6 killed, several injured in collisions due to fog across UP
Unnao/Baghpat (UP) (PTI): At least six people were killed and several others injured in separate road collisions in various parts of the state due to a heavy fog the previous night and Wednesday morning.
In Bareilly district's Hafizganj, two women were killed and a man injured when the motorcycle they were travelling on was hit by a tractor.
"Sunita Devi (35) and Prabha Devi (36) were killed and Rajyapal was injured when the motorcycle they were travelling on was hit by a tractor on Wednesday morning," said Superintendent of Police (rural) Mukesh Chandra Mishra.
"The driver of the tractor could not see the motorcycle in the thick fog. The driver has been detained we are in the process of lodging an FIR regarding the matter," the SP added.
In Unnao, adjoining the state capital, a man was killed and at least 15 others injured in a pile-up of three buses, one container truck, and two cars on the Agra-Lucknow expressway last night.
Bangarmau Police Station SHO Gyanendra Singh said, "a bus collided with a container truck from behind due to low visibility caused by a heavy fog. Two other buses later collided with the bus followed by two cars leading to a pileup.
According to police, the victim of the collision was 50-year-old Vijay Kumar, and the 15 injured were all from the buses. They have been admitted to a hospital.
In Baghpat district of Western UP, two women were killed and 11 others injured when the van they were travelling in hit a truck in an area under the Khekra Police Station.
"A passenger van collided with a truck on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway during the wee hours of Wednesday," SHO Rajiv Singh said.
Seema, 44, and Mandeep, 38, were killed in the accident. The injured were rushed to a hospital.
"It appears that the accident occurred because the van driver failed to notice the truck due to fog," the SHO said.
In Agra, around a dozen vehicles piled-up on a national highway, leading to the death of one person and injuries to six others, who were admitted to the SN Medical College for treatment, according to police.
The incident took place around 3 am on the Shahdara Bridge in the Trans-Yamuna Police Station area due to fog, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Agra City) Suraj Kumar Rai said.
"Of the seven victims, one died and four are still undergoing treatment at the hospital. All damaged vehicles have been removed from the road except for one whose axle broke down and needs to be repaired. Normal traffic has resumed on the stretch," Rai said.
Among the vehicles which crashed in the Agra pile-up was a pickup truck carrying roosters. A video purported to be of the site showed locals running away with roosters.
The police officer said there is no complaint yet in that matter.
In Etawah, three people were injured after being hit by a truck on the Agra-Kanpur National Highway under Jaswantnagar area of the district Wednesday morning.
According to police, the three were standing on a roadside when they were hit by a truck.
They were admitted to a hospital, where one of them is said to be in a critical state.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
