Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - Dec. 29, 2021

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

Turkey has administered more than 129.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. More than 56.8 million people have received their first jab, while over 51.4 million have been fully vaccinated.

Turkey attaches importance to healthy and strong relations with the Muslim community in the US, the country’s presidential spokesman said at a gala dinner of the Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America (MAS-ICNA) Convention.

Turkish security forces nabbed at least five Daesh/ISIS terror suspects in operations launched to prevent terrorist activities ahead of the New Year’s holiday.

Turkey has rescued 526 irregular migrants over the past 12 days who were pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces.

An 8,500-year-old marble statuette has recently been discovered at the Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk in central Turkey. The statuette is a 5-centimeter (2-inch) tall prismatic figurine.

- Developments across world

Anadolu Agency presents a rundown of the top moments of 2021 in a 12-part series as the world has tried to make an arduous comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic as the delta and omicron variants marked the past year.

The United Nations warned that human rights violations will not go on with “impunity” in war-torn Yemen, denouncing a recent major military escalation in the country.

Sefik Dzaferovic, the Bosniak member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency, praised Turkey's role in maintaining stability in the Balkans, calling it a "true friend" of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Another body was recovered from the Sugandha river Tuesday morning, pushing the death toll from the deadliest ferry fire in Bangladesh to 39 as a search operation for missing passengers continues.

Israeli warplanes struck the Syrian port of Latakia early Tuesday in the second such attack this month. State news agency SANA said the strike caused "significant material damage.”

The count of COVID-19 cases continues to surge in Europe. England reported over 117,000 new infections, a record since the pandemic started. France posted a new record for daily coronavirus cases Tuesday, registering nearly 180,000 infections.