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British travelers returning home from parts of Europe and beyond began quarantine under new restrictions on Aug. 15, while Russia said it had produced the first batch of its controversial coronavirus vaccine.    

Turkish security forces "neutralized" at least nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry announced on Aug. 15.

Three of the terrorists were neutralized in air-backed operations in Haftanin, and another six terrorists in the Zap and Avasin regions, the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkey is fully focused on protecting its rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya, and the Aegean, the nation's president said on Aug. 15.

Turkey is also focused on stopping terrorist groups in Syria and northern Iraq, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in Rize on the Turkish Black Sea, speaking to the public and local members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Turkey on Aug. 15 slammed remarks by the presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate calling for Washington to interfere in domestic Turkish politics.

Turkey's ruling party on Aug. 15 criticized the deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize ties as a "political suicide" against the Palestinian cause.

It is also an attempt to eradicate a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine proposed by the international community, Ömer Çelik, spokesman for the AKP said on Twitter.

The Pentagon said on Aug. 14 it was setting up a new task force under the U.S. Navy to investigate UFO sightings.

With the creation of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF), the Defense Department hopes "to improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs," spokeswoman Susan Gough said in a statement.

The United Nations Security Council overwhelmingly rejected a U.S. resolution to extend an Iranian arms embargo on Aug. 14, in a move with huge repercussions for the Iran nuclear deal.

Only two of the Council's 15 members voted in favor, highlighting the division between Washington and its European allies since President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord in May 2018.

Turkey's foreign minister will pay official visits to the Caribbean region next week, the ministry said on Aug. 14. 

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will attend the inauguration Sunday of Dominican Republic's President-elect Luis Abinader Corona, according to a statement that said Abinader will receive Çavuşoğlu after the ceremony.

Turkey will always continue to support Azerbaijan as it has in the past, Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın said late on Aug. 14. 

Kalın appeared on a television program on Azerbaijan state television via the internet to evaluate Turkey-Azerbaijan relations.

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın spoke via telephone on Aug. 14 with U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien about bilateral relations, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean and Palestine, according to an official statement.