First Thing: 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria kills hundreds

Quake hit early on Monday, leveling buildings while many slept and trapping people under rubble. Plus, the Chinese ‘spy balloon’ row

Good morning.

At least 1,500 people have been killed as they slept in Turkey and Syria after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit in the early hours of Monday – one of the most powerful quakes in the region for at least a century.

Turkey is one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. It stretches over the Anatolian fault line in the north of the country that has caused large and destructive events. An area close to Istanbul was rocked by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999, the worst to hit Turkey in decades.