A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on Monday, killing nearly 200 people, levelling buildings while many were still asleep, and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus and Egypt. The emergency service in Turkey put the initial death toll at 76, although it threatened to climb substantially higher because the night-time disaster had flattened dozens of apartment blocks across major cities. At least 119 people also died in government-controlled parts of Syria, as well as the northern areas held by pro-Turkish factions, according to the health ministry and a local hospital. Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes. The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people, the US Geological Survey said. Turkey's … [Read more...] about Major quake kills nearly 200 across Turkey, Syria