ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments in Turkey, around the world and the coronavirus pandemic.
- Developments in Turkey, coronavirus pandemic and other news
Turkey has administered more than 94 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since launching a mass immunization campaign in January, according to official figures Tuesday.
Over 48.28 million people have gotten their first vaccine dose, while more than 37.1 million are fully vaccinated, said the Health Ministry.
The ministry also reported 21,893 new coronavirus cases, while 252 more people died from the disease.
The world has started acknowledging the success of Turkey’s unmanned aerial combat vehicles, the country’s president said Tuesday at a ceremony at the National Defense University.
With its unmanned combat aerial vehicle Akinci, Turkey has become one of the world’s three most advanced countries in combat drone technology, said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, adding the world speaks about "the success of the armed drones used in the fight against terrorism, as well as in many conflict areas from Syria to Karabakh."
An oil slick in the Eastern Mediterranean originating from Syria may pass by Northern Cyprus, a senior Turkish Cypriot official said Tuesday.
"We were happy to learn that the slick will pass tangentially to the TRNC [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]," Tourism and Environment Minister Fikri Ataoglu told Anadolu Agency, referring to the massive oil leak first reported last week.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced Tuesday during a joint news conference with his counterpart Nikola Selakovic in the Serbian capital Belgrade that Turkey is working with Serbia on passport-free travel for citizens of both countries.
International credit ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday upgraded Turkey's economic growth forecast for 2021 from 5% to 6%.
Turkey defeated Poland 3-0 Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the 2021 CEV Women's European Volleyball Championship.
- Worldwide developments related to COVID-19
Scientists in South Africa have sounded the alarm after detecting a new COVID-19 variant known as C.1.2 in all nine provinces across the country, though at a relatively low rate.
Israel recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases per capita over the past week, according to data published Tuesday by Oxford University Press.
Some 10,946 Israelis tested positive for the virus Monday, breaking the country’s previous record set on Jan. 18 of 10,118 new cases.
The European Union fully vaccinated 70% of its adult population, the bloc’s top official announced Tuesday.
- Developments across World
The US was without a clear aim as it entered the 20th year of its war in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, defending his decision to pull out of the war-torn country.
Biden said the US "had been a nation too long at war" and he was faced with a decision of either "leaving or escalating," a reference to a pact his predecessor brokered with the Taliban that ensured American forces would not come under attack as they pulled out of Afghanistan.
Moscow stands for peace, prosperity and security in Afghanistan, Russia's foreign minister said Tuesday.
Addressing a news conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Sergey Lavrov said a concrete strategy on Afghanistan would be worked out and announced at a meeting of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization in the Tajik capital Dushanbe in mid-September followed by a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
Afghanistan is facing an impending “humanitarian catastrophe” as the Taliban take control of the war-torn nation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday.
The EU on Tuesday agreed on a joint approach to prevent a new wave of migration stemming from the crisis in Afghanistan.
Interior ministers from the 27 EU countries adopted their conclusions on the situation in Afghanistan after a “very dynamic” debate, Slovenian Interior Minister Ales Hojs told reporters after the meeting.
Libya’s neighbors agreed Tuesday to send a ministerial delegation to assess the political situation in the North African country ahead of its highly anticipated Dec. 24 general elections.
The decision was taken at the end of a meeting of foreign ministers of Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Chad, Niger and the Republic of Congo.