Anadolu Agency’s Morning Briefing - March 14, 2023

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

The death toll from powerful earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye last month has risen to 48,448, the country’s interior minister said.

A meeting on Syria at the level of deputy foreign ministers between Türkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria will be held in Russia's capital on March 15-16, Turkish diplomatic sources said.

Saudi Arabia has refused to issue entry visas to Israeli delegates invited to a UN tourism conference, according to media reports.

Over 1.3 million students in Türkiye’s quake-hit Gaziantep, Adana and Osmaniye provinces returned to schools.

The volume of international arms trade in 2018-2022 contracted by 5.1% from the previous five-year period, according to a report.

Iran said a discussion about the exchange of prisoners and other issues with the US is underway, stressing that Tehran is looking for “practical results” from ongoing negotiations.

Tens of thousands of junior doctors in England have launched a three-day strike Monday in a dispute over pay and working conditions.

The US plans to use Africa as a supplier of critical minerals, which have a growing importance rising incrementally year-by-year, to break China's dominance on them, according to the Economist.

China’s newly reelected President Xi Jinping stressed the need for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests.

Germany saw a record number of attacks against journalists in 2022, according to official figures announced Monday.

President Joe Biden assured Americans that the US banking system and depositors are 'safe' after the collapse of two large banks in less than a week.

The Kremlin said the awarding of an Oscar to a documentary about Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny showed “an element of politicization.”

The European Council on Monday renewed for another six months sanctions imposed on 1,473 Russian individuals and 205 entities for "undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence" of Ukraine.

Russia’s position to extend the Black Sea grain deal only for 60 days contradicts a document signed by Türkiye and the UN, said Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.

Denmark is set to host a high-level meeting of climate ministers in Copenhagen on March 20-21, authorities said.

Israel released the oldest Palestinian prisoner, Fuad al-Shubaki, 83, after 17 years behind bars in Israeli jails.

The US private sector raised more than $110 million to assist Türkiye following the devastating earthquakes, the US Chamber of Commerce said.

UN political affairs chief Rosemary Di Carlo will travel to Cyprus on Wednesday, said a statement.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he will sit down with Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin on Tuesday to discuss a series of bilateral issues.

Australia will buy at least three conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) under a trilateral security partnership with the US and UK.

The Jesuits of Canada said they feel “shame” over 27 priests who an investigation has revealed are “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of minors.

Türkiye and the US need to have a larger geopolitical “strategic conversation,” Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Monday, noting that relations between the two countries are based on "mutual respect" and “mutual interests.”

Hate crimes in the US rose nearly 12% nationwide in 2021, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The UN's $1 billion humanitarian appeal to support the people of Türkiye who are suffering from last month’s devastating earthquakes was funded at only 13%, a spokesperson said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that travel warnings issued by the US government and media reports about violence in his country are part of a smear campaign against his administration and assured that Mexico is actually safer than the United States.

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea, known as the Sea of Japan, on Tuesday, according to a report citing the South Korean military.

US President Joe Biden said he would speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping soon.

Two people died and nine were injured Monday when a pickup truck plowed into pedestrians in a small Canadian town northeast of Quebec City.

Former US President Donald Trump blamed former Vice President Mike Pence for the violence surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at Capitol Hill.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday announced the beginning of a peace process with dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerilla group.

A devastating fire in a slum located in an industrial area of Bangladesh’s capital gutted nearly 100 shanties Monday night, according to eyewitnesses and local residents.