Former Chelsea forward Atsu rescued after Turkey earthquake
London (AP/PTI): Former Chelsea and Newcastle forward Christian Atsu was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building following the deadly earthquake that struck Turkey, the Ghana Football Association said in a Twitter post Tuesday.
The Ghana international plays for Turkish club Hatayspor. A club spokesman on Monday told Turkish media that Atsu was thought to be in a building that was brought down by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that struck southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria and has killed more than 5,000 people.
Özat said club director Taner Savut was also believed to be in a building that collapsed and club officials couldn’t contact both men. They were likely trapped, Özat said.
At least two other Hatayspor players had to be pulled out of rubble but were now safe, Özat said. Atsu and Savut were the only two Hatayspor players or officials still unaccounted for, he added.
The 31-year-old Atsu joined Hatayspor, which is based in the southern city of Antakya, last year after a spell playing in Saudi Arabia.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked large parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria in the pre-dawn hours of Monday.
The quake was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, and was felt as far away as Cairo in Egypt. Hours later, a second 7.5 magnitude jolt, which was possibly an aftershock, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away from the epicenter of the earthquake and caused more destruction.
Turkish authorities said more than 3,700 buildings were destroyed. The death toll is expected to rise.
Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo offered condolences to the people of Turkey on his official Facebook account and added: “We pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound.”
Ghana Football Association spokesman Henry Asante-Twum wrote in an email to The Associated Press that they had no news of Atsu and Ghana’s international relations department was seeking information from Turkish authorities.
Ibrahim Kwarteng, a friend of Atsu, said he had tried calling Atsu but couldn’t reach him.
“We are only praying that he will be found,” Kwarteng said.
Kwarteng runs a foundation in Ghana that helps former prisoners convicted of petty crimes to be reintegrated into society after their release from jail. He said Atsu was the single largest donor to the foundation.
Newcastle said on its official Twitter account it was “praying for some positive news” regarding Atsu.
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Kerala HC sets aside Sabarimala airport land acquisition process
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court has set aside crucial stages of the land acquisition process for the proposed Sabarimala greenfield airport, holding that the state failed to properly assess the minimum land actually required for the project.
On December 30, 2022, the state government issued an order granting sanction for the acquisition of 2,570 acres of land, comprising the Cheruvally Estate and an additional 307 acres located outside it.
Justice C Jayachandran, delivering the judgment on a writ petition filed by Ayana Charitable Trust (formerly Gospel for Asia) and its managing trustee Dr Siny Punnoose, ruled the decision-making process under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, was legally flawed.
The court, in its December 19 order, directed the state to restart the process by conducting a fresh social impact assessment limited to examining the minimum land requirement, followed by a fresh appraisal by the expert group and reconsideration by the government.
The petitioners had challenged several government actions, including the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report, the expert committee appraisal, the state government order approving the acquisition, and the subsequent notification under Section 11 of the 2013 Act.
The land in question, mainly the Cheruvally Estate in Pathanamthitta district, is proposed to be acquired for building a new airport intended to serve Sabarimala pilgrims.
The court found that while the state is entitled to acquire land for public purposes, the law clearly mandates that only the "absolute bare minimum" extent of land required for a project can be acquired.
According to the court, this mandatory requirement under Sections 4(4)(d), 7(5)(b), and 8(1)(c) of the 2013 Act was not properly complied with.
Justice Jayachandran observed that the authorities had shown "manifest non-application of mind" in assessing how much land was genuinely necessary.
As a result, the SIA report, the Expert Committee report and the government order were declared invalid to the extent they failed to address this crucial requirement.
Since the Section 11 notification could only be issued after a valid completion of these steps, it too was quashed.
On the petitioners' allegation of fraud on power and colourable exercise of authority, the court did not give a final finding. It held that this issue is closely linked to determining the minimum land required and can only be examined after that exercise is properly completed.
Before concluding, the court suggested that for technically complex projects like airports, the state should include technical experts in the SIA team to ensure informed and lawful decision-making.
The writ petition was accordingly allowed, keeping other issues raised by the petitioners open for future consideration.
