Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – Jan. 18, 2022

By Merve Berker

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

- Coronavirus and other developments in Turkiye

The Turkish Health Ministry reported nearly 65,000 COVID-19 cases Monday.

Turkiye’s president attended a handover ceremony Monday for over 500 housing units that a Turkish agency built for earthquake victims in Albania.

Turkiye and Albania signed seven agreements Monday to boost cooperation between the two countries.

Important new galleries have been reached in Istanbul’s Yarimburgaz Cave, an important site for prehistoric research, at a depth of about one kilometer (0.62 mile).

- Other developments worldwide

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Kazakhstan exceeded 11,000 as cases of the omicron variant have been detected, the country’s Health Ministry said Monday.

Countries across Latin America have reported new COVID-19 cases and fatalities, according to official data announced Monday.

China is struggling with declining population figures as new data released Monday showed the national birth rate had fallen to a record low in 2021.

Bulgaria added new countries to its COVID-19 red list as part of the latest regulation on the pandemic, the country’s Health Ministry said Monday.

Unvaccinated people over 60 in Greece will be fined as of Monday, local media reports said.

Three Iranian diplomats have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the first time in six years to represent Tehran's mission in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, according to Iranian state television Monday.

Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders are institutionalizing large-scale and systematic gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls, a group of UN human rights experts said Monday.

At least three people were killed and six others injured due to blazes caused by a possible drone attack in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi, police said Monday.

NATO and Ukraine on Monday renewed an agreement to deepen cooperation on technology-related projects, including cybersecurity.

The omicron variant dominates the new upward trend in coronavirus infections in Bangladesh, the government said Monday.

The UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) said Monday that millions across the Horn of Africa region are facing a third season of severe drought.

If there is further escalation from Russia in Ukraine, Berlin together with its partners "will take joint suitable measures" against the Nord Stream II gas pipeline, Germany’s foreign minister warned Monday.

At least 12 people, including children, are dead and many others injured after a magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck western Afghanistan on Monday, according to a local official.

Health Canada approved its first coronavirus antiviral medication Monday, adding a "new tool in the toolkit against COVID-19," said Canada's chief medical adviser.

Bayern Munich's Polish star Robert Lewandowski won the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2021 award in a ceremony Monday.