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Turkey Logs Record 93,586 New COVID Cases

People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)
People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)
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Turkey Logs Record 93,586 New COVID Cases

People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)
People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)

Turkey has recorded 93,586 new COVID-19 cases in the space of 24 hours, its highest daily figure of the pandemic, health ministry data showed on Friday.

Daily cases have surged to record high levels in recent weeks with the spread of the Omicron variant but Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said the new variant would reduce the severity of the pandemic due to a lower hospitalization rate.

"The virus is not as strong as it was. There is no need to be concerned due to the increasing numbers," he said on Twitter, calling on people to get vaccinated.

There were 210 deaths related to coronavirus in the same period, the data showed on Friday, the highest since early December and up from 174 a day earlier.

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

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Iran Nuclear Program a Threat to Israel and Europe, Says French FM as Araghchi Calls it a 'Right'

Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
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Iran Nuclear Program a Threat to Israel and Europe, Says French FM as Araghchi Calls it a 'Right'

Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

Tehran's nuclear program is a threat for the security of Israel and of Europe and diplomacy is the only way to avoid an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday.

"The Iranian nuclear program is an existential threat for the security of Israel and beyond the security of Europe. We always said the best way to prevent that threat, to contain it, remains diplomacy," Barrot told RTL radio.

Germany, France and Britain are ready to hold immediate talks with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program in an effort to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Israel's attack on his country this week sought to "derail" nuclear talks with the United States.

"It is entirely clear that the Israeli regime does not want any agreement on the nuclear issue. It does not want negotiations and does not seek diplomacy," Araghchi told foreign diplomats, saying the attack launched on Friday was an "attempt to undermine diplomacy and derail negotiations".

"We are prepared for any agreement aimed at ensuring Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons," he stated, adding that Tehran would not accept any deal that "deprives Iran of its nuclear rights".