Morning brief: Turkey-Syria quake toll nears 44K, Biden to speak to Xi in wake of balloon controversy, & more

The total number of deaths due to the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria climbed to 43,885 on Friday (February 17) as rescue efforts are nearing their end. United States President Joe Biden will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the wake of the balloon controversy which has worsened the relations between Washington and Beijing. And two US Senators teamed up to introduce a bipartisan Senate resolution reaffirming America's recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, condemning China's military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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Miracle stories of survival from the Turkey earthquake continue to emerge days after the deadly earthquake struck Turkey and parts of Syria. Three more people were pulled from the rubble 10 days after the Turkey earthquake, with two of them being minors.The massive earthquake has killed a total of 43,885 people in the two countries.

The diplomatic relations between United States and China have suffered due to the balloon controversy, as Biden has made it a top priority to reset its ties with China.The US has remained in a state of alarm since a huge white Chinese balloon was spotted flying over various secret nuclear weapons sites.

The bipartisan resolution comes after Indian and Chinese troopsengaged in a skirmish in Arunachal Pradesh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)in December 2022, thebiggest clash in the Eastern Sector in six years.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, while speaking to BBC, expressed his unwillingness to part away with any territory for a peace deal with Russia and hoped that Belarus doesn't join the war alongside Russia.

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