Tehran, Jul 1 As many as 19 people have been killed in an explosion and fire at a medical facility in Tehran.
A total of 19 people, including 15 men and 4 women, were killed in the explosion, the emergency services confirmed, RT reported citing KhabarOnline website.
According to a regional official, a gas leak caused the incident. Sputnik quoted a deputy head of Tehran police as saying to YJC news outlet that oxygen tanks exploded in the semi-basement of the clinic.
Beijing, Apr 17: China denied Friday it had covered up the extent of its coronavirus outbreak, as it responded to growing questions from Western powers led by the United States.
A foreign ministry spokesman acknowledged that the virus's rapid spread had contributed to undercounting that resulted in China raising its death toll earlier Friday, but he added "there has never been any concealment, and we'll never allow any concealment."
The allegations China is too close to the World Health Organization (WHO), were an attempt at "smearing" Beijing, Zhao said.
US President Donald Trump has questioned China's handling of the pandemic and whether it had been completely transparent since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed doubts about China's virus response.
These doubts were spotlighted again on Friday when authorities in Wuhan, which has borne the brunt of Chinese deaths, abruptly raised its death toll by 50 percent -- or 1,290 deaths -- to a new total of 3,869.
That also pushed the nationwide death toll up sharply to 4,632, based on official national data released earlier in the day.
Wuhan authorities cited several reasons for the missed cases, including that the city's medical staff were overwhelmed in the early days as infections climbed, leading to "late reporting, omissions or mis-reporting".
Zhao said such miscounting was to be expected in the initial stages of a major disease outbreak.
US President Donald Trump -- under fire himself for initially denying the seriousness of the pandemic -- has accused the WHO of doing the same and being too trusting of China's assurances over the outbreak.
On Tuesday he announced a suspension of US funding to the world body.
Asked about the US allegations, Zhao defended the WHO and China.
"I think they are all smearing China and cooking up stories about China," he said, without specifying which countries he was referring to.
China has largely brought the contagion under control domestically via tough measures including the unprecedented lockdown of Wuhan and tens of millions of people in surrounding areas, but not before it spread worldwide.
The new visa regulations requiring international students in the US with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is likely to "cause uncertainties and difficulties" for some students, the Indian Embassy has said.
"These new modifications at a time when many of the US universities and colleges are yet to announce their plans for the new academic year are likely to cause uncertainties and difficulties for some Indian students wishing to pursue their studies in the US," said a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy.
Responding to media queries, the spokesperson said the Indian government has taken up the matter with concerned US officials.
At the India US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India's concerns on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.
According to a recent report of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year. Of these 1,26,132 were males and 68,405 were females.
Noting that partnership in higher education is a key component of the strong people-to-people ties between India and the US, the spokesperson said in the last two decades Indian students in American universities and colleges have been the harbingers of a strong partnership between technology and innovation sectors between the two countries.
The spokesperson hoped that the US authorities would provide adequate flexibility in their visa rule, keeping in mind the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Indian students community.
We continue to engage all the stakeholders in the matters, including the US administration officials, Congressional leaders, universities and colleges as well as the Indian students community in the US as we move forward towards the 2020-21 academic year to further strengthen our bilateral partnership in higher education, the spokesperson said.
Announced by the SEVP on July 6, the new rules provide temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the fall semester of the 2020 academic year.
While these modifications do provide some flexibility for US universities and colleges to adopt a hybrid model -- that is a mixture of online and in person classes -- they also restrict international students on F-1 and M-1 visas from taking courses entirely online, the spokesperson said.
Jul 2: Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice-president Joe Biden has said that if he wins the November elections, strengthening the relationship with India which is America’s "natural partner", will be a high priority for his administration.
"India needs to be a partner in the region for our safety's sake and quite frankly for theirs," he said in response to a question on India-US relationship during a virtual fundraiser event on Wednesday.
At the fundraiser hosted by Chairman and CEO of Beacon Capital Partners Alan Leventhal, the former vice president said that India and the United States were natural partners.
"That partnership, a strategic partnership, is necessary and important in our security," Biden said when asked by an attendee whether India is critical to the US' national security.
Referring to his eight years as the vice president, he said, "In our administration, I was proud to play a role more than a decade ago in securing Congressional approval for the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, which is a big deal".
"Helping open the door to great progress in our relationship and strengthening our strategic partnership with India was a high priority in the Obama-Biden administration and will be a high priority if I'm elected president,” Biden said.
Both as the vice president and a senator from Delaware, he was a big supporter of India-US relationship.
About the November polls, Biden said that the character of the country is on the ballot. The upcoming election is the most important poll of a lifetime and that the country is currently engaged in a battle for its soul, he claimed.
Biden also slammed President Donald Trump and his administration over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Trump ignored warnings from the very beginning, refused to prepare and failed to protect the country. Not just now but throughout his presidency, undermining the very core pillars of ours, what I would argue, moral and economic strength.
"I really do believe that our country is crying out for leadership and maybe even more important, some healing. Today, we have an enormous opportunity not only to rebuild but to build back better than before. To build a better future. That's what America does," he added.
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