ANKARA 

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 over 112.6 million doses of coronavirus vaccines since the country launched an immunization drive in January, according to official figures released Monday.

Meanwhile, Phase 3 trials of Turkey’s homegrown COVID-19 jab Turkovac are underway, according to Turkish health authorities.

Speaking at a press conference following a Cabinet meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remarked that Turkey is determined to present its contribution to the struggle against climate change and thus the Green Development Revolution will be at the core of the country’s efforts.

As part of Turkey’s new green strategy, a presidency on climate change will be established in Turkey to tackle the issue in a more elaborate manner, Erdogan said, adding the Environment and Urbanization Ministry will be renamed the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry.

Also referring to the escalation of terrorist attacks by the YPG/PKK terror group targeting Turkish troops as well as Syrian civilians, Turkey’s president underlined that Ankara is determined to eliminate threats emanating from northern Syria, either itself or with the support of active local forces.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met Monday with his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Russia, Nepal, Guatemala, Lebanon and Iraq in Belgrade, where he went to attend a two-day summit marking the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a forum of 120 developing world states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

Ahmet Berat Conkar, a Turkish deputy with the Justice and Development (AK) Party, was elected vice chairman of a NATO Parliamentary Assembly committee Monday during the 67th annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Turkish Coast Guard Command said it rescued as many as 313 asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea on Monday after they were pushed back by Greek authorities.

Turkey, whose defense industry has significantly thrived in recent years, will soon witness a flight test of its new state-of-the-art Fedai multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which can be utilized as a self-defense deterrent against drones or used in an assault, said Guray Ali Canli, a member of the executive board of Transvaro, the manufacturer of the weapon system.

-Other developments across the world

In general elections held in Iraq, Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s party won the most seats, according to initial results unveiled Monday. Sadr’s bloc won 73 seats in the 329-member parliament, followed by the Taqaddoum (progress) bloc of Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi with 38 seats while the State of Law bloc led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came third with 37 seats, according to results cited by the official Iraqi news agency.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced Monday that security forces have captured Sami Jasim al-Jaburi, who was in charge of the Daesh/ISIS terror group's finances and a deputy of slain leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent remarks in which he argued that the Ottoman Empire had colonized Algeria before the French did, the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulema said: "The Ottomans who came to Algeria did not come as colonial occupiers. Rather, [they came] at the invitation of the Algerians.”

Azerbaijan on Monday slammed Iran for its “smear campaign” and claims about the presence of terrorist groups in Azerbaijan. “Our advice to those who want to look for terrorists is to take a good look around themselves,” Leyla Abdullayeva, spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, said in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that the Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in August, has not been maintaining its promises with respect to women's and girls' rights.

Following Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s resignation in the wake of a corruption investigation, former Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was sworn in as the head of government Monday.