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
December 4,2025

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Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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News Network
December 2,2025

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Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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