India's COVID-19 tally 4,25,282 with 14,821 fresh cases, death toll rises to 13,699
New Delhi: India on Monday added 14,821 new COVID-19 cases pushing the infection tally to 4,25,282, while the death toll rose to 13,699 with 445 new fatalities, according to Union Health Ministry data.
The country crossed the four lakh-mark on Sunday eight days after recording three lakh COVID-19 cases and has witnessed a surge of 2,34,747 infections from June 1 till 22
India registered over 10,000 cases for the 11th day in a row
The number of recoveries also continued to surge with 2,37,195 patients cured so far, while there were 1,74,387 active cases, according to the updated official figures at 8 am.
One patient has migrated.
In the last 24 hours, a total of 9,440 COVID-19 patients have recovered, taking the recovery rate to 55.77 percent, officials said.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 69,50,493 samples have been tested up to 21 June with 1,43,267 samples being tested on Sunday.
Of the 445 fresh fatalities reported till Monday morning, 186 were from Maharashtra, 63 from Delhi, 53 from Tamil Nadu, 43 from Uttar Pradesh, 25 from Gujarat, 15 from West Bengal, 14 from Madhya Pradesh, 12 from Rajasthan, 11 from Haryana, seven from Telangana, five each from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, two from Odisha, one each from Bihar, Jammu, and Kashmir, Puducherry, and Punjab.
India is the fourth worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US, Brazil, and Russia.
According to Johns Hopkins University, which has been compiling COVID-19 data from all over the world, India is in the eighth position in terms of the death toll.
Of the total 13,699 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 6,170 fatalities, followed by Delhi with 2,175 deaths, Gujarat with 1,663, Tamil Nadu with 757, West Bengal with 555, Uttar Pradesh with 550, Madhya Pradesh with 515, Rajasthan with 349 and Telangana with 210 deaths
The COVID-19 death toll reached 160 in Haryana, 137 in Karnataka, 106 in Andhra Pradesh, 99 in Punjab, 82 in Jammu and Kashmir, 53 in Bihar, 27 in Uttarakhand, 21 in Kerala and 14 in Odisha.
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have registered 11 deaths each, Assam nine, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry eight each, Chandigarh six, while Meghalaya, Tripura, and Ladakh have reported one fatality each, according to the health ministry.
More than 70 percent of deaths took place due to comorbidities, it said.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 1,32,075, followed by Delhi at 59,746, Tamil Nadu at 59,377, Gujarat at 27,260, Uttar Pradesh at 17,731, Rajasthan at 14,930 and West Bengal at 13,945, according to ministry data.
The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 11,903 in Madhya Pradesh, 10,635 in Haryana, 9,150 in Karnataka, 8,999 in Andhra Pradesh and 7,802 in Telangana.
It has risen to 7,612 in Bihar, 5,956 in Jammu and Kashmir, 5,388 in Assam, and 5,160 in Odisha. Punjab has reported 4,074 novel coronavirus infections so far, while Kerala has 3,172 cases.
A total of 2,344 people have been infected by the virus in Uttarakhand, 2,275 in Chhattisgarh, 2,073 in Jharkhand, 1,221 in Tripura, 841 in Manipur,? 837 in Ladakh, 754 in Goa and 673 in Himachal Pradesh.
Chandigarh has recorded 406 COVID-19 cases, Puducherry has 366 cases, Nagaland has 211, Mizoram has 141 and Arunachal Pradesh has 135.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 88 COVID-19 cases.
Sikkim has 78, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 48 infections so far while Meghalaya has recorded 44 cases.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding 7,832 cases are being reassigned to states.
State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added.
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.
