Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – September 1, 2020

By Seda Sevencan

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 reported 1,087 more coronavirus recoveries, 44 fatalities and 1,587 cases over the past 24 hours.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Turkey conducted a record 110,102 tests for the coronavirus during the period.

Turkey will not allow piracy and banditry in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in the Black Sea province of Giresun at an event marking the start of the fishing season.

Erdogan also said that as the country with the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, Turkey cannot be confined to its shores.

Meanwhile, Ankara slammed a visit to Moscow by a group affiliated with the PKK/YPG terrorist organization, saying Russia should avoid steps that serve the interests of terrorists who threaten both Turkey and Syria.

According to TurkStat, the Turkish economy narrowed 9.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year.

Moreover, Turkey's exports fell 5.8% on year to $15 billion in July, while imports decreased 7.9% to $17.7 billion, TurkStat said.

- COVID-19 updates worldwide

COVID-19 has claimed more than 848,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since emerging in Wuhan, China in December.

The US, Brazil, India and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

More than 25.3 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide including over 16.7 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil reported 366 more deaths from COVID-19, while Mexico registered 339 additional fatalities over the past 24 hours.

Coronavirus cases in the US surpassed 6 million Monday, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Coronavirus infections continued to snowball in Spain, with the Health Ministry confirming more than 23,500 new cases over the weekend.

COVID-19 cases in Africa topped 1.2 million Monday, with deaths nearing 30,000 as South Africa continued to register the highest number of infections on the continent.

Coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia surpassed 467,000.

The novel coronavirus claimed more lives in Algeria and Oman on Sunday, while Jordan reported new cases.

- Other global developments

The first-ever commercial flight flew from Israel’s Ben Gurion airport Monday to the United Arab Emirates through Saudi airspace.

Sudan’s government on Monday signed an initial peace agreement with armed rebel groups in South Sudan’s capital Juba, according to Sudan’s state-run media.

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun on Monday invited Mustapha Adib, a diplomat, to form the new government.

Former Indian president and renowned political leader Pranab Mukherjee died Monday at the age of 84.

India's economy contracted by nearly a quarter from April to June, when the country went into a complete lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to official figures.