Fahrettin Koca

Some 3.4 million Turkish citizens living abroad began voting Thursday in national elections that will decide whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can continue governing Turkey after two decades in power.

Due to the storm and the subsequent tornado in the quake-hit Kahramanmaraş's Pazarcık district, one person lost their life and 50 others were injured.

The tornado dislodged the tents and containers where quake survivors were staying, and the roofs of some buildings also fell on the tents.

One person died and 50 were injured in a tornado that broke out in the city of Pazarcik (Kahramanmaras province, Southeastern Turkey), Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, quoted by BTA.

Pazarcik was also the epicenter of the first destructive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on February 6 in Turkey.

Political parties submitted their parliamentary candidate lists for May 14 polls to the Supreme Election Board (YSK) on April 9.

While still recovering from the wounds of the deadly Feb. 6 quakes that claimed thousands of lives and caused massive destruction in unprecedented ways, Türkiye marks March 14 Medicine Day (Doctors' Day) to commemorate frontline doctors, nurses and various health professionals who lost their lives in the quakes.

Amid ongoing safety measures being taken for hospitals at risk of collapse in the event of a possible earthquake, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced that they are working on the relocation process of more hospitals.

Koca said they would announce what kind of measures will be taken for Cerrahpaşa, Çapa and other hospitals in Istanbul and Ankara within the following days.

Some 3.1 million boxes of syrup-form antibiotics used in childhood infections, which have experienced difficulties in supply, have been supplied to the market as of Jan. 30, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

An employee who attacked a doctor with a knife in the Istanbul Training and Research Hospital has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced.

The recent shortage of drugs experienced by pharmacies across the country will be resolved in the coming weeks, as the production of drugs with high consumption will be increased significantly, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has pledged.

The cancer screening appointment system will be under the control of family physicians, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced in his statements for the breast cancer awareness month.