When Zafer Mahmut Boncuk's apartment building collapsed in Turkey's devastating earthquake, he discovered his 75-year-old mother was still alive — but pinned under the wreckage. For hours, Boncuk frantically searched for someone in the ancient, devastated city of Antakya to help him free her. He was able to talk to her, hold her hand and give her water. Despite his pleas, however, no one came, and she died on Tuesday, the day after the quake. Like many others in Turkey, his sorrow and disbelief have turned to rage over the sense there has been an unfair and ineffective response to the historic disaster that has killed tens of thousands of people there and in Syria. Boncuk directed his anger at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, especially because she seemed so close to rescue but no one came. Her remains were finally removed Sunday, nearly a week after the building collapsed. His father's body is still in the rubble. “What would happen if it was your own mother, dear Recep Tayyip Erdogan? What happened to being a world leader? Where are you? Where?” he screamed. “I gave her water to drink, I cleared her face of rubble. I told her that I would save her. But I failed,” said Boncuk, 60. “The last time we spoke, I asked if I should help her drink some water. She said no, so I rubbed some water on her lips. Ten minutes later, she died.” Also Read: Turkey detains building contractors as quake deaths pass 33,000 He blamed “ignorance and lack of information and care — that’s why my mother died in front of my eyes.” Many in Turkey express similar frustration that rescue operations have been painfully slow since the Feb. 6 quakes and that valuable time was lost during the narrow window for finding people alive. Others, particularly in southern Hatay province near the Syrian border, say Erdogan’s government was late in delivering assistance to the hardest-hit region for what they suspect are both political and religious reasons. In the southeastern town of Adiyaman, Elif Busra Ozturk waited outside the wreckage of a building on Saturday where her uncle and aunt were trapped and believed dead, and where the bodies of two of her cousins already had been found. “For three days, I waited outside for help. No one came. There were so few rescue teams that they could only intervene in places they were sure there were people alive,” she said. At the same complex, Abdullah Tas, 66, said he had been sleeping in a car near the building where his son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren were buried. He said that rescuers had first arrived four days after the earthquake struck. The Associated Press could not independently verify his claim. “What good is that for the people under the debris?” he asked. Onlookers stood behind police tape Saturday in Antakya as bulldozers clawed at a high-rise luxury apartment building that had toppled onto its side. Over 1,000 residents had been in the 12-story building when the quake struck, according to relatives watching the recovery effort. They said hundreds were still inside but complained the effort to free them had been slow and not serious. “This is an atrocity, I don’t know what to say,” said Bediha Kanmaz, 60. The bodies of his son and 7-month-old grandson had been pulled from the building — still locked in an embrace — but his daughter-in-law was still inside. “We open body bags to see if they’re ours, we’re checking if they’re our children. We’re even checking the ones that are torn to pieces,” she said of herself and other grief-stricken relatives. Kanmaz also blamed Turkey’s government for the slow response, and accused the national rescue service of failing to do enough to recover people alive. She and others in Antakya expressed the belief that the presence of a large minority of Alevis — an Anatolian Islamic community that differs from Sunni and Shia Islam and Alawites in Syria — had made them a low priority for the government. Traditionally, few Alevis vote for Erdogan’s ruling party. There was no evidence, however, that the region was overlooked for sectarian reasons. Erdogan said Wednesday that disaster efforts were continuing in all 10 affected provinces and dismissed allegations of no help from state institutions like the military as “lies, fake slander.” But he has acknowledged shortcomings. Officials said rescue efforts in Hatay were initially complicated by the destruction of the local airport’s runway and bad road conditions. Anger over the extent of the destruction, however, is not limited to individuals. Turkish authorities have been detaining or issuing detention warrants for dozens of people allegedly involved in the construction of buildings that collapsed, and the justice minister has vowed to punish those responsible. Kanmaz blamed negligence on the part of the developer of the apartment building where her family had been killed. “If I could wrap my hands around the contractor’s neck, I would tear him to shreds,” she said. That contractor, who oversaw the construction of the 250-unit building, was detained at Istanbul Airport on Friday before boarding a flight out of the country, Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported. On Saturday, he was formally arrested. His lawyer suggested the public was looking for a scapegoat. In multiethnic southern Turkey, other tensions are rising. Some expressed frustration that Syrian refugees who fled to the region from their devastating civil war are burdening the sparse welfare system and competing for resources with Turkish people. “There are many poor people in Hatay, but they don’t offer us any welfare; they give it to the Syrians. They give so much to the Syrians,” Kanmaz said. “There are more Syrians than Turks here.” There were signs Saturday the tensions could be boiling over. Two German aid groups and the Austrian Armed Forces temporarily interrupted their rescue work in the Hatay region citing fears for the safety of their staff. They resumed work after the Turkish army secured the area, the Austrian Defense Ministry spokesman tweeted. “There is increasing tension between different groups in Turkey,” Lt. Col. Pierre Kugelweis of the Austrian Armed Forces told the APA news agency. “Shots have reportedly been fired.” German news agency dpa reported that Steven Berger, chief of operations of the aid group I.S.A.R. Germany, said that “it can be seen that grief is slowly giving way to anger” in Turkey’s affected regions. For Kanmaz, it was a mixture of grief and anger. “I’m angry. Life is over,” she said. “We live for our children; what matters most to us is our children. We exist if they exist. Now we are over. Everything you see here is over.” ____ Emrah Gurel in Adiyaman, Turkey, Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed profound shock and grief at the death of the Queen Elizabeth-II. She wrote a letter on Thursday to convey condolence to her UK counterpart Elizabeth Truss MP, said a PMO press release on Friday. The Bangladesh premier wrote, ‘I, on behalf of the Government and the people of Bangladesh, and on my behalf, convey to you the most profound shock and grief, and through you, our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the people of the United Kingdom at the sudden passing away of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth The Second." "Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved Royal family members and the mourning people of the United Kingdom as we pray for the eternal peace and salvation of Her Majesty’s departed soul," said Hasina. Also read: Bangladesh declares 3 days of mourning for Queen She mentioned that Her Majesty the Queen was not only the pillar and strength of the 2.5 billion Commonwealth people but also an epitome of grace, dignity, wisdom, and service. She wrote, "As the most legendary and longest reigning Monarch in the world’s contemporary history, Her Majesty set the highest standards of duty, service, and sacrifice and left an unmatchable legacy of dedication to her countless people around the world." The Bangladesh PM reinforced that Her Majesty will remain a tremendous source of inspiration, courage, and strength for our nationals, who will be recalled with great reverence for her two historic royal visits to the home of the Bengali people. She said, "The memoirs between Her Majesty and our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the UK and two Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings in Ottawa and Kingston will remain everlasting. I greatly admire our last personal interactions at the 2018 CHOGM in London." She mentioned that Her Majesty’s most passionate message of felicitation extended to the people of Bangladesh on the Golden Jubilee of our independence - ‘We share ties of friendship and affection, which remain the foundation of our partnership and are as important today as fifty years ago.’ - shall be carried forward heart to heart over and over again while nourishing the relations between the two Commonwealth Nations. Also read: Key milestones in Queen Elizabeth II’s life "With her saddest demise, the people of Bangladesh and I, personally, have not only lost a most trusted friend but also a true guardian," she added. Sheikh Hasina offered her prayers for bequeathing courage and fortitude to the members of the Royal family and the people of the United Kingdom, the realms, and the Commonwealth to withstand this irreparable loss.

Parliament on Sunday unanimously adopted a condolence motion expressing profound grief at the death of six former MPs. including an ex-minister and some noted personalities. Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury moved the condolence motion in the House in the beginning of the 15th session of the 11th parliament. Read: Parliament goes into session The six former MPs are ex-minister Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu (Chattogram-6 and 9), Dr Mizanul Haque (Kishoreganj-4), Md Fazlul Haque Aspia (Sunamganj-4), Mokbul Hossain (Pabna-2), Ali Osman Khan (Mymensingh-17 and Netrakona-4) and Sheikh Shahidur Rahman (Khulna-4). The House also expressed deep shock at the death of noted personalities, including veteran lawyer Abdul Baset Majumder, noted cultural personalities Dr Enamul Haque and Mahmud Sajjad, renowned journalist, dramatist and poet Rafiqul Haque, chairman of Sylhet Zila Parishad advocate Lutfur Rahman and former cabinet secretary Kazi Shamsul Alam. Read: President summons 15th session of Parliament on Nov 14 Besides, the Jatiya Sangsad expressed profound grief at the death of physicians, health workers, members of the administration, police, political leaders, media people, business and social dignitaries, other staff of the government and private sector, who lost lives in the coronavirus at home and abroad, and those who were killed in the recent Sierra Leone explosion caused by collusion between a fuel tanker and a lorry, and other accidents in different places at home and abroad. Before passing the condolence motion, a one-minute silence was observed and a munajat offered, seeking the eternal peace of the departed souls.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the massive earthquake in Haiti. In a message sent to Foreign Minister of Haiti Claude Joseph, Dr Momen conveyed his deep condolences over the natural disaster and heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families.  Read:Tensions over aid grow in Haiti as quake’s deaths pass 2K He wished quick recovery of those badly affected by the deadly earthquake. ‘‘My thoughts and prayers are with your government and the people of Haiti at this difficult time,’’ Dr Momen said. He hoped that the country would soon be able to overcome the impact of the catastrophe. Read:FM mourns loss of lives due to wildfires in Algeria ‘‘Bangladesh has been ravaged by natural disasters time and again, but we have overcome these calamities with strong leadership and resilience of the people,’’ the Foreign Minister said.