Turkey's parliament on Wednesday passed a controversial bill which would give the government greater control of social media, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

Under the new law, social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter would have to ensure they have local representatives in Turkey and to comply with Turkish court orders over the removal of certain content or face heavy fines.

Turkey on Thursday rejected accusations by French President Emmanuel Macron that Ankara was violating the sovereignty of EU countries in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will take part Friday in the first prayers at Hagia Sophia since the Istanbul landmark was reconverted to a mosque despite international condemnation.

An Istanbul court ordered the release of five suspects after the trial began Friday into the audacious escape of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn from Japan to Lebanon via Istanbul in December, local media reported.

In normal times, tourists must rise at dawn to secure a free sunbed on the beach in Antalya, a popular holiday resort in southern Turkey.

Turkish police on Thursday detained three opposition lawmakers after the parliament stripped them of their jobs, triggering furious charges that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is seeking to further consolidate authoritarian rule.

When Turkey had the highest number of coronavirus cases outside of Europe and the US in April, there were fears its health system could be overwhelmed and its death rate could rocket.

But more than a month later, Turkey is proclaiming that the pandemic has been contained, trumpeting a mortality rate of just 2.8 percent -- lower than neighbours Greece (six percent), Iran (5.4) and Iraq (3.5).

Greece will reinforce its police patrols on its border with Turkey, an official said Wednesday amid expectations of renewed migration pressure.

An additional 400 police will be sent to the northeastern Evros river border region "as a precautionary measure", police spokesman Thodoros Chronopoulos told AFP.

Five more mayors from Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party were detained on suspicion of links with militants and replaced by government-appointed trustees, the interior ministry said on Friday.

Cheered by her doctors, 93-year-old Alye Gunduz was discharged from an Istanbul hospital after recovering from the novel coronavirus following 10 days of treatment.