Turkey Logs Record 82,180 New COVID Cases

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
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Turkey Logs Record 82,180 New COVID Cases

A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Turkey has recorded 82,180 new COVID-19 cases in the space of 24 hours, its highest daily figure of the pandemic, health ministry data showed on Thursday, Reuters reported.

There were 174 deaths related to coronavirus in the same period, the data showed.

In late December, daily cases stood at about 20,000, before a surge in infections due to Omicron.

"Our health workers are at their posts. If it is time for your booster dose, do not yield to tolerable difficulties due to the weather conditions," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.



Zelenskiy Says Ukraine is Preparing to Resume Diplomatic Ties with Syria

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine is Preparing to Resume Diplomatic Ties with Syria

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he was preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria, less than a month after the overthrow of the Russia-backed government in Damascus.
Zelenskiy spoke after a visit to Syria by his Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, and by Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval who said earlier Ukraine had already sent a shipment of food aid.
"We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations," Zelenskiy said, Reuters reported.
Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Syria in June 2022 after the then government in Damascus said it recognized the "independence" of the Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Since opposition factions overthrew Syria's President Bashar al-Assad last month, Ukraine has been moving to build ties with the new Islamist rulers there. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, was a staunch ally of Assad and has given him political asylum.
Kyiv also planned to increase trade with Lebanon and at least double its agriculture exports from $400 million, Zelenskiy added.
Zelenskiy previously said that Ukraine would send 500 metric tons of wheat flour to Syria under Kyiv's humanitarian "Grain from Ukraine" initiative in cooperation with the UN World Food Program.
The delivery would provide resources for around 167,000 Syrians for a month, Koval said in a televised interview.
He added that the shipment will not be the last and that Syria was also interested in oil, sugar and meat deliveries.
"Today, at the level of government dialogue, we clearly understand that support should be sustainable and not a one-off, but rather long-lasting and predictable," Koval said.
Moscow has also said it is in contact with the new administration in Damascus, including over the fate of Russian military facilities in Syria.