Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - April 25, 2020

ANKARA (AA) - Good morning, this is Anadolu Agency with a rundown of the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic and other news in Turkey and around the world.

Let’s begin with the daily death toll from Turkey. The health minister confirmed 109 more deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 2,600.

The number of registered coronavirus cases surged to 104,912, as 3,122 additional patients tested positive for the virus, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared on Twitter.

On Friday Turkey brought back more than 3,800 citizens from several countries as part of its ongoing repatriation drive.

It is working to bring back nearly 25,000 citizens stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to 19 world leaders via telephone and joined three summits via teleconference since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed nearly 200,000 lives across the globe.

- No new COVID-19 cases from Turkish Cyprus

Good news came Friday from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as it reported no new cases of the coronavirus in the past week.

Health Minister Ali Pilli said 2,868 tests were conducted during the past week, with none positive.

Pilli said 546 people were tested Friday alone and the last positive case was confirmed April 17.

Oceans away, US President Donald Trump said the country has seen "very significant progress" in its fight against the pandemic in the past week.

Speaking at White House coronavirus task force briefing, Trump said the country sees "aggressive" mitigation efforts to combat the virus are working at a "very high level."

France reported Friday 389 additional fatalities related to the virus, bringing the death toll there to 22,245.

In a daily press briefing, Director General of Health Jerome Salomon reported a second week of improvement in France's fight against the pandemic, with a significant decline in daily cases and deaths.

- Muslims mark Ramadan

Muslims around the world marked the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan under lockdown measures amid the fear of the spread of novel coronavirus.

In South Asia, Muslims are preparing to observe Ramadan as lockdown measures continue in many countries in the region.

The holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin Saturday in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Kashmir, while Muslims in Afghanistan and the Maldives began observing Friday.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Muslim Council of Britain warned that some mosques, which have closed due to the coronavirus, may not reopen because of the outbreak’s financial impact, local media reported on Thursday.

In South Africa, people say they will miss congregational prayers and feasting with communities during fast-breaking at sunset.

“This is an unprecedented beginning of Ramadan for South Africans and most of the 1.6 billion Muslims throughout the world,” Dr. Faisal Suliman, chairman of the South Africa Muslims Network (SAMNET), told Anadolu Agency in an interview.

In the UK, a British MP said Friday that he would fast the first week of the holy month.

Paul Bristow, a Conservative MP for Peterborough in Eastern England, posted a video on Twitter to announce his decision to experience the fast to understand what Ramadan means to Muslims.

-1915 events

Turkish president sent a letter Friday to the head of the Armenian Patriarchate to commemorate Ottoman Armenians who died during World War I, conveying his condolences to their descendants.
"On this occasion, I wish God's mercy to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in this painful period," Erdogan said.

Meanwhile, Turkey's ambassador to Washington said Friday that Trump's statement on the 1915 events is "void of objectivity".

Serdar Kilic said the US president's statement is "based on a subjective narrative which Armenians try to turn into a dogma."

The ambassador's response came after Trump issued an annual commemoration of the 1915 events Friday, again using the Armenian term “Meds Yeghern" to describe the tragedy.

Turkey's position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Turkey objects to the presentation of these incidents as "genocide," describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.