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 and other developments in Turkey
As many as 5,232 patients recovered over the past day, bringing the tally to 452,593, while the death toll rose to 15,751. More than 206,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the period, pushing the total to over 20.5 million.
A China-made vaccine for COVID-19 will be administered in Turkey in only a matter of days, said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
The Turkish and Azerbaijani presidents addressed a large crowd at liberation celebrations Thursday in Baku for Azerbaijani territories liberated from the occupation of Armenian forces.
A Turkish ship transporting medicine to Libya’s port of Misrata and detained last week by forces loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar was released Thursday.
At least two Turkish gendarmerie personnel were martyred and eight others injured in a bomb attack carried out by YPG/PKK terrorists in northeastern Syria, according to Turkish authorities Thursday.
COVID-19 updates worldwide
At least one out of every 1,000 residents in Spain has lost their lives to the novel coronavirus, the country’s Health Ministry confirmed Thursday as it reported the death toll at 47,344.
In another record-high daily death toll from COVID-19, the US for the first time has seen the number of fatalities top 3,000.
Italy reported a new jump in daily deaths from the novel coronavirus Thursday, signaling that the virus is still very deadly even though the contagion curve is slowing down.
The number of fatalities in the UK from COVID-19 has reached 63,082 with a further 516 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data from officials.
Japan is working on plans to begin a mass vaccination drive by March as infections hit record levels in the country, local media reported Thursday.
Iran on Thursday accused the US of obstructing Tehran's efforts to procure a COVID-19 vaccine, according to state TV.
At least 60% of Africa’s 1.2 billion people need to be immunized for a COVID-19 vaccination drive to prove effective, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Other global developments
EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for two days of discussions on the EU budget and COVID-19 as well as several global issues.
The leaders agreed on a €1.8 trillion ($2.18 trillion) long-term budget and COVID-19 recovery package, said the European Council president.
The EU on Thursday published contingency plans in case of an imminent collapse of post-Brexit trade deal talks with the UK.
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who survived a horrific genocide in Myanmar, are experiencing a “severe mental health crisis,” a new study published Thursday revealed.
US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Morocco "have agreed to full diplomatic relations," calling the deal a "massive breakthrough" for peace in the Middle East.
