Busra Nur Cakmak
07 August 2021•Update: 07 August 2021
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 more than 75.55 million coronavirus vaccine doses since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to official figures.
The Health Ministry confirmed 24,297 new infections and 108 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 6,636 additional patients have recovered.
Turkey's president announced that 202 wildfires have been contained since they began last week. Efforts to extinguish the remaining 12 blazes are underway.
Forest fires have been contained in two more districts in the southern province of Antalya, according to the nation’s agriculture and forestry minister.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu sent a message of condolence to his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias. Greece has been fighting wildfires that have left acres of forestland in ashes and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents.
Turkish wrestler Taha Akgul clinched a bronze in the men’s freestyle 125 kilogram class at the Tokyo Olympics.
Worldwide developments related to COVID-19
The number of coronavirus vaccines given worldwide topped 4.36 billion, according to Our World In Data, a tracking website affiliated with the University of Oxford.
The more contagious delta variant now makes up an estimated 97% of new infections in Germany, according to the country’s disease control agency.
CNN fired three employees who went into work at the media company without being vaccinated for COVID-19.
Half of all Americans are "fully vaccinated" against the virus, said the White House COVID-19 data director.
Developments across the world
Jailed former South African President Jacob Zuma was admitted to a hospital outside the prison facility where he has been serving a 15-month sentence, according to authorities.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing a barrage of rockets at northern Israel.
Hezbollah said the action was “in response to Israeli airstrikes on open lands in the al-Jarmaq and al-Shawakir areas on Thursday night.”
Israeli forces retaliated by firing artillery munitions at the Kafr Shuba and Habariya areas in southern Lebanon, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.
Lebanon urged the UN to pressure Israel to stop violating its sovereignty.
Thousands of hectares of rich leafy forests have turned to ash in Attica’s northeastern suburbs as fires burned for a fourth day in Greece, forcing residents to flee.
A senior Afghan official and former spokesman of the president was assassinated by the Taliban in the capital, Kabul, authorities confirmed.
The advancing Taliban insurgents entered the key border town of Zaranj in western Nimorz province next to Iran, said officials.
Afghanistan is at a "dangerous turning point" as the Taliban continue to press a sweeping nationwide offensive against government forces, warned the UN special envoy for the war-torn country.
The US sharply denounced the Taliban's offensive, saying the hardline group should take ongoing peace negotiations in Qatar as seriously as it does its military campaign.
Due to continuing attacks by the Bashar-al-Assad regime, 80% of nearly 50,000 civilians living in targeted neighborhoods of Daraa, southwestern Syria, left their homes and migrated to other neighborhoods as talks for peace continue.
Azerbaijan said army posts in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic came under fire by Armenian forces.
The G7 foreign ministers condemned an "unlawful attack" on the Mercer Street merchant vessel, which they blamed on Iran.
The US and Israeli defense chiefs vowed to cooperate closely on regional security after they also laid blame on Iran for the attack on the oil tanker.
