By Ali Murat Alhas
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
The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Turkey topped 28 million as of Monday, with 16.05 million people having received the first dose and 12 million others having been fully vaccinated, according to the Turkish Health Ministry.
More than 5.03 million people have fully recovered from the disease, with over 10,000 registered on Monday. The country's overall case tally stands at over 5.19 million and fatalities neared 46,500.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda that Turkey was set to export unmanned aerial vehicles to Poland in what would be the first time in history of making such a sale to a NATO and EU member country.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca called on the world to vaccinate family members of healthcare workers against the virus during his address at the 74th World Health Assembly.
At least 47 people with suspected links to the PKK terror group have been arrested across Turkey, including in the cities of Adana, Sirnak and Tunceli.
The Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement that two terrorists were neutralized in southeastern Turkey. Although the terror group was not specified, the PKK has been active in eastern and southeastern parts of the country.
A group of 46 irregular migrants were rescued off Turkey’s western province of Canakkale on Monday after they were pushed back by Greek authorities. Human rights groups and Turkey have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers.
– Other global developments
Over 1.67 billion coronavirus vaccine shots have been administered worldwide, with Turkey among the top 10 countries for jabs given, figures compiled by Our World in Data, an online portal, showed Monday.
As thousands of Palestinians flocked to protest Israel's attacks on Gaza, a total of 1,550 Arab Israelis had been arrested over the course of the past two weeks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 115,000 healthcare workers have lost their lives in the fight against the coronavirus, the WHO chief said, adding they paid the ultimate price in the service of others.
The EU’s foreign policy chief called for the immediate release of a Belarussian journalist who was detained after the forced landing of his flight. Josep Borrell said “this is yet another blatant attempt by the Belarusian authorities to silence all opposition voices.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow and Ankara engage in intensive political dialogue and the two have developed mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas despite some "serious differences.”
According to news outlets, Mali's military arrested the country’s interim president, premier and defense chief, transporting them to a military base. The senior officials were accompanied by a military escort to the Kati military base located northwest of the capital Bamako.
