Month: June 2021

ANKARA (AA) – A strain of the bird flu has been found in a human for the first time on Tuesday in the Jiangsu region of eastern China.

The H10N3 strain was detected in a 41-year-old male, according to a statement by the National Health Commission (NHC).

It was reported that the patient was hospitalized on April 28 because of various symptoms, including fever.

After comprehensive tests, it was found on May 28 that he was infected with the H10N3 strain, which had not been previously seen in humans, the statement added.

While no information on how he became infected was explained, the Commission said the patient’s condition was good and he was ready to be discharged.

Those whom he had contact with were monitored but the virus was not present, per the statement.

The NHC added that the H10N3 strain is less contagious among poultry. Its transmission between species is rare and the risk of widespread contagion of the virus is low.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey has so far administered over 29.24 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January, according to official figures released on Tuesday.

More than 16.6 million people have received their first doses, while over 12.5 million have been fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry’s count showed.

The official data also confirmed 7,112 new coronavirus cases, including 602 symptomatic patients, across the country in the last 24 hours. The number of new cases on Monday was 6,493.

Turkey’s overall case tally is now over 5.25 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 47,656 with 129 new fatalities.

As many as 9,457 more patients won the battle against the virus, raising the total number of recoveries past 5.12 million.

Over 54.3 million coronavirus tests have been done to date.

The latest figures put the tally of COVID-19 patients in critical condition at 1,241, down by 98 from Monday’s count.

Turkey is imposing a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m on weekdays and Saturdays, and a full lockdown in Sundays till July.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.55 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 170.8 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA (AA) – China imposed COVID-19 restrictions in another city on Tuesday, following Guangzhou in the south, as the country reported a new coronavirus outbreak, state-run media said.

Local authorities of Foshan city have announced a series of COVID-19 prevention and control measures including issuing stay-at-home orders for residents in some areas and restrictions on people from leaving the city unless they have tested negative for the virus, the daily Global Times reported.

The residents are asked to undergo home quarantine and will not allow to participate in gatherings, confined places like cinemas, gyms, while bars in Chancheng district are also closed.

Travel restrictions came in Foshan after neighboring Guangzhou tightened related restrictions in response to mutant strains amid the resurgence, according to the report.

Foshan had reported two confirmed cases and one asymptomatic case on Sunday while Guangzhou reported 18 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, as the city found its first virus strain detected in India.

China has so far recorded 91,099 cases and 4,636 deaths, while 86,135 people have recovered, according to National Health Commission of China.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL (AA) – A Turkish boy, who had fused eyelids condition due to a genetic disorder, now can see the world clearly after a successful operation.

Haci Ali Erduran, 7, was born with AEC syndrome and has undergone nine surgeries in various branches, mostly on eyes, since his birth.

The little boy is trying to overcome every difficulty with the help of his grandmother, who sees him as her own child after his parents separated.

Coming to Istanbul from southeastern Adiyaman, Erduran’s last operation was conducted by Associate Professor Levent Akcay at Dunyagoz Hospital to open his eyelids, treat ectropion – a condition in which your eyelid turns outward –, and open tear duct.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency about Erduran’s health condition, Akcay said the AEC syndrome is a very rare chromosomal disorder.

Patients with the syndrome are born with many problems such as fused eyelids, without tear ducts, cleft lip and palate, adherent fingers, he said, adding that there is no genetic treatment, but that the problems in the body are corrected one by one.

Akcay said little Erduran’s eyes were in bad condition when he came to him after treatment of his cleft lip and palate at another health center.

“His eyelids were adherent and outward, and his tear duct was blocked,” he said.

His tear duct was also opened in two sessions; first one with stitches and the last one with laser.

“We can now discharge the patient very well and happily,” he said.

– Erduran to be checked twice a year

Akcay said tear duct blockage has a 5-10% possibility to reoccur, especially in children with chromosomal anomalies, and added: “But we will bring him back from his hometown every six months and re-arrange his treatment.”

Highlighting Turkey’s strong technical infrastructure, he said such treatments can be done by many other oculoplastic surgeons in the country.

“What is important here is patience. Because this is not something that will end with one surgery,” he said, adding that they have been treating Erduran for a year.

Akcay noted that such congenital anomalies should be treated soon after the birth.

Praising his grandmother’s efforts to get Erduran treated, Akcay said: “She found us from Southeast Anatolia and brought him here. This isn’t something that everybody can do.”

Yuksel Erduran, little kid’s grandmother, hoped that his ninth surgery would be the last one.

“His mother and father couldn’t get along well. I’m looking after him,” she said.

“I see him like my own child,” she said, adding that little Erduran calls her “mother.”

“I feel proud when he calls me mother,” she said and added that she will be by his side as long as she can.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey has ratified the investment protection and promotion agreement with Georgia, according to the Turkish Official Gazette on Tuesday.


The ratification of the agreement that was signed in the capital Ankara on July 19, 2016 was published in the Gazette.

According to the deal, Turkey and Georgia agreed on fair treatment of the investments, maintaining a stable environment for investments, maximizing the effective use of economic resources and improving living standards.


The parties will mutually facilitate the issuance of the necessary permits in connection with an investment and the

Moreover, the two countries will encourage investors while informing them about investment opportunities, and procedure for necessary permits in connection with investments will be simplified.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA (AA) – Real Madrid announced that they have agreed with Italian Carlo Ancelotti for the manager seat vacated by the departure of Zinedine Zidane.

Ancelotti will sign a 3-season contract with club president Florentino Perez on Wednesday, the Real Madrid Club said in a statement.

The 61-year-old manager, who most recently coached England’s Everton team, worked at Real Madrid between 2013 and 2015.

Real Madrid won 1 La Liga championship, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup under his management.

The financial loss caused by the unilateral termination of Ancelotti’s contract, which earned 12 million euros per season from Everton, will be covered by Real Madrid, according to Spanish media.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL (AA) – Athletes across the sports world lent support to Naomi Osaka after French Open withdrawal.

NBA’s two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP), Steph Curry, conveyed his support for Osaka on Twitter.

“You shouldn’t ever have to make a decision like this — but so damn impressive taking the high road when the powers that be don’t protect their own. Major respect,” he said on Twitter.

Martina Navratilova, who is an 18-time Grand Slam singles title winner, tweeted that she is so sad about Osaka.

“I am so sad about Naomi Osaka. I truly hope she will be ok. As athletes, we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental & emotional aspect gets short shrift. This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference. Good luck, Naomi- we are all pulling for you!,” Navratilova said on Twitter.

Teenage American tennis player Coco Gauff praised Osaka, writing that she “admires her vulnerability.”

“Stay strong. I admire your vulnerability,” Gauff, 17, said on Twitter.

The four-time Grand Slam champion had announced Monday that she had withdrawn from the French Open, citing depression and anxiety.

Osaka also said that she suffered long bouts of depression since winning her first Grand Slam title at the 2018 US Open.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA (AA) – Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkey and around the world.

– Coronavirus and other developments in Turkey

Turkey has so far administered over 29 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January, according to the Health Ministry’s count.

More than 16.58 million people have received their first doses, while over 12.48 million have been fully vaccinated.

The ministry also confirmed 6,493 new coronavirus cases, including 596 symptomatic patients, across the country in the last 24 hours.

Turkey eased some public gathering restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus as the vaccination drive continues.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that curfew hours are revised as between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays in June. A full lockdown will be imposed on Sundays until further notice.

Meanwhile, Turkey and Greece agreed to recognize each other’s COVID-19 vaccine certificates, the foreign ministers of the two countries announced on Monday.

Beating expectations, Turkey’s economy expanded 7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021 amid economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s statistical authority said on Monday.

– COVID-19 updates worldwide

Over 1.9 billion coronavirus vaccine shots have so far been administered worldwide, figures compiled by Our World in Data, a tracking website, showed on Monday.

China leads the global count with 639.17 million jabs, followed by the US with 294.93 million.

While efforts to produce its own vaccine are ongoing around the world, Iran is set to roll out its first indigenously developed vaccine for coronavirus, COV-Iran Barakat, next week after the third and final clinical trial.

Soberana-02 vaccine, jointly developed by Iran and Cuba, has also completed its third clinical trial and is ready for industrial line production.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Monday said the country would vaccinate 70 million people against coronavirus by the end of this year.

– Other global developments​​​​​​​

US actor Joe Lara, best known for starring in the American TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, died over the weekend along with six other passengers in a plane crash in the state of Tennessee.

China on Monday further relaxed its family planning policy and allowed couples to have three children, according to Global Times.

The Chinese government has taken the decision to improve its population structure and counter the country’s aging population problem.

Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland held its long-awaited parliamentary and local elections on Monday.

The parliamentary elections were held more than a decade late, whereas the municipal elections should have taken place four years ago.

Also, on Monday, authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina discovered a new mass grave containing bone remains estimated to belong to civilians killed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

A 12-year-old Palestinian child was run over by Israeli police in East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood for placing the Palestinian flag on his bicycle while riding to a nearby grocery to buy bread.

“I was on my bike to buy bread when three Israeli policemen chased me because I put the [Palestinian] flag on the bike,” Jawad al-Abbasi said in a report he provided to the Hadassah Hospital where he has been receiving treatment.

Source: Anadolu Agency