More than 20,000 people have died in southeastern Turkey and neighbouring Syria which takes the tally of deaths above the 17,118 deaths recorded for the huge earthquake that struck northwest Turkey almost 25 years ago. Over 100 hours since the earthquake, 6 people were rescued from the rubble yesterday.

The Irish Independent reports that dozens of nursing homes around the country are at risk of closure because the Fair Deal scheme does not factor in inflation, according to the boss of a leading chain.

EU leaders have agreed on a plan for swift action to be taken on the return of asylum seekers if they have arrived under false pretences or with a false story.

Ireland could be blanketed in snow amid freezing conditions later this month as a similar weather patter is being seen  that contributed to the 'Beast from the East' blizzard in 2010.

According to the Examiner a growing number of new accounts on the social media app TikTok are spreading anti-migrant misinformation among Irish users, with some videos viewed over 1m times. 

ZEN

In 2006 the Winter Olympic Games open in Turin, Italy, with Luciano Pavarotti singing "Nessun dorma" for his last public performance. Happy Friday: