Iran and Russia to jointly produce covid-19 vaccine

Agencies
September 6, 2020

Tehran, Sept 6: Iran and Russia will cooperate to produce a COVID-19 vaccine in the Islamic republic as COVID-19 cases in Iran surged to 384,666 on Saturday. Meanwhile, an Iraqi health official warned that the citizens should not play down the seriousness of the coronavirus as 4,644 daily new infections were reported.

Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East region, reported 1,894 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 384,666, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The pandemic has so far claimed 22,154 lives in Iran, up by 110 in the past 24 hours. A total of 332,131 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 3,708 still in critical condition.

The announcement of Iran-Russia cooperation on producing a coronavirus vaccine was made on Friday at the online meeting between Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Moscow and Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund, Iranian semi-official FARS news agency reported on Saturday.

Jalali called for further health and medical cooperation between the two countries.

In Iraq, 4,644 COVID-19 cases were reported during the day, bringing the total nationwide infections to 256,719.

The death toll rose to 7,422 with the addition of 63 new fatalities, while 3,891 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 195,259.

"The lack of compliance of the citizens will increase the number of infections and make the ministry to stop at a certain stage because our health institutions have a limited capacity and this will also lead to an increase in deaths," Ryadh Abdul-Amir, head of Iraqi Public Health Department in the Health Ministry, said in a press release.

Saudi Arabia announced 791 new cases and 34 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed infections to 319,932 and the death toll to 4,049.

The kingdom also reported 779 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 295,842.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey climbed by 1,673 to 278,228, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 6,620 after 56 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, Koca said, adding that the total recoveries increased to 250,092.

In Qatar, 227 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected, increasing the total number to 119,864, including 202 deaths and 116,780 recoveries.

In Israel, 2,517 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, taking the tally of coronavirus infections to 128,936.

The death toll of the virus in Israel increased to 1,007 while the recoveries rose to 101,481.

The country will soon impose a full nationwide closure because of the recent jump in coronavirus morbidity, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri told Channel 12 TV news on Saturday.

Kuwait reported 720 new cases, taking the country's total number of infections to 88,963, of whom 540 have died and 79,903 recovered.

In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 70,160 after 1,555 new cases were added, which included 1,329 fatalities and 53,929 recoveries.

Algeria reported 298 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total infection cases to 46,071 and the death toll to 1,549, while 222 more patients were newly discharged from hospitals, increasing the total recoveries to 32,481.

Palestine reported 433 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally of infections in the Palestinian territories to 33,250, including 199 deaths.

In the mean time, Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip warned of the increase in the infections "because the residents do not abide by the precautionary instructions."

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 531 to 20,011, while the death toll went up by four to 187.

Sudan's nationwide coronavirus infections surged to 13,407 with 218 new ones, including 6,725 recoveries and 832 deaths.

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News Network
September 9,2024

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Riyadh: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Monday met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov here in the Saudi capital, days after President Vladimir Putin named India among the three countries he is constantly in touch over the Ukraine conflict.

Their interaction took place on the sidelines of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers' meeting. Both the ministers are in the Saudi capital to attend ministerial meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

"Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with Foreign Minister of India @DrSJaishankar," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

On Thursday, President Putin named India among the three countries he is constantly in touch over the Ukraine conflict and said they are sincerely making efforts to resolve it.

Speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Putin said, "If there is a desire of Ukraine to carry on with the negotiations, I can do that." His remarks came within two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Ukraine, where he held talks with President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"We respect our friends and partners, who, I believe, sincerely seek to resolve all issues surrounding this conflict, primarily China, Brazil and India. I constantly keep in touch with our colleagues on this issue,” Putin was quoted as saying by Russia's TASS news agency.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov last week told the Izvestia daily that India could help in establishing a dialogue on Ukraine.

Underlining the existing "highly constructive, even friendly relations" between Modi and Putin, he said the Indian Prime Minister can "lead the line on getting first-hand information from the participants in this conflict," as he “freely communicates with Putin, with Zelenskyy, and with the Americans.” "This gives a great opportunity for India to throw its weight in world affairs, to use its influence that would drive the Americans and Ukrainians towards using a greater political will and entering the peaceful settlement track,” Peskov said.

He, however, said there are "no specific plans" for Modi to mediate on the issue.

"At this time they can hardly exist, as we do not see any preconditions for talks for now,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

Modi on August 23 visited Ukraine where he conveyed to President Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region.

His nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with President Putin that triggered anguish in some Western countries.

In his talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Modi said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Jaishankar arrived in the Saudi capital Sunday on the first leg of his three-nation tour to attend the first India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers' meeting.

The GCC is an influential grouping, comprising the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. The total volume of India's trade with GCC countries stood at USD 184.46 billion in the financial year 2022-23.

From Riyadh, Jaishankar will travel to Germany where he will meet the German Foreign Minister as well as the leadership and other Ministers from the German government to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations. This will be his third bilateral visit to Berlin.

On the third and final leg of his trip, Jaishankar will visit Geneva.

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News Network
September 15,2024

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New Delhi: Two days after he was granted bail and walked out of prison after six months, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced his shock resignation from the top post at a party meeting this afternoon. "Two days later, I will resign as Chief Minister. I will not sit on that chair till the people announce their verdict. Elections in Delhi are months away. I got justice from the legal court, now I will get justice from the people's court. I will sit on the Chief Minister's chair only after the order of the people," he said. 

"I want to ask the people of Delhi, is Kejriwal innocent or guilty? If I have worked, vote for me," he said, adding that a meeting of AAP MLAs will be held within the next two days to choose the new Chief Minister for the national capital.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said a member of the party will be named Chief Minister after his resignation. He said he would go among the people and ask for their support. Mr Kejriwal also demanded that the elections in the national capital, scheduled for February, be held in November along with the polls in Maharashtra.

In his address to the AAP workers, Mr Kejriwal launched an all-out attack against the Narendra Modi government and said it was more dictatorial than the British.

He said he did not resign as Chief Minister despite being arrested because he wanted to save democracy. "They have registered cases against (Karnataka Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah, (Kerala Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan, (Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata didi (Banerjee). I want to appeal to non-BJP, do not resign if they register cases against you. This is their new game," he said.

Mr Kejriwal said he had also spoken to former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia about the issue. Mr Sisodia too was recently granted bail in connection with corruption allegations surrounding Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy. "I spoke to Manish, he too has said that he will handle the post only after the people say we are honest. My and Sisodia's fate are in your hands now," he said.

Responding to the shocking development, BJP's Harish Khurana questioned why the AAP leader is creating a drama. "Why after 48 hours? he should resign today. In the past too, he has done this. People of Delhi are asking, he can't go to the secretariat, can't sign documents? What is the point then?" Asked if the BJP was ready for early polls, Mr Khurana replied, "We are ready, whether it is today or tomorrow. We will return to power in Delhi after 25 years."

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News Network
September 12,2024

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to CJI D Y Chandrachud's house for Ganesha puja celebrations has raised doubts in the mind of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who questioned whether he would deliver 'justice' in the ongoing case the party has in the Supreme Court, given that the PM is the other party in the case.

Speaking to ANI, Raut said "Ganpathi festival is going on, people visit each other's houses. I don't have info regarding how many houses PM visited so far...but PM went to CJI's house and they together performed 'Aarti'."

He said that a custodian of the Constitution meeting politicians could raise doubts in the minds of people.

"In our case, other party is the central govt...Chief Justice should distance himself from this case because his relation with the other party in the case is openly visible," Raut continued.

He also raised questions if the CJI be able to give them justice in the case. "We are getting dates after dates and an illegal govt is going on...Shiv Sena and NCP were broken in such a way...we are not getting justice and PM Modi is taking a lot of interest in the illegal govt of Maharashtra, to save them," the Sena (UBT) leader continued.

Raut alleged that a doubt had been formed in Maharashtra's mind given the 'bond' the PM and the CJI seem to share.

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