Iran's President to Attend BRICS Summit in Russia

 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran's President to Attend BRICS Summit in Russia

 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to community members, academic figures, tribal sheikhs and officials during his visit, in Basra, Iraq, September 13, 2024. (Reuters)

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia, state media cited Tehran's ambassador in Moscow as saying on Sunday, amid tensions with the West over military cooperation between the two countries.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them in Ukraine within weeks. Cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatened wider European security, he said.

The United States, Germany, Britain and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran did not deliver any ballistic missiles to Russia and that sanctions imposed by the US and the three European countries against Iran were not a solution.

Iran's ambassador in Russia Kazem Jalali confirmed on Sunday that Pezeshkian will attend the summit of the BRICS group of major emerging economies, scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia from Oct. 22 to 24, according to Iran's state media.

Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin there, Jalali said.

Iran and Russia are set to sign a bilateral comprehensive cooperation agreement.



WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
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WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo

The World Health Organization said Wednesday an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania.
“We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.
Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases death from extreme blood loss. There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg.
WHO said its risk assessment for the suspected outbreak in Tanzania is high at national and regional levels but low globally. There was no immediate comment from Tanzanian health authorities.
An outbreak of Marburg in Rwanda, first reported on Sept. 27, was declared over on Dec. 20. Rwandan officials reported a total of 15 deaths and 66 cases, with the majority of those affected healthcare workers who handled the first patients.