Turkey's Erdogan refuses minister's resignation over pandemic response

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday refused the resignation of his interior minister over his handling of an abrupt nationwide lockdown that led to panic buying

Suleyman Soylu's resignation had not been accepted, said a statement from Erdogan. "He is going to continue to carry out his functions," he added

Soylu came in for fierce criticism after a 48-hour nationwide shutdown to counter the spread of the coronavirus was announced on Friday night with just two hours' notice, sparking panic-buying.