By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur
ANKARA (AA) – Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkey and around the world.
– Coronavirus and other developments in Turkey
Turkey registered 2,198 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 363,999, according to the Health Ministry.
Some 1,618 patients recovered over the past day, raising the count to 316,008, while the death toll rose by 75 to 9,874.
Ambulances and police squads were dispatched to Iskenderun district of southern Hatay province after an explosion shook the town center.
Later, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the two terrorists involved in the explosion were neutralized.
Following Soylu's announcement, Hatay Governor Rahmi Dogan held a press conference detailing anti-terror operations against PKK terrorists in the region.
“As of today, the PKK terrorist organization has been destroyed in the Amanos region and there are no [members] of the PKK terrorist organization left," he said.
– COVID-19 updates worldwide
The global tally of coronavirus infections crossed 43.38 million, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.
Spain reported a record weekend surge in novel coronavirus infections, with the Health Ministry confirming 52,188 new cases since Friday. The country also recorded another 279 casualties from the disease, bringing the total to 35,031.
The UK reported 20,890 more cases of COVID-19, with total infections now at 894,690. A further 102 fatalities were also confirmed, raising the death toll to 44,998.
Russia registered the biggest daily growth in COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic as 17,347 people tested positive for the virus.
India recorded its lowest daily death toll in four months on Monday with 480 new fatalities, bringing the count to 119,014.
The US, India and Brazil are currently the worst-hit countries.
– Upper Karabakh conflict
Turkey called on the co-chairs of the Minsk Group to start a results-oriented negotiation process aimed at a permanent solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Upper Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev announced the names of villages liberated from Armenia's occupation a day earlier.
– Other developments
Turkey and Greece mutually cancelled military drills set earlier this month by Ankara for this Wednesday, Oct. 28 and by Athens for Thursday, Oct. 29.
NASA announced that it has confirmed the presence of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon, marking a historic discovery with potential implications for US plans to send a manned crew to Mars.
