Day: December 15, 2021

Greece registered five new cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus Wednesday, bringing confirmed cases to 10.

The National Organization for Public Health (EODY) said 4,801 new cases and 77 deaths were registered, according to health authorities.

Greece confirmed more than 1.01 million infections since the pandemic began, with fatalities totaling 19,553.

Intubations fell from 700 on Tuesday to 683 on Wednesday.

Still, the majority, 80.97%, of intubations are patients who have not been vaccinated or partially vaccinated and 19.09% have been fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, authorities announced new measures to control the spread of the new variant.

All travelers arriving in Greece will be required to have a negative PCR test beginning Dec. 19, according to the Greek Health Ministry.

The test must have been conducted up to 48 hours before departure.

The new measure does not include travelers who have spent less than 48 hours in a country prior to arriving in Greece.

SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party hinted Tuesday at running for president in the country’s 2023 elections.

“If the [Nation] Alliance accepts [my candidacy], then there is no issue,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said in response to a question during a televised interview.

“If the alliance accepts such a candidacy, of course I would be honored. But it never came up and was never discussed,” he added.

Recalling opposition Good (IYI) Party leader Meral Aksener’s previous remarks saying she will run for prime minister, Kilicdaroglu welcomed this, saying she has previous experience in government positions as well as ministerial positions.

In 2017, Turkish voters decided through a referendum to switch from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential system of governance. As of 2018, Turkey did away with the premiership and fully shifted to a presidential system of government.

Turkey is set to hold nationwide elections in June 2023, when citizens will choose the president as well as all 600 members of parliament.

All officials would be elected to five-year terms, though the president also has the power to call for early elections, as he did in 2018.

SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY

Turkey on Tuesday opened an honorary consulate in the city of Cordoba in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.

The opening ceremony for Turkey’s seventh honorary consulate in Spain was attended by Turkish Ambassador to Madrid Burak Akcapar, Cordoba Mayor Jose Maria Bellido Roche, and appointed Honorary Consul Juan Pablo Cortes, as well as business representatives and academics.

Akcapar noted that the leaders of the two countries had described their relations as a “comprehensive partnership,” as they attended the 7th Turkey-Spain Intergovernmental Summit held in Ankara on Nov. 17.

The efforts of the two countries to advance bilateral cooperation in economic realm, as well as trade, defense, and all other fields, is a state policy, Akcapar added.

Underlining the fact that Turkey and Spain are both strategically located NATO allies relevant to Europe’s security, stability, and prosperity, he said bilateral cooperation was critical for peace, tranquility, and welfare in the entire region

For his part, Cortes expressed pride at his appointment as the Honorary Consul of Turkey to Cordoba, while Bellido Roche voiced satisfaction at the level of relations between Turkey and Spain.

“I believe that this initiative will contribute to the development of social, cultural, and economic relations between Cordoba and Turkey,” said the mayor.

SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY

Fourteen PKK terrorists were neutralized in Turkish security operations in Turkey and northern Iraq on Wednesday.

Two terrorists were neutralized when Turkish T-129 ATAK helicopters targeted a hideout in the Operation Pence Simsek region, the National Defense Ministry on Twitter.

Six more terrorists were targeted in a joint operation by Turkish forces and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in Iraq’s Gara region, said a security source, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Another six PKK terrorists were neutralized in the Bagok region of Turkey’s southeastern Mardin province as part of the ongoing Eren Winter-8 anti-terror operation, the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Turkish authorities use the word “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq, across Turkey’s southern border, to plan terrorist attacks in Turkey.

The Pence operations are a series of offensives Turkey has carried out since 2019 against terror groups in northern Iraq, particularly the PKK.

Operations Pence-Kaplan and Pence-Kartal were initiated in June last year, while Pence-Simsek and Pence-Yildirim were launched this April in Iraq’s Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions.

This year, Turkey started the Operation Eren series, named after Eren Bulbul, a 15-year-old killed by the PKK in August 2017, to eliminate terrorists in the country’s eastern and southeastern regions.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY

The US on Wednesday welcomed the current initiatives by Turkey and Armenia to start discussing steps to normalize relations.

“We welcome and strongly support statements by Turkish Foreign Minister @MevlutCavusoglu and @MFAofArmenia on appointing Special Envoys to discuss the process of normalization,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday Ankara and Yerevan will appoint special envoys soon to discuss steps to normalize relations.

Later, Vahan Hunanyan, a spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, welcomed the Turkish foreign minister’s announcement, according to Public Radio of Armenia.

“In this regard, we positively assess the statement of the Turkish foreign minister on the appointment of a special representative for the normalization of relations, and confirm that the Armenian side will appoint a special representative for this dialogue,” the broadcaster reported, citing Hunanyan.

SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received new ambassadors of Libya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday in the capital Ankara.

Libyan Ambassador Mustafa Elgelaib and Ambassador Saeed Thani Hareb Al Dhaheri of the UAE separately presented their letters of credentials to Erdogan at the presidential complex.

SOURCE: ANADOLU AGENCY