little over one week after the first 7.8-magnitude quake rocked the two countries, the hope for miraculous rescues is fading, and anger is mounting as the U.N. admitted relief efforts “failed the people in north-west Syria.” On Friday, the Syrian government approved aid deliveries to the rebel-held northwest after major delays to the war-torn region. Over 5 million additional people in Syria may become homeless after the quakes as the region also faces winter blizzards and an ongoing cholera outbreak.