By Firdevs Bulut
Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkey and around the world.
– Turkish ambassador elected president of UN General Assembly
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday elected former Turkish Ambassador Volkan Bozkir to be its president ahead of the 75th General Debate in September.
In a secret ballot vote, Bozkir — who was unopposed for the post — received 178 ballots in support as 11 nations abstained.
– Coronavirus in Turkey
Following the normalization steps taken by the country, Turkey on Wednesday made it mandatory for people to wear face masks in public in three major provinces — Istanbul, Ankara and Bursa — in order to keep virus numbers stable.
The fluctuations in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Turkey are within the expected range, the country's health minister said Wednesday.
Turkey on Wednesday confirmed 1,429 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total to 181,298, according to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
The tally of COVID-19 recoveries in Turkey rose to 154,640 with 1,261 additions in the last 24 hours, he added.
Turkey ranks 51st worldwide in terms of the number of cases per capita, with 2,151 confirmed coronavirus cases per 1 million people, he underlined.
In the post-coronavirus period, Turkey has its eyes on becoming the center of supply chains and travel routes taking advantage from an ever-rising profile in the international arena, the country's Vice President, Fuat Oktay, said Wednesday.
-Turkey’s fight against terrorism
Turkey has launched Operation Claw-Tiger against terrorists in northern Iraq, aiming to neutralize the PKK and other terrorist elements that threaten the security of Turkish people and borders.
Turkey's National Defense Ministry shared images late Wednesday of Turkish-made helicopters targeting terrorists in northern Iraq’s Haftanin region.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, PKK terrorists carried out another heinous attack on innocent civilians in southeastern Turkey, killing four laborers in a roadside bombing.
The country’s interior minister said the number of terrorists in Turkey has fallen to less than 500 as they have no other option but to flee due to ongoing counter-terror operations and state-of-the-art military technology.
-Libya
Forty-eight bodies were dug up from mass graves in Tarhuna city, Libya, Libyan Deputy Interior Minister Mohammed al-Madaghi told reporters Wednesday.
The Libyan army is awaiting a UN report that exposes "crimes and genocides" committed by warlord Khalifa Haftar's militia in Tarhuna, a Libyan military source said Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj welcomed Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak and National Intelligence Organization head Hakan Fidan at the instruction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Libya warmly welcomed the visit by a Turkish delegation to the country, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said late Wednesday at a press conference.
The president of Libya's High Council of State said Wednesday that “talks between the Turks and Russians are still ongoing and the door has not been closed yet, but we have clarified our constants that in no way will there be any role for Khalifa Haftar [in the future of Libya].”
Anadolu Agency teams monitored how the Turkish army's bomb disposal units are defusing explosives planted by warlord Khalifa Haftar in Libya's capital Tripoli, thus enabling the safe return of civilians.
-China, India border tensions
China on Wednesday called on India to “restrain its military to prevent any provocative” actions in the region.
In a phone call with his Indian counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged India to investigate Monday’s military clash in the Ladakh area of disputed Jammu and Kashmir.
The border clashes between India and China’s armies that led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in the Ladakh region has shocked the country’s diplomatic and military community.
This is the first time since 1975 that causalities have been reported in a border clash between the two countries. Read our analysis here.
– Global coronavirus developments
The pandemic has claimed more than 448,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in Wuhan, China last December.
The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.
Over 8.33 million cases have been reported worldwide, while more than 4 million people have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.
Brazil recorded 1,269 new COVID-19 fatalities Wednesday, bringing its official death toll from the coronavirus to 46,510, the Health Ministry reported, while Chile remains trapped in a health emergency.
Spain confirmed 76 more coronavirus cases over the past day, while the tally of nationwide cases has reached 244,328, with more than half of the new cases being registered in Madrid.
British health authorities announced Wednesday that the total number of deaths from the coronavirus across the UK had exceeded 42,000, with a further 184 deaths over the last 24 hours.
In Italy, health and political officials have continued to urge precautions as a possible second wave of the contagion cannot be ruled out. The government has also warned that if official data showed a new spike in infections or active clusters, it stands ready to impose new restrictions.
As a major poll suggests that Spain’s main ruling party has won over new voters since the start of the coronavirus crisis, the country saw the number of new coronavirus cases double Wednesday. The total number of confirmed cases rose by 355 to 244,683, according to the Health Ministry.
– Global news
US President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that calls for him to impose sanctions on Chinese officials for Beijing's crackdown on the minority Muslim Uyghur ethnic group.
Napoli won the 2020 Coppa Italia late Wednesday after defeating Juventus 4-2 on penalties in the final.
George Floyd's brother on Wednesday called for the UN to form an independent commission to "investigate police killings of black people" and violence against peaceful protesters in the US.
Canada lost its bid for a UN Security Council seat Wednesday, and pro-Palestinian groups pointed to the country’s weak criticism of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank as the reason.
Twitter said Wednesday it is testing a new feature that allows users of Apple’s iOS operating system to create voice tweets.
