Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – December 4, 2020

By Dilara Hamit

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 32,381 coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, including 6,511 symptomatic cases, according to Health Ministry data.

The new symptomatic cases raised the overall patient count to 520,167. A total of 4,190 patients recovered over the past day, bringing the tally to 418,331, while the death toll rose to 14,316, with 187 additions.

Turkey’s president on Thursday marked the 86th anniversary of Turkish women's right to vote and be elected.

Turkey’s Presidential Symphony Orchestra opened a new concert hall in the capital Ankara.

A technical meeting between Turkey and Greece on the Eastern Mediterranean could not be held after the Greek side pulled out at the last minute.

- Global developments

The Turkish president of the 75th UN General Assembly said Thursday that "fair access" to a coronavirus vaccine is vital in his opening remarks at a COVID-19 summit.

Volkan Bozkir emphasized that the effectiveness of the vaccine depends on the vaccination of large segments of the globe.

China's Chang'e-5 mission has successfully collected samples from the moon's surface, authorities announced Thursday.

A total of 2,783 Azerbaijani soldiers were martyred in the Upper Karabakh war waged by the army to liberate its lands from the Armenian occupation, said Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry.

An estimated 4.1 million children in South Sudan are expected to be in dire need of humanitarian assistance in 2021 due to “violence, armed conflict, cyclical drought and perennial flooding, said UNICEF.

A “serious incident” was declared in the town of Avonmouth near Bristol, England after a large explosion in a warehouse. Four people were killed in the explosion, said police.

The European Union and Greece agreed to establish a reception center for refugees and asylum seekers on Greece's island of Lesvos by September of next year.

France's controversial bill on global security would be incompatible with international human rights law and should be comprehensively revised, said human rights experts reporting to the UN.

- Global COVID-19 developments

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has confirmed that 48 players tested positive for the coronavirus between Nov. 24 and 30.

Another locally developed COVID-19 vaccine in China has entered phase 3 clinical trials, according to media reports Thursday.

With 28,145 new infections reported, the coronavirus pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down in Russia.

Germany's new coronavirus cases have stabilized, but infections still remain very high, said the country’s health agency.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the least developed countries so hard that they will this year register their worst economic performance in 30 years, said the UN’s trade and development agency.

Indonesia reported 8,369 more coronavirus infections, the country’s highest daily jump since the start of the pandemic.

The UK's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has passed the grim 60,000 mark, according to official figures.