ANKARA
Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkey and around the world.
Let's start with the hot agenda. It seems like worldwide tensions will never stop, even in the coronavirus outbreak.
-Libya
In a televised speech in Matrouh, near the Libyan border Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi alluded to the possibility of sending the country’s "external military missions if required," saying that "any direct intervention in Libya has already become legitimate internationally."
The Libyan army denounced the remarks of the Egyptian president, who said Sirte and Jufra in Libya are “a red line," calling it "a clear declaration of war and a blatant interference" in Libyan affairs.
Meanwhile, the Libyan army said 190 corpses were found in mass graves south of Tripoli and Tarhuna since June 5.
Additionally, on the Libya issue, last week France claimed that Turkey harassed one of its vessels taking part in a NATO mission in the Mediterranean Sea.
France's harassment claim against Turkey is completely delusive as per all documents and recordings about the event, the Turkish defense minister said Saturday.
-Syria
Terror groups continue attacks in Syria. At least four civilians, including children, were injured Saturday when a bomb-laden vehicle exploded in Afrin, northern Syria. The attack is believed to be carried out by the YPG/PKK terror group.
- Iran's nuclear program
Iran on Friday blasted Britain, France, and Germany for their opposition to lifting a UN arms embargo set to expire in October.
“E3 must stop public face-saving & muster the courage to state publicly what they admit privately: their failure to fulfill even own JCPOA [2015 Iran nuclear deal] duties due to total impotence in resisting US bullying,” Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, posted on Twitter.
Earlier Friday, the foreign ministers of the three nations said after meeting in Berlin that Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile tests and “destabilizing regional activities” remain a serious concern for Europe.
-Yemen crisis
The Yemeni government said Saturday that militia of the Southern Transition Council staged “a full-fledged coup in the governorate of Socotra.”
Quoting an unnamed government official, Yemen’s official news agency reported: "The militias of the so-called Transitional Council in the Socotra carried out a full-fledged coup that undermined state institutions in the province."
- India-China border tension
Days after a deadly border clash with China, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said late Friday that Chinese troops did not enter the Asian nation’s territory "nor is any of our post captured."
“Neither anyone has intruded into our territory nor taken over any post," Modi said, adding that Indian "forces are doing what they have to do to protect the country, whether it is deployment, action or counter-action."
-Terror in UK
At least three people were killed late Saturday in a "terror-related" stabbing in the English town of Reading, according to local media.
Thames Valley Police said a male suspect is in custody following the attack in Reading’s Forbury Gardens shortly after a Black Lives Matter protest.
- Coronavirus in Turkey
Following normalization steps taken by the country, Turkey confirmed Saturday 1,312 daily recoveries from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total to more than 158,800, according to the country's health minister.
The country's death toll from the pandemic rose to 4,927, as it reported 22 new fatalities in the past 24 hours.
The number of COVID-19 cases nationwide reached 186,493, with nearly 1,248 new infections, according to test results.
The number of active cases stands at 22,738.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey has successfully overcome the pandemic with its large amount of intensive care unit beds that neared the total number in Europe with more than 1 million health workers.
“Turkey has successfully got through this process with the number of intensive care unit beds, which neared the total capacity of that in whole Europe, and nearly 1,100,000 health personnel,” he said.
- Global coronavirus developments
The pandemic has claimed more than 464,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in Wuhan, China last December.
The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.
More than 8.7 million cases have been reported worldwide, while an excess of 4.3 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.
In the US, which is the hardest-hit by the pandemic, has 2.2 million cases and the death toll stands at almost 120,000.
Brazil surpassed the 1 million mark for COVID-19 cases and is close to 50,000 deaths, four months after the virus was detected there, according to statistics from health officials.
The country reached 1,032,913 virus cases, with 54,771 new infections recorded in the last 24 hours. In one day, the South American country reported 1,206 deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 48,954.
In Russia, the number of cases stands at 576,952 and recoveries are at 334,592.
The virus has so far claimed 8,002 lives in Russia, including 161 in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, cases and deaths continued to rise across Latin America as the region struggles to contain infections.
In Africa, cases reached 286,141, the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.
Novel coronavirus cases and COVID-19-related fatalities continued to rise across Europe and Asia.
