Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – October 23, 2020

By Burak Bir

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’s daily COVID-19 cases topped 2,000 for the second day as the country announced late Thursday that it had registered 2,102 COVID-19 infections and 1,581 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

The country’s case count now stands at 355,528 with recoveries totaling 310,027, according to Health Ministry data.

The death toll from the virus reached 9,584 with 71 additional fatalities.

Turkish police raided 21 homes in Istanbul and arrested a number of people with suspected links to the Daesh/ISIS terror group, security sources said.

Turkey’s Central Bank kept its one-week repo rate – also known as the policy rate – steady at 10.25%

Turkey’s president spoke to his Iranian counterpart over the phone on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Karabakh and regional issues, including developments in Syria, according to Turkish authorities.

Erdogan met Sahak Mashalian, head of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey.

The death toll from alcohol poisoning in Turkey has risen to 69, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency.

- COVID-19 updates worldwide

As of Friday, the global tally for novel coronavirus infections had surpassed 41.6 million, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Germany reported 11,287 new coronavirus cases, a new record in the country’s daily COVID-19 count.

Iran recorded its second-highest number of single-day coronavirus cases as the country grapples with a third wave of virus that has led to a record number of hospitalizations.

Italy reported a fresh record high in new coronavirus infections, topping 16,000 daily cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Spain shattered its previous record for daily coronavirus infections, with the Health Ministry confirming another 20,986 cases as the central government announced a new strategy to curb the contagion.

France reported a drastic spike in daily coronavirus cases with 41,622 new infections occurring over the last 24 hours.

Coronavirus cases and fatalities also continued to rise across Eurasian and Central Asian countries.

- Other global developments

In their second and final debate of the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden clashed over the novel coronavirus less than two weeks before elections.

Armenian forces have fired multiple ballistic missiles at Azerbaijani civilians and the public infrastructure, said Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry.

Belgium's foreign minister has been hospitalized in intensive care for treatment of the coronavirus.

The Azerbaijani army has shot down another unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of Armenia, the seventh UAV in three days over the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the country’s Defense Ministry said.

Hundreds of terrorists infiltrating from northern Mozambique killed at least 20 civilians in Tanzania’s southern Mtwara region, according to police and local media.

Lebanon’s president assigned former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, leader of the Future Movement, to form the country’s new government, less than a year after his last government resigned.

The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to subpoena the chief executive officers (CEOs) of Facebook and Twitter amid allegations of political bias.

The Azerbaijani army has liberated 20 more villages and a settlement from Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan's president announced.