Anadolu Agency’s Morning Briefing - Feb. 17, 2023

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

At least 38,044 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the country's disaster agency said early Friday.

In yet more miraculous rescues, a 12-year-old boy and two men aged 26 and 34 were pulled from the rubble in Türkiye’s Hatay province 10 days after two major earthquakes struck the southern part of the country.

More contractors and others responsible for poorly constructed buildings that collapsed and caused heavy casualties in last week’s devastating earthquakes were detained across Türkiye on Thursday, sources said.

The UN launched a $1 billion humanitarian appeal for victims in Türkiye affected by earthquakes that occurred Feb. 6.

Last week's deadly earthquakes in southern Türkiye were "the deadliest natural disaster on alliance territory since the foundation of NATO," the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday in Ankara, Türkiye during a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara for talks.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said Thursday that it is increasing the amount of emergency funding it is seeking for quake-hit Türkiye and Syria as humanitarian needs rise.

The third edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) scheduled for March was postponed until later this year due to the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye's southern region which have claimed the lives of more than 38,000 people.

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that three aerial objects downed in American and Canadian airspace are "most likely" balloons belonging to private companies or institutions.

US President Joe Biden's physician released the results of his medical examination Thursday, saying Biden "remains fit for duty."

US rock band Pearl Jam raffled off a signed poster of their 1996 Istanbul concert to raise money for the victims of last week’s two strong earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.