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US joins chorus against Ahmadinejad's visit

[email protected] (AFP, Wam)
April 19, 2012

Ahmadinejad

Washington, April 19: The world condemnation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to the UAE's Abu Mousa island and his provocative remarks continued to escalate on Wednesday with the United States


and Arab forums joining the chorus. The US urged Iran to enter talks with the UAE over the territorial disputes as it criticised President Ahmadinejad for visiting a contested island.


State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US supported ‘a peaceful resolution' over the three islands of Abu Mousa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and backed the UAE's call for the issue to be resolved through talks or at the International Court of Justice.


‘The United States appreciates the UAE's efforts in this regard and urges Iran to respond positively to the UAE's initiative to resolve the issue through direct negotiations,' Toner said in a statement.


‘Actions such as the April 11 visit by Iranian President Ahmadinejad to the Abu Mousa island only complicate efforts to settle the issue,' he said.


In Cairo, the Arab Parliament urged Iran to stop provocative acts over the issue. Arab Parliament Speaker Ali Salem Al Dakbasi reiterated in a statement the Pan-Arab body's complete denunciation and rejection of statements by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and former Revolutionary Guard chief Mohsen Rezai who is the current Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council.


‘While the Arab Gulf states tackle the issue of the three occupied islands of the UAE in a positive, rational and civilised way, the Iranians act in a provocative way which we reject,' Al Dakbasi said.


He accused Iran of using irresponsible threats and statements in an attempt to distract attention from its occupation of another country's territory, adding that this is not the respectable and civilised manner of treating neighbours.


‘If Iran has historical rights to the three UAE's islands, why wouldn't it accept arbitration by the international law and the referral of the whole issue to International Court of Justice,' Al Dakbasi asked.


‘All Arabs back the UAE's defence of its historical rights and full sovereignty on the three islands,' he said, adding: ‘This visit has exposed Teheran's false claims regarding its friendship and peaceful relations with the Gulf countries.'


In New York, the Arab Group at the United Nations, in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, condemned Ahmadinejad's visit to Abu Mousa Island which is occupied by Iran since 1971, and called for an end to the Iranian occupation.


The letter, addressed by the UAE's permanent representative to UN Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Jaramain, expressed the Arab Group's concern over the first visit by any top-level Iranian official to the island, stressing that the visit is a flagrant violation of the principles of the international law.


It renewed full support of the Arab Group member countries to the full sovereignty of the UAE over the three islands, in addition to supporting all peaceful measures and means adopted to restore its sovereignty over the occupied islands.


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Agencies
July 29,2020

If everything goes as Russia’s expectation, it will be world’s first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine for widespread in the second week of August despite safety and efficacy concerns, according to a report. The adenoviral vector-based vaccine developed by Russian military and government researchers is currently in phase 2 trials.

According to a report from CNN, Russian officials are hoping to get approval for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute on Agust 10 or even before that. The officials told the outlet that the vaccine will be approved for public use with frontline healthcare workers receiving it first.

“It’s a Sputnik moment,” said Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is financing Russian vaccine research, referring to the successful 1957 launch of the world’s first satellite by the Soviet Union, according to CNN.

“Americans were surprised when they heard Sputnik’s beeping. It’s the same with this vaccine. Russia will have got there first,” he was quoted as saying.

However, Russia is yet to release the scientific data on its coronavirus vaccine trials, hence, questions remain about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, said the report. The vaccine is in the second phase of testing with developers planning to launch the phase 3 trials sometime after August 3.

Earlier, Interfax reported, citing Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, that the vaccine will be widely used in parallel with phase 3 trials. He said the country plans to vaccinate medics who are at high-risk for COVID-19 next month before clinical trials are completed.

Murashko added that individuals at higher risk of getting infected with the coronavirus such as older people or those with health conditions will also be prioritised for the vaccine, although he did not estimate or reveal when that would happen. The minister added 800 people will be recruited for the phase 3 trials.

Meanwhile, health officials were more cautious considering the fact that human testing of the vaccine is incomplete, and the state registration is expected to begin after August 3, reported The Moscow Times.

On Monday, Moderna and Pfizer announced the commencement of the final phase 3 trials of their candidate vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has so far claimed at least 654,477 lives and infected 16,514,500 people worldwide. 

Researchers will recruit up to 30,000 volunteers in separate trials both backed by the US government. India's first indigenous coronavirus vaccine, COVAXIN, is undergoing phase 1 human clinical trials across the country. More than 150 COVID-19 vaccines are being developed all over the world with at least six candidates already in late-stage clinical trials.

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News Network
April 14,2020

New Delhi, Apr 14: The World Health Organization on Tuesday lauded "India's tough and timely actions" against the coronavirus spread as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of current lockdown till May 3.

"It may be early to talk about results in numbers, but a six-week nationwide lockdown to facilitate effective physical distancing, coupled with the expansion of core public health measures such as detection, isolation and tracing contact of coronavirus positive people, would go a long way in arresting the virus spread," said WHO's South-East Asia Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh.

"Despite huge and multiple challenges, India has been demonstrating unwavering commitment in its fight against the pandemic," she said.

"In these testing times, the action lies as much with the communities as with the authorities and the health workforce," she added.

"It is indeed time for each and every one to contribute their best and together to beat the virus," Dr Singh said.

Modi on Tuesday said the implementation of the lockdown will be strictly ensured in coming days to ensure that the virus does not spread to new areas

The prime minister said a detailed guideline on the implementation of the new lockdown will be announced on Wednesday.

According the Union Health Ministry figures, a total of 339 people have died of COVIOD-19 till date in the country, while the number of infected cases has soared to 10,363 on Tuesday.

A PTI tally of figures reported by various states as on Monday evening, however, showed at least 346 deaths.

There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures, compared to the number of deaths announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.

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News Network
July 14,2020

Brasilia, Jul 14: Brazil has reported new 20,286 coronavirus cases in last 24 hours taking the country's total to 1.8 million, Sputnik reported citing the health ministry.

The country's death toll has increased by 733 in the same period of time. The death toll from the infection has touched 72,833.

Over 1.1 million people have recovered from COVID-19 in Brazil since the start of the epidemic in the country, according to the health ministry.

Brazil has the second-highest coronavirus death toll, it is surpassed only by the United States.

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