Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - April 29, 2020

By Firdevs Bulut

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.

On Tuesday, a terrorist attack was carried out in Afrin, Syria by the YPG/PKK, killing at least 40 civilians, including 11 children.

The terrorist organization continued its attacks even in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus was among those who condemned the attack.

James Cleverly, Minister of State for MENA in the UK, said “I’m appalled at reports that dozens of civilians were killed today by a bomb set off in a marketplace in Afrin, Syria.”

Later the same night, another bomb-laden vehicle exploded in Afrin. No deaths or casualties were reported, but there was immense damage to the surrounding area. The attack is also being attributed to the YPG/PKK.

-Virus in Turkey

Turkey’s excellent crisis management amid the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bear fruit. On Tuesday, the country recorded its highest number of recoveries in a single day. The total number of discharged patients rose by 5,018 to 38,809.

The country’s health minister confirmed 92 more deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 2,992.

The total number of coronavirus cases surged to 114,653, as 2,392 more people tested positive for the virus.

-Turkey’s fight with virus is exemplary

Turkey ranks 3rd worldwide in supplying medical aid around the world.

On Tuesday, Turkey sent a shipment of medical supplies to the United States as the country reported more than 1 million virus cases.

Top NATO diplomat Kay Bailey Hutchison and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were among those who thanked Turkey for the generous virus aid.

Turkey has so far delivered aid to at least 57 countries around the globe to help their fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

The country’s national flag carrier Turkish Airlines suspended all flights until May 28 as part of measures against the virus.

Yet another Turkish national, Haluk Hasan Seyithanoglu, was brought back from Russia for treatment. He was suffering from lung problems but could not get treatment due to the virus outbreak, but Turkey intervened.

Turkey continues to evacuate its citizens around the world as part of ongoing repatriation efforts for Ramadan amid the coronavirus pandemic. The country brought back 390 citizens Tuesday from Kenya, Tanzania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

-Libya

Despite the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, conflicts and clashes continue in Libya. Militias loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar attacked a field hospital in Tripoli, the Libyan government’s media office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Warlord Khalifa Haftar on Monday unilaterally declared himself the ruler of Libya. In a video message, Haftar pointed to street demonstrations in areas under his control and claimed he “accepted the mandate of the Libyan people” to govern the country.

The declaration was rejected by the Libyan parliament, Libyan state council, EU and Turkey while Russia was ‘surprised’ and France also reacted to the decision.

- Coronavirus continues doing damage

The global death toll from the novel coronavirus crossed 217,000 with the number of cases passing 3.1 million, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Additionally, more than 928,000 people worldwide have recovered from COVID-19.

The US is still the most affected country in the world, with more than 58,000 deaths.

Recoveries in the country exceed 112,000, and the governor of New York reported that the number of hospitalizations had decreased in the state.

Italy, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe by the coronavirus, reported 382 new deaths, bringing its tally to 27,359 and a new drop in active infections.

Spain registered 301 new deaths and 1,308 new cases, far below the peak seen in early April.

After weeks of decline, Germany’s COVID-19 transmission rate increases, which complicated plans to relax lockdown measures.

Russian authorities confirmed Tuesday that 6,441 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, bringing the overall number of cases to 93,558.

Over the same period, the death toll due to the virus rose to 867 with 72 more fatalities.

President Putin announced the extension of quarantine until May 11.

The U.K. registered 586 more deaths from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, health authorities said Tuesday, bringing the country’s tally to 21,678.

Latin America’s largest nation, Brazil, may be emerging as the new hotspot of the virus. Read our compilation.

The African continent has reported 33,566 virus cases and 1,469 deaths so far, according to data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Infection (Africa CDC), with 10,152 recovering from the illness.

In Africa, more than 3 million may die due to a lack of healthcare and financial support. Read our analysis here.

- Other developments

Slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, has asked the English Premier League to stop a Saudi takeover of Newcastle United Football Club. Lawyer Rodney Dixon sent a letter to the League in Cengiz's name asking it to stop a Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund-led consortium from buying Newcastle Utd.

British Airways will cut some 12,000 jobs as the virus outbreak grounded flights around the world.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden's 2020 White House bid Tuesday, saying she is "thrilled" to join the campaign.

According to a study revealed Tuesday, a record number of 50.8 million people live in internal displacement worldwide as a result of conflicts, violence and disasters. Read in detail here.