Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - February 23, 2021

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 reported 8,104 additional coronavirus cases Monday, including 623 symptomatic patients, according to the Health Ministry.

The country's case tally passed 2.64 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 28,138 with 78 fatalities over the past day. As many as 5,690 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 2.52 million.

More than 32.43 million coronavirus tests have been done in Turkey to date, with 118,816 since Sunday.

Turkey boasts strong foreign currency reserves and its economy is well positioned to compete on the world stage, said the nation's president.

Turkey's president also criticized the EU's double standard of supporting Greece on the migrant issue but not sharing responsibility for 4 million refugees hosted by Turkey.

Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov will visit Turkey on Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

Former Egyptian Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei called on Arab countries to form a regional security system capable of urgently addressing complex relations with Turkey and Iran.

COVID-19 updates worldwide

The Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines substantially reduce the risk of hospitalization for novel coronavirus patients after the first dose, a study has found.

French drugmaker Sanofi said Monday it will provide support in manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine developed by its American rival Johnson & Johnson to help address global supply demands.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus called on rich countries not to make additional vaccine purchases that could hamper efforts to begin coronavirus vaccinations in poor and middle-income countries.

Other global developments

Luca Attanasio, Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic Congo, has died in an attack on a UN convoy in the restive Central African country, Italy's Foreign Ministry confirmed.

EU foreign ministers agreed to impose sanctions on Russian officials over the sentencing of opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

The United States remains committed to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon and is prepared to engage in diplomacy with Tehran, the US secretary of state said.

Iran could comply with its nuclear obligations if the US rejoins the 2015 nuclear deal, the EU's foreign policy chief said

Bosnian Serb candidate Mladen Grujicic declared victory in a repeat of local elections in the town of Srebrenica despite a boycott of the vote by Bosnian Muslims.

A Moroccan education union rejected any educational and cultural normalization with Israel amid plans by Rabat and Tel Aviv to implement joint education programs.

After over six nights of sometimes-violent protests triggered by a rapper's jailing, Spanish police have arrested at least 160 people.

Landslides claimed the lives of at least four Afghan gold miners who were working on extracting the precious metal illegally in the mountainous northern region of Afghanistan, officials reported Monday. -