India's COVID-19 caseload increases to 7,42,417
New Delhi: With 22,752 fresh cases of COVID-19 in a day, India's virus caseload increased to 7,42,417 on Wednesday, while the death toll climbed to 20,642 with 482 people succumbing to the disease, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The number of recoveries stands at 4,56,830, while there are 2,64,944 active cases of coronavirus infection presently in the country, the updated data at 8 am showed.
"Thus, around 61.53 percent of patients have recovered so far," an official said.
The total number of confirmed cases included foreigners.
According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 1,04,73,771 samples have been tested up to July 7 with 2,62,679 samples being tested on Tuesday.
Of the 482 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 224 are from Maharashtra, 65 from Tamil Nadu, 50 from Delhi, 25 from West Bengal, 18 from Uttar Pradesh, 17 from Gujarat, 15 from Karnataka, 13 from Andhra Pradesh, 11 from Rajasthan, seven each from Bihar and Telangana, six from Punjab, five each from Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh, four in Odisha, three from Haryana, two each from Jharkhand and Puducherry and one each in Chandigarh, Goa and Uttarakhand.
Of the total 20,642 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 9,250 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,165 deaths, Gujarat with 1,977, Tamil Nadu with 1,636, Uttar Pradesh with 827, West Bengal with 804, Madhya Pradesh with 622, Rajasthan with 472 and Karnataka with 416.
The COVID-19 death toll reached 313 in Telangana, 279 in Haryana, 252 in Andhra Pradesh, 175 in Punjab, 143 in Jammu and Kashmir, 104 in Bihar, 43 in Uttarakhand, 42 in Odisha and 27 in Kerala.
Jharkhand has registered 22 deaths, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Puducherry 14 each, Himachal Pradesh 11, Goa eight, Chandigarh seven, Arunachal Pradesh two and Meghalaya, Tripura and Ladakh have reported one fatality each, according to the Health Ministry.
More than 70 per cent deaths took place due to comorbidities, it said.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 2,17,121 followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,18,594, Delhi at 1,02,831, Gujarat at 37, 550, Uttar Pradesh at 29,968, Telangana at 27,612 and Karnataka at 26,815, according to the ministry data.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 23,837 in West Bengal, 21,404 in Rajasthan, 21,197 in Andhra Pradesh, 17,999 in Haryana and 15,627 in Madhya Pradesh.
It has risen to 12,570 in Bihar, 12,522 in Assam, 10,097 in Odisha and 8,931 in Jammu and Kashmir. Punjab has reported 6,749 novel coronavirus infections so far, while Kerala has 5,894 cases.
A total of 3,415 people have been infected by the virus in Chhattisgarh, 3,230 in Uttarakhand, 2,996 in Jharkhand, 1,903 in Goa, 1,704 in Tripura, 1,430 in Manipur, 1,083 in Himachal Pradesh and 1,041 in Ladakh.
Puducherry has recorded 930 COVID-19 cases, Nagaland 625, Chandigarh 494 and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 405 cases.
Arunachal Pradesh reported 276 cases, Mizoram has 197 cases, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has 147, Sikkim has registered 125 infections so far, while Meghalaya has recorded 80 cases.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding that 5,018 cases are being reassigned to states. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.
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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.
