By Jeyhun Aliyev
ANKARA (AA) – Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkey and around the world.
– Coronavirus and other developments in Turkey
Turkey has administered more than 52.34 million coronavirus vaccine doses since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to official figures.
More than 35.78 million people have received their first doses, while over 15.58 million have been fully vaccinated, said the Health Ministry.
Turkey is one of the leading countries in vaccination efforts against the virus, according to the country representative for Turkey at the World Health Organization (WHO).
The fugitive creator of an online Ponzi scheme game was extradited to Turkey late Saturday.
Mehmet Aydin, 29 surrendered to the Turkish Consulate in Sao Paulo and was arrested at the Istanbul Airport in an ongoing investigation by Istanbul prosecutors.
A five-day joint military drill by the Turkish and Azerbaijani armies in Baku has 'successfully' ended, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced.
Turkey was "saddened" to receive news regarding a large-scale fire that erupted in the Jebel Akhdar region in eastern Libya, according to a statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic.
Nine provinces in the southeastern Anatolia region whose history, culture, gastronomy and nature are registered by UNESCO are preparing to gain from tourism activity with "Mesopotamia" –promoted as Turkey's first destination-oriented regional tourism brand.
Turkey expressed grief for widespread destruction caused by a massive landslide after heavy rains in Japan.
– COVID-19 updates worldwide
The Delta variant has seen a sharp spike in Iran in recent weeks, with the number of cities marked “high risk” jumping to 92, according to that country's anti-coronavirus headquarters.
Bangladesh received 4.5 million doses of vaccines produced in the US and China, according to officials.
Afghan authorities warned of surging cases of mucormycosis, also known as "black fungus," among coronavirus patients as the war-ravaged country grapples with a shortage of vaccines and medical oxygen.
– Other global developments
At least eight civilians were killed and nine others wounded in attacks by forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime and their allied Iran-backed foreign terrorist groups in a de-escalation zone in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, according to a Syrian civil defense group.
The Roman Catholic Church had "one purpose at one time” and it was "to brainwash my lineage to make sure that we stop praying to who our spirituality was and only pray to the Roman Catholic Church faith," said the head of the Cowessess First Nation.
Indigenous leaders in Canada called on Catholics to boycott Sunday mass, local media reported.
A Syrian mother emerged triumphant from a Danish courtroom after the country declared Damascus and surrounding areas safe for the return of refugees.
Conceived during the Cold War era, the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan saw the inception of the modern Afghan Air Force before serving as the main bastion for the invading Red Army and later as the main base of operations for the US in the war-ravaged country.
Twenty people remain missing after landslides swept away houses in southwest Tokyo, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The EU's Single-Use Plastic Directive took effect, banning common items made with single-use plastics.
Known as the Venice of the East for its pristine waters, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, Srinagar, has become a dumping ground for sewage and pollution, including plastic waste, because of years of inattentiveness, according to experts.
There are no longer backdoor contacts with India to resume the long-stalled talks between two nuclear neighbors, Pakistan's national security advisor said.
Syrians who were displaced by attacks by the Bashar Assad regime and its supporters, and took shelter in refugee camps, consider the closure of the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing "mass murder.”
Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has been appointed to the board of directors of a Russian public oil group, according to a disclosure by a Russian business platform.
Azerbaijan handed over 15 Armenian detainees in exchange for maps of 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted during the occupation in the Fizuli and Zangilan regions, the country's Foreign Ministry said.
Libya's prime minister called for conducting Libyan parliamentary and presidential elections on its scheduled time on Dec. 24.
