Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – Sept. 19, 2021

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 will take new steps to help the country's exporters, including removing the requirement for security deposits, restructuring Turkish Eximbank, and establishing a new fair center, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday.

"As our businesspeople produce, export, and provide employment, we will all be able to look to the future with confidence," Erdogan said at the Turkish Exporters Assembly's (TIM) Export Champions program in the commercial capital Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Erdogan on Saturday met with his visiting Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic at Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul. The meeting was closed to the press.

Turkey's parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop on Sunday will begin a three-day visit to Spain. Heading a delegation, Sentop will visit Spain from Sept. 19-21.

Meanwhile, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that the number of terrorists has dropped to under 200 for the first time.

Addressing a gathering of youth at Kesan district of northwestern Edirne province, Soylu said: "As of tonight, the number of terrorists in Turkey has dropped to under 200 for the first time, became 197."

Emphasizing that Turkey is a peaceful country, the minister also noted that the country's efforts in counter-terrorism have reached an important point.

On coronavirus news, Turkey has administered nearly 104.9 million coronavirus vaccine jabs since the country launched an immunization drive in January, according to official figures released Saturday.

Some 52.6 million people have got their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 41.9 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

Separately, the ministry reported 26,161 new coronavirus cases, while as many as 221 more people lost their fight against the disease in the last 24 hours.

Other developments

Israeli forces have recaptured the last two escaped Palestinian prisoners following last week's jailbreak from a high-security prison, Israeli police said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, A perfect splashdown of the Crew Dragon Space Capsule into the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday night capped the historic, three-day mission for the first all-civilian crew ever to fly into space.

Two small boats raced to the bobbing capsule just after splashdown shortly after 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (11 p.m. GMT) in the setting sun off the coast of Florida. One of the priorities was getting the crew vomit bags, as seasickness often creates a problem for astronauts landing in water.

On the Mediterranean, nine European countries bordering the Mediterranean meeting in Athens on Friday agreed on global action against climate change and preserving the natural environment of the Mediterranean.

Referring to the fires that hit several South Mediterranean countries, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the EUMed9 summit: "This summer's catastrophic fires did not leave any Mediterranean country unscathed, while northern countries were hit by deadly floods."

Turkey blasted on the declaration saying it is one-sided and divorced from reality.

The treatment of issues of the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, and refugees in the Med9 joint declaration are, like last year's, biased and short-sighted, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tanju Bilgic in a written statement.

Bilgic urged the EU countries that signed the declaration to abandon their one-sided attitude, in which they blindly follow Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration under the guise of solidarity. -