Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – November 20, 2020

By Ali Murat Alhas

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 4,542 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. The country's overall case count now stands at 430,170.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry slammed a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, saying: "Behind this visit lies the aim of legitimizing Israel's illegal actions in the occupied Palestinian territories."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met the top Afghan peace negotiator, Abdullah Abdullah. He said they discussed developments in the intra-Afghan peace process along with bilateral ties.

At least 16 irregular migrants were held in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli, including 12 Pakistanis and four Afghans. Due to its geographical location, Turkey has been one of the main routes for irregular migrants trying to cross to Europe.

Turkish security forces inflicted heavy blows on the PKK terror group in northern Iraq, "neutralizing" 82 of them over the past month. Turkey’s interior minister said he believed the PKK would likely be wiped out in a year thanks to the country's determination and successful anti-terror operations.

The 2020 Turkish Grand Prix venue Istanbul Park was awarded a Grade 1 license by FIA, the world motorsports body. The venue looks forward to hosting more top-level motorsports activities with the highest safety certification.

- COVID-19 developments around world

Britain, one of Europe's most-affected countries in terms of the coronavirus outbreak, reported nearly 23,000 new infections and over 500 fatalities from the disease.

With over 23,600 new cases, Russian COVID-19 infections topped 2 million as of Thursday. The country's death toll rose to 34,850 with a record high of 463 fatalities over the past 24 hours.

Italy reported more than 36,000 new novel coronavirus infections, up 5.5% from the previous day. The national death toll now stands at 47,870.

Iran confirmed 476 more coronavirus-related deaths Thursday, raising the nationwide death toll to 43,417, according to Health Ministry data.

The Oxford vaccine is showing a strong immune response in the elderly. Some 560 adults participated in a study, and researchers say Phase 2 findings were "encouraging."

Germany's Robert Koch Institute reported 251 deaths and over 22,600 cases in the last 24 hours, saying the COVID-19 situation in Germany remains "very serious.”

- Other developments worldwide

An Australian probe found that its special forces killed 39 Afghan civilians. Defense Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell apologized to both Afghans and Australians on behalf of the troops involved in the crimes.

US senators are seeking to block President Donald Trump's more than $23 billion worth of arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, warning that it may flood the Middle East with weapons and trigger an arms race in the region.

At least three Somalian soldiers died and several more, including civilians, were wounded in a blast at a security checkpoint outside the country's capital. The Somalia-based al-Shabaab, affiliated with the al-Qaeda terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack via its propaganda radio service Andalus.

Amnesty International urged the leaders of G20 countries to demand the immediate release of five jailed women's rights activists in an upcoming virtual summit to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, saying "G20 leaders attending this weekend's virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia must take the Saudi authorities to task for their shameless hypocrisy on women's rights.”