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Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – Feb. 8, 2022

Daily briefing on novel coronavirus pandemic worldwide, Turkiye, other developments

Ahmet Gençtürk  | 08.02.2022 - Update : 08.02.2022
Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – Feb. 8, 2022

ANKARA

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkiye and around the world. 

Coronavirus and other developments in Turkiye

The Turkish Health Ministry reported over 96,500 new coronavirus cases Monday.

The ministry confirmed 96,514 infections, 236 related deaths and 83,274 recoveries over the past day, while 432,131 virus tests were also conducted across the country.

To counter the spread of the virus, Turkiye has administered over 143.12 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met in Istanbul with the head of Libya’s High Council of State, Khalid al-Mishri.

Continuing its war on terror, Turkiye neutralized two terrorists affiliated with the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group, in northern Syria and nabbed FETO terrorists while they were trying to flee to Greece through the country’s northwestern border.

Turkiye’s parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop stressed that Islamophobia has become one of the most common forms of racism in the last 20 years and called for taking concrete steps against racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia.

Other developments worldwide

Holding a joint presser with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who arrived in the US for an official visit, President Joe Biden warned that it would be a "gigantic mistake” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make any military moves against Ukraine, adding Washington would impose severe sanctions on Russia if Putin decided to invade the country.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called a recent joint statement by Russia and China “an attempt to deny sovereign nations the right to make their own choices. Stoltenberg also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his “active support” and “personal engagement to find a political solution” to ongoing Russia-Ukraine tensions.

Amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Europe is currently facing its "most dangerous moment" since the Cold War.

The British government announced the deployment of 350 additional troops to Poland to bolster NATO’s eastern defenses amid rising tensions with Russia.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged Moscow on Monday to take steps to de-escalate tensions and warned that Russia will face severe political and economic sanctions if it attacks Ukraine

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said bilateral ties with Turkiye continued to grow as their economic and social relations scaled up over the past two decades.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev approved amendments to a law that removes the need to consult with founding President Nursultan Nazarbayev on domestic and foreign policy decisions.

The organizers of the Beijing Winter Olympics confirmed 24 new cases of the coronavirus among athletes, team officials and other stakeholders.​​​​​​​

Spain’s Health Ministry announced that it will be scrapping its outdoor mask mandate and increasing capacity at sporting events from Thursday.

Australia announced the reopening of its borders for fully vaccinated tourists from Feb. 21.

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