TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran and China have "good capacities" for environmental cooperation, especially in combating dust and sand storms, said Ali Salajegheh, Iran's vice president and head of the Department of Environment (DoE).

Salajegheh made the remarks on Tuesday at a press conference in the capital Tehran ahead of the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, which will be held in Tehran on Sept. 9 and 10.

The press conference was also attended by Stefan Priesner, the United Nations resident coordinator for Iran.

TBILISI, September 5. /TASS/: Georgian MPs did not support the first reading of the legislative initiative put forward by opposition MP Teona Akubardia to move Victory over Fascism Day in the republic from May 9 to May 8.

The meeting was broadcast on the legislature's website.

According to the voting results, 20 deputies voted for the amendments to the Labor Code and 4 voted against. 76 votes were required in order to pass the bill.

YEOSU, South Korea, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korean fishermen have suffered a sharp fall in the sale of aquatic products after Japan's dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean.

"Fishermen are now really on the brink of death. They are on the brink of bankruptcy. There are many fishermen under such situations," Kim Young-chul, a fisherman and executive director of the National Fisherfolks Federation in South Korea, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/: Russia is fighting not against the Ukrainian people but against the Banderite monsters and their ilk as it pushes ahead with the special military operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of Russia’s Victory organizing committee.

MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday welcomed the international auto manufacturers at the country's largest automobile show, IAA Mobility, stressing that "fair competition is good for business."

It is "nice to have so many international manufacturers and suppliers here in Munich, welcome," Scholz said in his speech.

The 2023 International Motor Show (IAA), one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday, with German and Chinese exhibitors in the limelight.

MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/: Around 5,200 COVID-19 cases were registered in Russia over the past week, the press service of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing has told reporters.

"Over the past week, some 5,200 COVID-19 cases were registered," the press service said.

The federal service added that the omicron variant of the novel coronavirus remained prevalent in Russia.

TEHRAN, Sept 6 (NNN-IRNA) – Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Iran, Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi, arrived in Tehran yesterday, a few hours after the arrival of Iranian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, in Riyadh, earlier in the day.

The Saudi envoy used to be his country’s ambassador to Oman, before starting his new mission in Iran, the report said.

In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached, in Beijing, a groundbreaking agreement, to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions within two months.

TUNIS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia has detected the country's first case of new coronavirus variant EG.5, said a Tunisian official on Tuesday.

The infection was found in an infant following genome sequencing at Charles Nicolle Hospital in the capital Tunis, the official news agency Tunis Afrique Presse reported, citing Hechmi Louzir, a member of Tunisia's Scientific Committee to Combat Coronavirus.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations released $125 million from its emergency relief fund Tuesdat to boost underfunded humanitarian operations in 14 countries around the world, saying needs are skyrocketing.

Afghanistan and Yemen top the list of recipients, with each getting $20 million, followed by Burkina Faso and Myanmar at $9 million each and Mali, Haiti and Venezuela at $8 million each.

SAO PAULO, Sept 5 (NNN-CMA) – At least four people died yesterday, after an extratropical cyclone triggered floods and landslides in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities said.

A man was electrocuted when his home was inundated, while another young man and a couple died when their cars were swept away by floods.

The storms caused floods in more than 15 cities in the state that borders Argentina and Uruguay, including the state capital, Porto Alegre.

In June, 16 people died in the state after an extratropical cyclone made landfall.

SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Singapore is planning to expand a pilot project that boosts the ocean's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide emissions, using one of several emerging technologies that supporters hope can play a decisive role in the global battle against climate change.

As scientists call for more research into ocean carbon dioxide removal (OCDR), Singapore's Public Utilities Board (PUB) has built a plant that uses electricity to extract CO2 from seawater, allowing it to absorb more greenhouse gas from the atmosphere when it is pumped back out into the ocean.

CAIRO, Sept 6 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt’s Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) and Sweden’s Volvo, yesterday signed in Cairo, an agreement to jointly manufacture electric buses in Egypt, for the European market.

MCV will manufacture the buses with “50 percent local content,” according to a statement by Egypt’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.