Saudi Arabia's capital city, Riyadh. A new app launched by the country's Ministry of Justice aims to help protect workers from unfair labour practices. Shuttershock
Saudi Arabia's capital city, Riyadh. A new app launched by the country's Ministry of Justice aims to help protect workers from unfair labour practices. Shuttershock
Saudi Arabia's capital city, Riyadh. A new app launched by the country's Ministry of Justice aims to help protect workers from unfair labour practices. Shuttershock
Saudi Arabia's capital city, Riyadh. A new app launched by the country's Ministry of Justice aims to help protect workers from unfair labour practices. Shuttershock

Saudi Arabia calls for serious engagement by Iran in negotiations over nuclear programme


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia said it follows with concern the recent developments regarding Iran's nuclear programme and called on Tehran to avert escalation and seriously engage in negotiations with the international community, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The Saudi stance came after Iran said that it will for the first time begin producing highly enriched uranium – purified to 60 per cent from current levels of 20 per cent – in response to Israel's "nuclear terrorism", three days after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility.

"The kingdom calls on Iran to avert escalation and to not expose the regions' security and stability to further tensions," the ministry said.

Riyadh also stressed the importance of the ongoing negotiations in Vienna  regarding Iran's nuclear programme.

“We call on Iran to engage seriously in the current negotiations in line with the aspirations of the international community towards Iran's harnessing its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes and under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” the ministry said.

The Saudis urged the international community to reach an agreement “with stronger parameters of a longer duration”.

“We reiterate the importance of the international community in reaching an agreement that strengthens the monitoring and control measures of the programme.”

Any agreement should, according to Riyadh, prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or developing the necessary capabilities for it.

Since former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Tehran has abandoned all the limits of its uranium stockpile.

It now enriches up to 20 per cent purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. Iran maintains its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes.

Riyadh said the actions taken by Tehran on Wednesday "cannot be part of a peaceful programme".

The deal must take into account the neighbouring states' "deep concerns over Iran's escalatory moves that shake the regional security and stability", the ministry said.

Iran's response to increase its uranium produce came as its Natanz nuclear site was allegedly sabotaged on Sunday, an attack Tehran blamed on Israel.

It said 1,000 new centrifuges will be added to the damaged Natanz facility, where the purified material produced would be used for medical purposes.

Meanwhile, The Un nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday that Iran has "almost completed preparations" to start enriching uranium to 60% purity at an aboveground plant at Natanz and plans to add 1,024 first-generation IR-1 centrifuges underground there.

"The Agency today verified that Iran had almost completed preparations to start producing UF6 enriched up to 60% U-235 at the Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement, referring to uranium hexafluoride, the form in which uranium is fed into centrifuges for enrichment.

This comes as Iran's supreme leader warned against protracted talks on the country's atomic programme, in remarks on the eve of another round of negotiations aimed at reviving a landmark nuclear accord.

"We have to be careful" that the dialogue is not conducted "in a way that parties drag (out) the negotiations, as that is harmful for the country," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks broadcast by state television on Wednesday.

The supreme leader also warned that Iran had to be wary of the Americans during the negotiations.

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

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Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 37')

Atletico Madrid 1 (Costa 39')

Man of the match  Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

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4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.