Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - January 22, 2021

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 on Thursday reported over 6,200 new coronavirus cases, according to Health Ministry data.

A total of 6,289 cases, including 743 symptomatic patients, were confirmed across the country.

Turkey's overall case tally is over 2.41 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 24,640 with 153 fatalities over the past day.

Turkey began vaccination against COVID-19 for people over the age of 85 and pharmacy workers.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it is important to establish a positive atmosphere in Turkey-EU ties and that concrete steps are needed to make it sustainable.

Cavusoglu arrived in Brussels Wednesday evening for a two-day visit for talks with top EU and NATO officials.

A center for the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Istanbul, Turkey is set to be opened Friday with high-profile figures in attendance.

- COVID-19 updates worldwide

US President Joe Biden rolled out his national strategy Thursday to bring America out of the nadir of its grim coronavirus pandemic, warning that even with his efforts the worst is yet to come.

For the second day in a row, Spain broke its record for daily coronavirus cases, with the Health Ministry reporting 44,357 new infections.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the country will close schools primarily due to a marked increase in the highly transmissible UK variant of the coronavirus.

China will provide half a million doses of its Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine as a gift to Pakistan by the end of this month, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

A further 1,290 people across the UK have died from the novel coronavirus, according to government data released Thursday.

Bangladesh received 2 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine "as a gift" from India.

- Other developments

At least 32 people were killed in a twin suicide attack that rocked a busy commercial market in Baghdad, Iraq.

Fifteen out of 47 counties in Kenya have been hit by a second and deadlier wave of locusts that came in through Ethiopia and Somalia.