ANKARA
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 in Turkey
Turkey confirmed 2,241 recoveries Wednesday from the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours as the country continued relaxing measures against the pandemic, according to its health minister.
The total number of recoveries from the disease reached 146,839 as 2,241 more patients were discharged from hospitals over the past day, Fahrettin Koca said at a news conference after a Science Council meeting, citing Health Ministry data.
The country's death toll from the virus rose to 4,746 as it reported 17 new fatalities over the last 24 hours.
According to test results, the total number of COVID-19 cases nationwide reached 173,036, with 922 new infections.
As of July, Turkey will reopen all the tourism facilities that are planned to be reopened as part of its normalization process, the country’s culture and tourism minister said Wednesday.
Global coronavirus developments
Britain’s coronavirus-related death toll climbed to 41,128 as authorities reported 245 new deaths Wednesday.
Italy on Wednesday reported 71 more novel coronavirus-related fatalities, bringing the death toll in the country to 34,114, as prosecutors investigate possible failures in the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Since the start of the outbreak, the death toll in France stands at 29,319, with the number of cases rising substantially to 155,136, an increase of 545 over the previous day.
So far, a total of 242,280 people have been confirmed to have contracted the virus in Spain. Of this group, 27,136 have died, according to official statistics which have not been effectively updated for weeks.
In Brazil, 1,272 more fatalities over the past 24 hours raised the death toll to 38,406, according to the country's Health Ministry.
In Mexico, 596 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 14,649.
Iran on Wednesday confirmed 81 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,506.
Saudi Arabia confirmed 36 additional fatalities from the coronavirus Wednesday, taking its death toll to 819.
In Russia, 216 people died from the virus, bringing total fatalities to 6,358 as the number of recoveries exceeded 250,000.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 202,782, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said in an update Wednesday.
According to the latest data, 5,516 fatalities have been recorded so far in 54 countries, while recoveries have increased to 90,779.
Libya
Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar will “certainly disappear” if he loses support in the wake of multiple recent military defeats, Turkey’s national defense minister said Wednesday.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday that a recent call by Egypt for a ceasefire in Libya was "stillborn."
George Floyd
The founder and chief executive officer of personal fitness company CrossFit said Tuesday he is stepping down and has decided to retire over a controversial tweet he posted on the death of George Floyd which sparked outrage.
US men’s professional soccer league Major League Soccer (MLS) said it supports players' protests on the pitch against racism and discrimination.
The MLS emphasized freedom of speech, equality and diversity in the US and Canada, allowing the athletes to protest against George Floyd's murder.
UN independent human rights experts on Wednesday condemned the violent crackdowns on widespread peaceful protests in the US, which erupted after the killing of George Floyd by police.
Other developments
The US state of Alabama shut down a charter school with links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, citing a failure to meet conditions for opening.
Turkey's unemployment rate dropped to 13.2% in March, down 0.9 percentage point compared to the same month last year, according to the country's statistical authority TurkStat.
Turkish airstrikes neutralized eight PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
The two leaders also discussed regional issues and steps to be taken in the post-pandemic period.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a virtual meeting at the ministerial level aimed at discussing the threat posed by Israel's plan to annex parts of the Palestinian West Bank, which has been under its occupation since 1967.
Israel's annexation plan will "destroy all hopes" for lasting peace in the Middle East, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the OIC Executive Committee Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting on Israeli threats to annex parts of Palestine.
Daily scheduled flights between Turkey and the UK will resume as of June 11, the British Embassy in Ankara announced on Twitter.
The US Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it has no plans to raise interest rates through 2022 as the global economy continues to find itself in the midst of the coronavirus's economic onslaught.
