Turkey's economy management will focus on a market-friendly transformation program with micro reforms, while enhancing macroeconomic stability, the country's new treasury and finance minister said on Tuesday. 

"Turkey will resolutely support fight against inflation and raise public finance quality by maintaining a fiscal discipline," Lutfi Elvan said in his first statement after sworn in at the parliament.

Elvan has replaced Berat Albayrak, who resigned late Sunday citing health issues. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday officially accepted Albayrak's resignation.

Turkey will give new impetus to growth and employment, while maintaining macroeconomic stability, Elvan stressed.

The country, in cooperation with all relevant parties, will take necessary steps to increase predictability in legislation and to improve the investment environment for both domestic and international entrepreneurs, he noted.

Elvan said domestic production capacity will be expanded through transforming production processes into an export-oriented, innovative structure with reduced import dependency./aa

Pakistan on Tuesday urged member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to collectively oppose the rising wave of Islamophobia and neo-Nazism across the globe.

“We must oppose all extremist and xenophobic ideologies, including racist ideologies inspired by neo-Nazism and Islamophobia, and call for focusing on building interfaith and cross-cultural bridges,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said in his address to the 20th meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council.

The online summit was presided by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Willful provocations and incitement to hate, especially on religious grounds, should be universally outlawed,” Khan said, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent anti-Islam remarks and the republication of offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in the country.

“We must continue to call for mutual respect of all religions and beliefs, and for fostering a culture of fraternity and peace, including in our own region and beyond.”

Calling for “faithful implementation” of UN Security Council resolutions, he urged the international community to “condemn and resolutely oppose” any unilateral measures to change the status of disputed territories.

The comment was a thinly-veiled reference to India’s decision to strip the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region of its semi-autonomous status last year.

He called for “condemnation and accountability” of perpetrators of state terrorism against people living under illegal occupation in disputed territories.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s stance on a political settlement in Afghanistan, Khan said Islamabad is steadfastly supporting the Afghan-led peace process.

“Afghan stakeholders must seize the historic opportunity for an inclusive, broad-based, and comprehensive political settlement,” he said, while reiterating the need to be wary of “spoilers” within and outside Afghanistan.

He said the dignified return of Afghan refugees to their homeland should be an essential part of the peace negotiations.

Khan also spoke about the “Global Initiative for Debt Relief” that he has pushed for since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for more steps to mitigate the economic repercussions of the global crisis.

Urging member states to clamp down on illicit financial flows from developing countries, he stressed the need for concerted efforts to bring back “stolen wealth” to help nations realize their development potential.

On the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Khan said the multibillion-dollar project is vital for SCO’s vision for regional connectivity and economic integration./aa

Turkish security forces neutralized 26 terrorists in northern Syria, the country’s Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The terrorists, who were plotting an attack, were neutralized on Monday in Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad regions, the ministry said.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

The terrorists' affiliation was not mentioned, but the YPG/PKK terror group attacks civilians and security forces in the regions.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot./aa

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden Monday briefed the nation on the coronavirus Monday morning, pushing for universal mask wearing and acknowledging that cases are sure to climb into the winter months.

“We’re ready to get to work addressing the needs of the American people. Today that work begins. It starts with doing everything possible to get the COVID-19 under control,” Biden said to a crowd of reporters at the Queen theater in Wilmington, Del.

Both Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received an economic and COVID-19 briefing from advisers prior to the address.

Biden is positioned to inherit a grim coronavirus surge. According to the New York Times, 1 in 144 Americans tested positive for the virus last week. And the most up-to-date data from Johns Hopkins University shows a total of more than 10 million infections and more than 237,000 deaths.

“We’re still facing a very dark winter,” Biden continued, noting that both infections and deaths are going up.

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris meet virtually with members of their COVID-19 advisory board in Wilmington, Del., on Monday. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)More

In an effort to come out in front of pandemic mitigation efforts before inauguration, the Biden-Harris transition team announced their COVID-19 advisory board Monday morning. The campaign had its own coronavirus team, but they advised mostly on logistical issues — dissolving in-person headquarters in Philadelphia, suggesting staffers work from home, making recommendations on how many individuals could safely be in the former vice president’s orbit at a time.

Some of those individuals were held over, including former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Notable is the inclusion of immunologist Rick Bright, a former Trump administration Health and Human Services official who was removed from his post after sounding an alarm on “an abuse of authority or gross mismanagement” at the agency.

In his remarks Monday, Biden said more experts will be added to the board. He pledged to expand free testing, create a vaccine distribution plan and expand personal protective equipment production.

“The bottom line: I will spare no effort to turn this pandemic around once we’re sworn in on Jan. 20,” Biden said.

Biden speaks to reporters after meeting with members of the advisory board. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Biden’s message comes amid a new coronavirus outbreak in the White House and President Trump’s orbit. Both chief of staff Mark Meadows and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson have tested positive for the virus over the past few days. Carson and Meadows attended the White House election night party last Tuesday, according to Bloomberg News, alongside Attorney General William Barr, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, HHS Secretary Alex Azar and others.

The president, who recently recovered from a bout with COVID-19 himself, has repeatedly insisted that the country is “rounding the turn” on the virus, though data indicates that’s not the case, with new infections surging to all-time highs.

During his remarks, Biden repeated several times that he was not yet president, but wanted to come out to urge mask wearing and insist on bipartisan participation in mitigation efforts.

“Please, I implore you, wear a mask,” he said. “We can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask. Not Democrat or Republican lives — American lives.”

WASHINGTON

The US imposed sanctions Monday on 19 Syrian individuals, including on an Iranian-backed regime militia, over alleged atrocities with which they have been involved.

The National Defense Forces were sanctioned along with one of its top commanders, Saqr Rostom, "for their efforts to obstruct a ceasefire in Syria," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

"The Administration’s sanctions targeting military commanders, members of parliament, Government of Syria entities, and financiers, highlight how deeply the Assad regime has corrupted Syria’s institutions," the top diplomat said in a statement.

Among those who are also being blacklisted are regime parliamentarians Nabil Toumeh Bin Mohammed, Amer Taysir Kheiti, and Hussam Bin Ahmed Rushdi Al-Qatirji. Syrian Air Force Intelligence Unit chief Ghassan Ismail was also sanctioned Syrian Political Security Directorate head Nasr al-Ali, according to the State and Treasury Departments.

"The Department of State will continue to hold Assad and his supporters responsible for perpetuating the Syrian conflict," said Pompeo. "Those who do business with any of the 19 individuals and entities added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List are putting themselves at risk of U.S. sanctions."

The Treasury Department further sanctioned targets in Syria's oil sector, including Arfada Petroleum Private Joint Stock Company and Sallizar Shipping SAL, which are based in Syria and Lebanon respectively.

The companies allegedly entered into contracts with the regime to develop Syria's oil sector./aa

The number of people in the US who have been infected with the novel coronavirus surpassed the 10 million mark Monday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. 

The Maryland-based university recorded 10.018.278 cases and 237,742 deaths, with 3.881.491 having recovered from the disease.

Texas is the top state with 992.741 cases, followed by California with 976.576 and Florida with 843.897.

The first coronavirus case in the US was reported on Jan. 20 in Washington state.

The country has seen more than 100,000 daily cases in the last four days, with 105,927 new cases reported Sunday.

The latest figures came as President-elect Joe Biden announced the leaders of his coronavirus task force on Sunday.

Biden's 12-member task force will be headed by former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy who was fired after President Donald Trump assumed office, and former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. David Kessler, according to Biden's campaign.

“This group will advise on detailed plans built on a bedrock of science, and keep compassion, empathy and care for every American at its core," Biden said during a news conference," Biden said Monday.

Since originating in Wuhan, China last December, the pandemic has claimed over 1.2 million lives in 190 countries and regions.

More than 50 million cases have been reported worldwide, while over 33 million patients have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins./aa

ANKARA (AA)

Turkey's benchmark stock index ended Monday up 3.32% at 1,231.54 points to hit the highest close over the past nine-and-a-half months.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index rose 39.58 points from 1,191.96 points at Friday's close.

On Monday, the BIST 100 hovered between 1,211.16 and 1,235.30. 

Closing the day with a market value of some 910 billion Turkish liras ($112.39 billion), the benchmark index posted a daily trading volume of 34.1 billion Turkish liras ($4.21 billion).

Compared to the previous close, 72 stocks on the index rose, 27 fell, and one was flat.

The highest trading volumes were posted by private lender Garanti BBVA, petrochemical company Petkim, and flagship carrier Turkish Airlines.

Catering company DOCO was the best performer, with its shares up 10%, while stocks of private lender Sekerbank dropped the most with 15.56%.

The price of one ounce of gold was $1,912.65 by market close, down from $1,946.95 at the previous close, according to data from Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets.

The price of Brent crude oil was around $42.89 per barrel as of 6.30 p.m. local time (1530GMT) on Monday.

The stock market has grown with the impact of Turkish lira gaining ground following the country's recently appointed Central Bank Governor Naci Agbal's statements on price stability and communication.

More than 1,600 African migrants have landed on Spain's Canary Islands over a two-day period, a rate last seen a decade ago, emergency services said.

The body of one person who had died during the perilous journey was recovered by rescuers in waters near the island of El Hierro, the Canary Islands emergency services said. Another person was airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital for an unspecified health problem.

More than 1,000 arrived Saturday alone on the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and El Hierro, after setting out on around 20 barely seaworthy craft, a spokeswoman for the Canary services told AFP.

Early on Sunday, other boats carrying around 600 others arrived as well.

The island chain lies 100 kilometres (60 miles) off the coast of North Africa and has seen a surge of arrivals in recent months after border control agreements were reached between the European Union and Libya, Morocco and Turkey.

Since January, over 11,000 illegal migrants have made their way to the Canary Islands, Spanish interior ministry data shows - more than seven times as many as during the same period in 2019.

On Friday, EU internal affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson called for increased repatriations of migrants who do not qualify for refugee status./ The Telegraph