Evening update

Hello MEE readers, 

It has been nearly a week since a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck parts of southern Turkey and Syria. The death toll has risen to more than 33,000 people, with the Turkish Afad disaster agency recording at least 29,605 deaths in Turkey. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamid al Thani on Sunday, hours after Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hosted his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in southern Turkey. 

Erdogan also vowed to clamp down on looters in quake zones and said his government planned to prosecute contractors and builders who constructed buildings that collapsed in the earthquakes across southern Turkey. 

Meanwhile, emergency aid to parts of Syria has slowly begun to trickle in, with the UN's Martin Griffiths admitting to "failing" Syrians stranded in northwest Syria on Sunday during a visit to the Bab al Hawa crossing.

White Helmets chief Raed Saleh, whose teams of rescue workers have been working around the clock to find Syrians buried under rubble in northwest Syria, openly criticised Griffiths and the UN, describing its response as "shameful" and as "too little too late."

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al Assad met with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed as World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus toured hospitals in Aleppo. 

Tens of thousands of rescue workers are still scouring through flattened neighbourhoods, despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid. The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.

MEE will be taking a pause in coverage. To stay updated, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok for the latest news.