Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – November 16, 2020

By Merve Berker

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan left for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Sunday.

A fire broke out in the historic Vanikoy Mosque in Istanbul on Sunday.

Turkey registered 3,223 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry figures Sunday.

- Upper Karabakh

Armenian intelligence said Sunday that it prevented an attempted assassination against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Azerbaijan on Sunday gave Armenia 10 more days to evacuate Kalbajar district, which borders Nagorno-Karabakh, due to climatic and natural conditions, said an official.

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia discussed the situation in Upper Karabakh by phone Sunday, said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

- COVID-19 updates worldwide

Pakistan saw its highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases since mid-July, recording more than 2,400 new infections, according to official data released Sunday.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India crossed the 8.8 million mark as the country registered 41,100 new infections over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.

Ukraine’s health minister tested positive for COVID-19 as the eastern European country reported 10,681 new cases and 95 related deaths Sunday.

With 22,572 new cases registered over the past 24 hours, the number of Russians exposed to the novel coronavirus passed 1.92 million Sunday, officials said.

A four-day ban throughout Greece was put into effect Sunday for all gatherings of more than four people, said police.

Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who had tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, tested negative 24 hours later, an official said Sunday.

- Other developments

Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov resigned Saturday and put his hat into the ring for the Jan. 10 presidential elections, according to a statement by the country’s Presidential Press Center.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered Saturday in the US capital in support of President Donald Trump, who has not yet conceded to Democrat President-elect Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Sunday that 200 captives would be released by the government while the group would release 101 during prisoner swap negotiations in Jordan.

The number of people in the Philippines killed in flooding caused by Typhoon Vamco rose to 53 on Sunday.

Polls opened Sunday in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region to elect a new government for the next five years.

Libyan parties at a Libyan Political Dialogue Forum organized by the UN on Sunday discussed powers and characteristics of the Presidential Council and the government of the transition period.

The Israeli military bombed eastern Gaza early Sunday after it said two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.

Around 25,000 Ethiopians have crossed into Sudan to escape fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, according to Sudanese officials.

Amid stalled peace talks with the Taliban, Afghanistan on Sunday issued a list of at least 1,100 insurgents killed in ongoing clashes during the past 25 days.