Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing

ANKARA

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments in Turkey, around the world, and the coronavirus pandemic.

World

Gunmen on Saturday ambushed personnel guarding anti-polio vaccinators in northwest Pakistan, killing one policeman and injuring another, police and health officials said.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Saturday began casting their votes in local elections.

In a historic first under a controversial normalization deal, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) youth football team is set to play a friendly against Israel in a winter tournament on Sunday.

A special court in Benin’s capital Porto-Novo on Saturday sentenced Reckya Madougou, opposition leader and former justice minister, to 20 years in prison over terrorism charges.

The death toll from tornadoes that hit the southeastern US state of Kentucky overnight will "probably end up closer to 70-100 lost lives," the governor said Saturday.

At least one civilian was killed and five other people were wounded, including two regional lawmakers, when a terrorist-claimed bomb blast targeted a restaurant in southern Somalia on Saturday, an official said.

Tunisia’s Ennahda movement on Saturday rejected attempts to abolish the country’s 2014 constitution.

Israeli forces have rounded up 402 Palestinians in November, according to Palestinian rights groups on Saturday.

At least 31 hostages were freed in a joint offensive of Congolese and Ugandan militaries against Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the militaries said on Saturday.

The countries of a convention designed to protect the Mediterranean Sea from pollution published its final declaration on Saturday.

The UK issued another 23 licenses to French fishing boats on Saturday, the European Commission (EC) said.

Twin blasts targeted Burundian soldiers serving under the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) in southern Somalia on Saturday, a security official said.

Bahrain on Saturday reported the first case of the new omicron variant of coronavirus.

Developments in Turkey

Turkey has administered more than 121.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January, according to official figures updated on Saturday.

Turkey on Saturday reported the first six cases of the new omicron variant of coronavirus.

Turkey rescued a total of 79 asylum seekers from the Aegean Sea, off the coast of the Izmir province, said the Turkish Coast Guard Command on Saturday.

Turkey this weekend hosts the Stratcom Summit 2021, an international gathering to address compelling policies, issues, challenges, and trends of the strategic communication ecosystem.

Disinformation including on social media now beyond mere a national security issue to be a global security threat, the Turkish president warned on Saturday.

Top officials dealing with the communication strategies of governments around the world discussed the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising online disinformation on day one of the two-day Stratcom 2021 summit in Istanbul on Saturday.

New trends in journalism were discussed Saturday in a panel at Stratcom Summit 2021, with a top Anadolu Agency official among the speakers of the Istanbul event.

The Strategic Communications and Information Wars session was held Saturday at the Stratcom Summit 2021, with a top Anadolu Agency official among speakers at the Istanbul event.