(NEW YORK) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome for his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin greeted him in front of the building. The two shook hands and walked inside.
“I’m very glad to see you,” Putin said upon greeting Kim, according to RIA News, a state-run media outlet.
The high-level summit began at about 2:30 p.m. local time, coming after days of speculation over when and where the meeting would take place. The Kremlin, which announced on Monday that the meeting was planned, had said on Tuesday it would take place in the coming days.
The two are expected to discuss a trade deal that may include North Korea supplying Russia with ammunition, which may be used in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Those discussion have been “actively advancing,” a U.S. official told ABC News last week.
Kim left Pyongyang on Sunday night, travelling into Russia on a slow-moving train that crossed the border into far eastern Russia Tuesday.
Putin on Monday began a two-day trip to Vladivostok, a port city near eastern Russia’s border with North Korea, where he attended an economic forum, Russia’s TASS news agency said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Ben Gittleson contributed to this story.
(NEW YORK) — More than 5,200 people are believed to have died in devastating floods across eastern Libya, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior said Tuesday.
Another 10,000 people are believed to be missing, according to Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“The death toll is huge,” Ramadan said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
In just the city of Derna, the worst hit area, at least 700 people have been confirmed dead from the unprecedented flooding. A quarter of Derna was wiped out after dams burst and the city was declared a disaster zone, with electricity and communication having been cut off.
An additional 1,200 people were injured in the flooding in Derna, according to authorities.
The cities of Al Marj, Susah, Shahat and Al Bayda have also recorded several fatalities.
Rescue and relief efforts were underway on Tuesday to assist those affected by the flooding, according to Gen. Khalifa Haftar, head of the powerful Libyan military faction that controls the eastern part of the divided country.
“We issued immediate instructions to use all our capabilities, provide the needed support of all urgent medical equipment, operate medical convoys and to allocate shelters to those who lost their homes,” Haftar said in a televised address on Tuesday. “We have directed the government to form a specialized committee to assess the damage, instantly begin the reconstruction of roads to facilitate transportation, restore the electricity and to take all immediate and needed measures in that regards.”
President Joe Biden and the first lady are sending their “deepest condolences” to families in Libya who’ve lost loved ones in the devastating floods.
In a statement, Biden said the U.S. is “sending emergency funds to relief organizations and coordinating with the Libyan authorities and the U.N. to provide additional support.”
Mediterranean storm Daniel is behind the widespread flooding in the North African nation as it swept away entire neighborhoods and destroyed homes in several coastal towns over the weekend.
Libya’s National Center of Meteorology reported that more than 16 inches of rain fell in the city of Bayda within a 24-hour period to Sunday, according to the flood tracking website Floodlist.
Initial reports indicated that the storm damaged dozens of cities and villages in the area, according to Georgette Gagnon, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya.
“I am deeply saddened by the severe impact of [Storm] Daniel on the country and have tasked an emergency response team to prepare to support local authorities and partners in the region,” Gagnon wrote in a post on social media on Monday. “I call on all local, national and international partners to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to those affected at this difficult time.”
U.S. Special Envoy to Libya Ambassador Richard Norland announced Tuesday that the American embassy in Tripoli “has issued an official declaration of humanitarian need in response to the devastating floods in Libya.”
“The declaration of humanitarian need will authorize initial funding that the United States will provide in support of relief efforts in Libya,” Norland said in a statement. “We are coordinating with U.N. partners and Libyan authorities to assess how best to target official U.S. assistance. In addition, we have been contacted by many Libyan Americans anxious to make private contributions to relief efforts and we will work with Libyan authorities to direct those resources to where they are most needed.”
Last week, the same storm system hammered the southeastern Mediterranean, killing at least 26 people in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, according to The Washington Post.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(MARAKECH, Morocco) — The death toll has continued to climb in the wake of the rare and powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco Friday night.
More than 2,900 people are confirmed dead.
The quake, Morocco’s strongest in more than a century, hit the country’s High Atlas Mountain range near Marrakech.
Latest headlines:
-Death toll rises to 2,901
-Rescuers reach epicenter
-Biden offers ‘necessary assistance’ to devastated Morocco
-Algeria offers to open its airspace to Morocco following deadly quake
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 12, 9:02 AM EDT
Death toll rises to 2,901
The death toll from the devastating earthquake has increased to 2,901.
Another 5,530 people are injured.
Sep 11, 3:40 PM EDT
Moroccan government still not accepting US support
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed Monday that the Moroccan government has still not taken the United States up on its offer to provide support in its earthquake relief despite direct outreach from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken spoke with Morocco’s foreign minister this weekend and expressed his condolences, Miller said.
“They also discussed how the United States can best support the government of Morocco’s leadership of the humanitarian response to the tragedy, and the secretary and the foreign minister pledged to stay in close contact as the response efforts continue,” Miller said.
Asked whether the U.S. was providing any direct aid at the moment, Miller said, “We have made the offer for assistance and are in close consultations with the Moroccan government about how we can best provide that assistance.”
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Sep 11, 3:25 PM EDT
Death toll climbs to 2,862
The death toll from the devastating earthquake now stands at 2,862.
Another 2,562 people are injured.
For the first time on Monday, ambulances and aid teams in trucks reached Ighil, the mountainous area where the earthquake’s epicenter was located, according to state TV.
Emergency teams worked to clear rockfalls blocking rocks to over a dozen remote villages in the area, and members of the armed forces walked on foot along rugged roads to provide aid, state TV reported.
Rescue teams searched for missing victims under the rubble in the devastated Talat N’Yaaqoub village in the Atlas Mountains, which was almost entirely flattened.
TV footage showed rescuers pulling a newborn baby out from under the rubble.
TV footage also showed military helicopters dropping aid packages from the air into hard-to-reach areas.
Morocco’s central bank has created a special account to receive donations from around the world.
(LONDON) — Iranian human rights activist Bahareh Hedayat is experiencing dire health issues 13 days into her hunger strike in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, making her family and friends worry about her life.
She has been “grappling with severe weakness and heart palpitations” after losing about 8 kilograms, or 17 lbs, in the strike’s first 10 days, her lawyer Zahra Minoui said on social media.
Hedayat’s lawyer wrote on Tuesday that following the “deterioration” of Hedayat’s condition she was transferred from Evin to the hospital on the 13th day of her strike.
As Hedayat started her hunger strike on Sept. 1, she sent a statement out of the prison elaborating the intentions of her decision including protesting the death of Javad Rouhi under suspicious circumstances in prisons of the Islamic Republic on Aug. 31.
Rouhi had been detained after participating in the nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, also known as the Mahsa Amini uprising, which began after a 22-year-old woman died under suspicious circumstances in hijab police custody last September.
“I, in obedience to, and in defense of my conscience, protest against the tragic death of Javad Rouhi in prison,” Hedayat’s statement reads, describing her hunger strike as a “humble contribution.” She also hoped the act would serve “the cause of freedom” for Iran and support the “unyielding resistance of women.” Hedayat also asked for freedom for two Iranian journalists who were arrested for covering Mahsa Amini’s death, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi.
A group of Iranian cinematographers, journalists, civil activists and families of protesters who were allegedly killed by the Islamic Republic over the past years have signed a petition published by Shargh Daily to ask Hedayat to end her hunger strike.
“Iranian society and justice-seeking families need to have your body, so your free and strong spirit can keep up the fight on the path of justice,” the petition reads. “You have given years of your life and youth to fight against oppression for a free Iran. We are worried about your dear life as we are worried about Iran, but we also have hope for the future of Iran.”
The “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement was spread across Iran last September and engulfed the country in a series of bloody protests in which at least 537 people were killed by the regime as Iran Human Rights reported in April.
Since the start of the protests, at least 22,000 people have been arrested, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
“She may die any given hour. We know how determined she is,” one of Hedayat’s friends told ABC News about her latest situation. The friend asked for her name to not be disclosed for security concerns.
“It is extremely dangerous for her if she continues her strike,” she said, adding that she hopes the regime’s officials are “wide enough not to let another person dies in their custody during the anniversary days of Mahsa Amini movement.”
So far there is no reaction from the officials to Hedayat’s hunger strike.
Hedayat has been arrested and imprisoned several times in the past for her activism on different occasions. Currently, she is serving a four-year and eight-month sentence that she received for participating in protests after the Islamic Republic Guard Corps shot down a Ukrainian airliner in January 2020 that killed all 176 people on board.
(LONDON) — The bulletproof train carrying Kim Jong Un arrived to its destination in Russia as the North Korean leader prepared for a summit with President Vladimir Putin, local media reported.
Kim was seen disembarking from his train and being greeted by Russian officials in Khasan in the Primorsky region in video shared by Reuters. The governor of Russia’s Primorsky region, Oleg Kozhemyako, published a video on Tuesday of Kim talking to Russian officials after his arrival in Russia.
Earlier in the day, Russian media posted a video of the green-and-gold train traveling north in Primorye, the far-east district where Vladivostok is located. The green-and-gold train in the video appeared to match images released on Monday by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s state-run media.
The Kremlin on Monday announced that Putin would travel to Vladivostok for an economic forum. The office said the two leaders would meet in the coming days but didn’t offer specifics about the timing or location of the summit.
U.S. officials said discussions have advanced between the two countries about a possible plan for North Korea to supply weapons to Russia.
Kim’s train departed Pyongyang on Sunday, beginning its journey to Russia for a planned meeting with President Vladimir Putin, a South Korean official told ABC News.
“Our Dearest Comrade Kim Jong Un will be visiting Russia upon invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the visit he will meet Putin and hold a summit,” the Korean Central News Agency reported Monday.
South Korean officials said the train was expected to cover the about 683 miles to Vladivostok in about 20 hours, a timeline that included with a long stopover at the Russia-North Korea border, needed to switch to wheels that would fit Russian railway tracks.
Kim has rarely left North Korea since he took power in 2011. His most recently documented international trips were in 2019, a year in which he stepped over the border to visit with then-President Donald Trump and traveled via train to Russia.
When he does travel, he prefers to do so via the rails in the heavy and slow-moving bullet-proof train, as his father and grandfather did when they were in power, NPR reported.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Joohee Cho contributed to this story.
(LONDON) — The bullet-proof train carrying Kim Jong Un crossed the border into Russia as the North Korean leader made his way to a summit with President Vladimir Putin, local media reported.
Russian media posted a video of the green-and-gold train traveling north in Primorye, the far-east district where Vladivostok is located.
The green-and-gold train in the video appeared to match images released on Monday by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s state-run media.
The Kremlin on Monday announced that Putin would travel to Vladivostok for an economic forum. The office said the two leaders would meet in the coming days, but didn’t offer specifics about the timing or location of the summit.
U.S. officials said discussions have advanced between the two countries about a possible plan for North Korea to supply weapons to Russia.
Kim’s train departed Pyongyang on Sunday, beginning its journey to Russia for a planned meeting with President Vladimir Putin, a South Korean official told ABC News.
“Our Dearest Comrade Kim Jong Un will be visiting Russia upon invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the visit he will meet Putin and hold a summit,” the Korean Central News Agency reported Monday.
South Korean officials said the train was expected to cover the about 683 miles to Vladivostok in about 20 hours, a timeline that included with a long stopover at the Russia-North Korea border, needed to switch to wheels that would fit Russian railway tracks.
Kim has rarely left North Korea since he took power in 2011. His most recently documented international trips were in 2019, a year in which he stepped over the border to visit with then-President Donald Trump and traveled via train to Russia.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Joohee Cho contributed to this story.
(NEW YORK) — More than 3,000 people are believed to have died in devastating floods across eastern Libya, the country’s health minister said Tuesday.
Another 10,000 people are believed to be missing, according to Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“The death toll is huge and might reach thousands,” Ramadan said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
In just the city of Derna, the worst hit area, at least 700 people have been confirmed dead from the unprecedented flooding. Authorities have declared Derna a disaster zone, saying the city has become inaccessible as electricity and communication have been cut off.
An additional 1,200 people were injured in Derna, according to the Libyan military.
The cities of Al Marj, Susah, Shahat and Al Bayda have also recorded several fatalities.
“Entire neighborhoods have been wiped out…with their residents,” Libya’s head of military said during a press conference on Monday.
Mediterranean storm Daniel is behind the widespread flooding in the North African nation as it swept away entire neighborhoods and destroyed homes in several coastal towns over the weekend.
Libya’s National Center of Meteorology reported that more than 16 inches of rain fell in the city of Bayda within a 24-hour period to Sunday, according to the flood tracking website Floodlist.
Initial reports indicated that the storm damaged dozens of cities and villages in the area, according to Georgette Gagnon, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya.
“I am deeply saddened by the severe impact of [Storm] Daniel on the country and have tasked an emergency response team to prepare to support local authorities and partners in the region,” Gagnon wrote in a post on social media on Monday. “I call on all local, national and international partners to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to those affected at this difficult time.”
U.S. Special Envoy to Libya Ambassador Richard Norland announced Tuesday that the American embassy in Tripoli “has issued an official declaration of humanitarian need in response to the devastating floods in Libya.”
“The declaration of humanitarian need will authorize initial funding that the United States will provide in support of relief efforts in Libya,” Norland said in a statement. “We are coordinating with U.N. partners and Libyan authorities to assess how best to target official U.S. assistance. In addition, we have been contacted by many Libyan Americans anxious to make private contributions to relief efforts and we will work with Libyan authorities to direct those resources to where they are most needed.”
Last week, the same storm system hammered the southeastern Mediterranean, killing at least 26 people in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, according to The Washington Post.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
Mustafa Unal Uysal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Mark Dickey, 40, had been trapped inside the Morca Cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains since Aug. 31, when he fell ill more than 3,400 feet below the surface, according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a group he leads.
“It is amazing to be above ground again,” Dickey told reporters after the rescue, according to Reuters. “I was underground far longer than ever expected.”
Dickey was extracted from the cave around 12:37 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the Turkish Caving Federation announced, describing the operation as “successful.”
“We congratulate all those who contributed!” the caving organization said.
As of late Tuesday morning, Dickey remains hospitalized in intensive care unit in the southern port city of Mersin for further examination and observation. He is in good condition, according to Turkish authorities.
Dickey will hold a press conference on Wednesday morning from the hospital if his health allows it, Turkish authorities said. It remains unclear when he will be able to be transferred to the United States.
Dickey told reporters he initially thought he was going to survive but as he got sicker, he began to have doubts.
“Then my consciousness started to get harder to hold on to and I reached a point where I said, ‘I’m not going to live,'” he said.
The New Jersey Initial Response Team thanked the Turkish Ministry of National Defence, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, the European Cave Rescue Association for their efforts in rescuing Dickey, as well as the cave rescuers for “their hard core caving ability,” the organization told ABC News in a statement.
Video taken from the scene showed Dickey lying on a stretcher as he was lifted through the cave 12 days after he became trapped.
A rescue team carried Dickey on a stretcher, resting in a rest area with 590 feet left before they took him the final distance.
“The fact that our son, Mark Dickey, has been moved out of Morca Cave in stable condition is indescribably relieving and fills us with incredible joy. It is, we know, an event that all involved in the extensive rescue effort worked so significantly hard for,” his parents told ABC News in a statement.
“Mark is strong and we believe in his strength, but fully knew that he was in dire need of tremendous and immediate support. We are so very thankful and grateful that the support he needed was given to him and that the first medical rescue team to arrive reached him when they did,” his parents said.
A team that includes medical staff began an evacuation late last week after his condition improved enough to move him, caving officials said. Volunteers had previously worked to clear a path to the surface.
When the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service arrived on Sunday, Dickey was in serious, life-threatening condition, officials said. Life-saving medical intervention included high doses of medication for his stomach and a blood transfusion.
Dickey’s condition improved enough for him to return to his feet following the intervention, rescuers said.
The team carrying the stretcher had passed a bivouac site about 500 meters, or 1,640 feet, below the surface on Sunday, the European Cave Rescue Association said.
“The medical status of the casualty is stable,” the association had said in a statement Sunday evening. “The next planned stop is at -300 m. The members of the different rescue teams are in a good physical condition.”
“He has not had any bleeding or vomiting for at least 2 days,” Sener said in a statement posted in Turkish on social media. “All vital signs, pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, state of consciousness, cooperation are all completely healthy.”
Dickey had been assisting in the exploration of the cave when he “suddenly became ill with intestinal problems that rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting,” the New Jersey Initial Response Team said in a statement previously. Dickey serves as the leader of that group, a collection of volunteers who specialize in cave and mine rescues.
“I don’t know what to say, this is overwhelming, this is a first,” Dickey told reporters.
ABC News’ Engin Bas, Miles Cohen, Aicha El Hammar Castano, Guy Davies, Teddy Grant, Doug Lantz and Marcus Moore contributed to this report.
Mustafa Unal Uysal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(LONDON) — The evacuation of an American caver trapped underground in Turkey continued overnight, as a rescue team carrying him on a stretcher passed through a rest camp about 1,000 feet underground, international caving officials said.
Mark Dickey, 40, has been trapped underground since Aug. 31, when he fell ill more than 3,400 feet below the surface, according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a group he leads.
A team that includes medical staff began an evacuation late last week, after his condition improved enough to move him, caving officials said.
“The stretcher with Mark reached the level -300m,” or about 984 feet underground, the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said in an update posted Monday morning.
The team carrying the stretcher had passed a bivouac site about 500 meters, or 1,640 feet, below the surface about 12 hours earlier, the European Cave Rescue Association said.
“The medical status of the casualty is stable,” the association had said in a statement on Sunday evening. “The next planned stop is at -300 m. The members of the different rescue teams are in a good physical condition.”
Dickey’s condition on Sunday was “very good,” according to Tulga Sener, the medical coordinator for Turkey’s Caving Federation.
“He has not had any bleeding or vomiting for at least 2 days,” Sener said in a statement posted in Turkish on social media. “All vital signs, pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, state of consciousness, cooperation are all completely healthy.”
When Dickey reaches the surface, he’s expected to be examined at the scene by Turkish and foreign doctors, rescue officials said on Sunday. He’ll then be flown via helicopter to a nearby hospital.
Dickey had been assisting in the exploration of the cave when he “suddenly became ill with intestinal problems that rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting,” the New Jersey Initial Response Team said in a statement announcing the his situation. Dickey serves as the leader of that group, a collection of volunteers who specialize in cave and mine rescues.
The evacuation of Dickey was expected to be hindered by narrow passages “just big enough to crawl through,” the group said. Demolition teams had been working to enlarge the path so his stretcher could reach the surface.
(SEOUL, South Korea) — A train presumed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departed Pyongyang on Monday, beginning its journey to Russia for a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a South Korean official told ABC News.
The leader of the secretive country will pay an official state visit to Russia in the coming days, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Putin on Monday began a two-day trip to Vladivostok, a port city near eastern Russia’s border with North Korea, where he’ll attend an economic forum, Russia’s TASS news agency said.
Kim’s train also appeared to be “heading towards” Vladivostok, the South Korean official said.
Discussions “are actively advancing” between Kim and Putin over a possible plan for North Korea to supply weapons to Russia, a U.S. official told ABC News last week.
Such a deal would be “another indication of how desperate Mr. Putin is,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council.
“But if they move ahead, then there will be additional repercussions for North Korea,” Kirby said. “The international community and the United States will look for ways to hold them accountable for that.”
Kim, who took power in 2011, attended a military parade on Sunday marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean state, the government-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
The leader had met on Friday with a delegation visiting North Korea from China, a sit-down with “an atmosphere of deep comradeship,” KCNA reported.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson, Shannon K. Crawford, Selina Wang and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this story.
