Turkey Eases Coronavirus-Related Restrictions

People wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, walk along a commercial area in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 12, 2022. (AP)
People wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, walk along a commercial area in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 12, 2022. (AP)
TT

Turkey Eases Coronavirus-Related Restrictions

People wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, walk along a commercial area in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 12, 2022. (AP)
People wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, walk along a commercial area in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 12, 2022. (AP)

Turkey eased the majority of coronavirus-related restrictions on Wednesday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, almost two years after the first case was identified in the country.

In a televised speech, Koca said wearing masks will not be mandatory outdoors or indoors when there is enough ventilation.

A contact tracing app code will no longer be asked when entering places like shopping malls or public institutions.

The fight against the disease will be at an individual level rather than society-wide, Koca said, adding that people without symptoms will not be tested.



Iran's Supreme Leader: Militant Groups Against Israel Remain Strong

02 November 2024, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd during a meeting with school and university students in Tehran. Office/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
02 November 2024, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd during a meeting with school and university students in Tehran. Office/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
TT

Iran's Supreme Leader: Militant Groups Against Israel Remain Strong

02 November 2024, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd during a meeting with school and university students in Tehran. Office/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
02 November 2024, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd during a meeting with school and university students in Tehran. Office/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Thursday the alliance of militant groups opposed to Israel remains strong despite the killing of many of their senior leaders.

“God willing, the world will see a day when the Zionist regime will be defeated by them,” Iranian state TV reported Khamenei as saying.

Khamenei said Hamas and other “leaders of the resistance” are “still fighting” even though some of their leaders have been killed by intensified Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli strikes and military operations in recent months have killed the top leaders of both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as many of their senior commanders.

Both groups are part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes other Iran-backed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Iran and its allies have repeatedly traded fire with Israel and the United States over the past year following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, raising fears of a regional war.