Contemporary history

A Turkish soldier and a village guard were killed and four others wounded in clashes with the PKK in the eastern province of Bitlis, the Governor's Office said early on June 2.

Coronavirus variants are to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid misreporting and stigmatizing nations where they were first detected, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced.

The new system applies to variants of concern - the most troubling of which four are in circulation - and the second-level variants of interest being tracked.

Russia will extend temporary restrictions on flights to Turkey until June 21 due to the serious coronavirus situation there, the country's anti-coronavirus crisis center announced May 31. 

Meanwhile, flights between Moscow and the Belarusian capital of Minsk will be increased to up to 10 per week as of June 10, it said in a statement.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesperson Faik Öztrak has criticized the government's way of handling the normalization process in Turkey and the vaccination program amid the pandemic.

"A new easing period is now expected, but it is still unclear how the opening will be," he said on May 31 at a press conference.

The Humanitarian Law Centre said on Monday that it has filed a criminal complaint to the Serbian war crimes prosecution against Vladimir Arsic and Radmilo Zeljaja, senior officers of the Bosnian Serb Army's 43rd Motorised Brigade during wartime.

Ljubljana – Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Ljubljana on Friday protesting against the government’s actions and calling for an early election. The rally included various groups and movements and was supported by trade unions and part of the opposition. PM Janez Janša said spreading Covid-19 with unregistered mass rallies was a crime.

According to him, the virus "moved" towards a younger age, but it decreased in the total population at all ages.
He said that the current epidemiological situation is completely different than last year at the same time, especially thanks to immunization, so it cannot be expected to be as bad as then.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Turkey has exceeded 29 million doses.

The country rolled out its inoculation program in mid-January, starting with health care workers and the elderly.

Since then, it has been gradually expanding the scope of the inoculation drive to cover more age groups and people at risk.

People in Turkey suffered psychological disorders, including depression and fear of death, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns, a survey revealed on May 28. 

Al least 10,000 protesters gathered in the centre of the capital Ljubljana's Preseren Square on Friday for an anti-government protest entitled "All-Slovenian uprising", calling for an end to the right-wing government of Janez Jansa and snap elections.