February 22, 2023

*) Death toll from Feb 6 Türkiye quakes tops 42,000 The death toll from February 6 powerful earthquakes has hit 42,310, a day after another tremor jolted Türkiye's southern Hatay province. A total of 7,242 aftershocks have been recorded since February 6, said the Turkish disaster management agency AFAD. The reported toll in Syria is 5,814, taking the combined death toll in both countries to over 48,000. *) Türkiye mobilises all resources, means for quake-hit provinces: Erdogan Türkiye is mobilising all of its resources and means to carry out accommodation and subsistence services for earthquake victims, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said. Within one year, the country will revive the quake-hit villages and cities, and a total of 70,000 houses will be built in the villages, Erdogan said at a briefing. The new buildings will be no taller than three or four stories in addition to the ground floor, he added. *) Putin delivers nuclear warning to West over Ukraine, suspends START pact Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered a warning to the West, suspending a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty and announcing that a new strategic system had been put on combat duty. Cautioning the US that it was stoking the Ukraine war into a global conflict, Putin said Russia was suspending participation in the New START Treaty – the last major arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington. Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed his forces were maintaining their positions on the front line in eastern Ukraine despite considerable pressure from Russia. *) Church of Virgin Mary in Hatay suffers further damage in fresh quakes The Church of the Virgin Mary in Türkiye's Hatay province has suffered extensive new damage following Monday’s latest tremors. The damage to the outer walls of the church from the previous quakes was exacerbated by Monday’s quake and an intensity 5.8 aftershock, both of which were centred in Hatay province. The historic Orthodox church, used by local Turkish citizens