ANKARA (AA) – Good morning. Here is Anadolu Agency's rundown of the latest developments around the world and Turkey.
Let's start with coronavirus
The novel coronavirus continues rapidly spreading around the world. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases globally is now over 1 million while over 58,000 people have died and over 226,000 have recovered.
Turkey on Friday confirmed 69 more deaths and 2,786 new cases, bringing the death toll to 425 and the tally of cases to 20,921.
Several strong new measures to stem the spread of the virus were announced in Turkey.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a curfew restricting members of the public under the age of 20 (born after Jan. 1, 2000) from leaving their homes unless absolutely necessary.
He also announced a 15-day ban on vehicles leaving or entering 31 provinces, including Istanbul – home to nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population – as well as the urban centers of the capital Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, and Adana.
Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines on Friday announced that due to the continuing coronavirus outbreak, it will suspend all domestic service until April 20.
– What about other countries?
In the U.S., New York recorded the highest daily coronavirus deaths
In all, 2,973 people have died, up 562 from the previous day, which is the highest single-day increase in the number of virus-related deaths to date.
The total confirmed cases in the country are 277,953 and the death toll is 7,152.
In Italy, the latest data brings a small glimmer of hope for the country. The country on Friday reported 766 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 14,681, still the highest in the world, but apparently confirming signs of a slowdown.
However, France saw another difficult day on Friday with 588 new recorded deaths from coronavirus, and 64,338 confirmed cases of infection throughout the country.
As for other European heavyweights, the death toll in Spain increased to 11,198, in the U.K. to 3,605, and in Germany to 1,275
Also in Iran, the number of deaths from the COVID-19 reached 3,294
Health authorities in several Arab, African and Asian countries confirmed new cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus on Friday.
– Diplomacy
Foreign ministers of EU countries met via video conference call. EU ministers discussed the foreign policy aspects of the pandemic.
-Terror
Turkey's anti-terror operations are continuing in the region without a pause despite the coronavirus outbreak.
In March, Turkish security forces neutralized a total of 111 YPG/PKK terrorists, including the group's senior members, and 67 terrorists surrendered to the security forces.
At least three Iraqi soldiers were killed in a bomb attack carried out by the Daesh/ISIS terror group in Kirkuk, north of Iraq’s capital Baghdad.
In Libya, the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) continued its Operation Peace Storm against the militia of warlord Khalifa Haftar.
Three airplanes belonging to Haftar’s militia were downed, while a number of military vehicles and ammunition were also destroyed since the start of the operation.
-Economy
As the virus continues hitting the global economy, the head of the International Monetary Fund on Friday said that the current coronavirus crisis is far graver than the global financial crisis a decade ago, but the IMF has a $1 trillion war chest ready to fight it.
-Sports
People will continue missing sports events.
FIFA recommended Friday that all international matches in June should be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Football Federation said football leagues in the country could restart at the beginning of June at the earliest.
Additionally, Anthony Joshua’s defence of his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO Heavyweight World Titles against Mandatory Challenger Kubrat Pulev scheduled to take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday June 20 has been postponed.
