Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - July 22, 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 has administered over 64 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to official figures.

According to Health Ministry data, over 39.06 million people have gotten their first dose, while over 21.28 million have received their second dose.

To date, over 62.68% of the adult population has received at least one vaccine dose. The ministry also confirmed 8,151 new infections and 59 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 4,946 more patients recovered.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara will continue its efforts to secure international recognition for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Families in southeastern Turkey whose children were kidnapped by the PKK terror group long to spend the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday together with them.

Turkey has exported its autonomous rotary wing attack drones – also known as kamikaze drones – produced by Turkish defense company STM for the first time.

COVID-19 updates worldwide

More than 3.73 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to Our World in Data, a tracking website affiliated with Oxford University.

The number of coronavirus cases at the Tokyo Olympics has risen to 79, organizers said, just days before the start of the major sports event.

With 783 more fatalities registered over the past day, the coronavirus death toll in Russia has now surpassed 150,000.

As the Delta strain drives a surge in infections, Germany reported its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks.

Thailand confirmed 13,002 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day increase since the pandemic began.

The US extended border closures with Canada and Mexico through Aug. 21 in an effort to slow the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus as each state in the country sees mounting cases.

Other global developments

Severe flooding in China's central Henan province caused by torrential rains has caused at least 18 fatalities, according to local media.

Three soldiers and a militiaman were killed as two blasts hit a military convoy in northern Burkina Faso last week.

Search and rescue efforts continued in Germany's worst-hit flood regions, but hopes of finding survivors are fading.

The leader of Tanzania's main opposition party was among nearly a dozen officials arrested by government forces during raids.

A two-day meeting of G20 member state environment ministers in Naples, Italy starting Thursday is set to focus on climate change and sustainable water use.

The US and Germany have reached an agreement on the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that will see Berlin take extensive measures to assuage US concerns. -