Since early April, diplomats from some of the world's most powerful countries have been involved in complex, technical negotiations that seek to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Why are the talks taking place?
The accord has been in disarray since 2018 when former US president Donald Trump withdrew his country from the agreement and reintroduced heavy sanctions on Iran that had been removed under the terms of the deal.
He then expanded those sanctions, such as when he targeted the Iranian national bank.
In response, since 2019 Tehran has repeatedly breached the nuclear limits of the 2015 agreement and steadily built up its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Now the remaining signatories to the deal – the EU, China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK – have engaged in six rounds of negotiations in Vienna to try and breathe life back into it.
Both Iran and the US have sent representatives to the Austrian capital, but have not directly engaged with each other.
Both sides say they want a return to the deal. Iran wants the sanctions to be lifted to support its ailing economy. Mr Trump's successor Joe Biden wants Iran to abide by the commitments of the deal before the US does so.
How much progress has been made?
Slow but steady progress has been made. Diplomats from all sides say they remain hopeful an agreement can be reached.
But diplomats have also intimated that, with time running out, the most sensitive points of disagreement are now being negotiated. The French foreign ministry said on Wednesday that "significant disagreements persist".
Earlier this week, an Iranian government spokesman said "some minute technical, political, legal and practical issues remain", but insisted there was "no impasse".
Saeed Khatibzadeh said a broad agreement had been reached on US sanctions on Iran's industrial sectors, including energy, which have essentially meant a block on Iranian oil exports - a devastating blow for the economy.
But a fundamental sticking point is how far the US will be prepared to go if it does lift sanctions. Iran wants all sanctions imposed by Mr Trump to be removed, something Mr Biden's administration is very uneasy about.
"The advanced, highly efficient centrifuges that Iran has introduced will probably have to be destroyed rather than just taken offline, but Iran is resisting doing that," Mark Fitzpatrick, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said earlier this month.
What about Iran’s presidential elections?
It is not expected that any sort of deal will be reached by Friday, when voters in Iran will elect their next president.
Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani was a key figure in the formation of the initial 2015 accord.
The current frontrunner to succeed him is the cleric Ebrahim Raisi. While he has been deeply critical of the US, it is argued his potential election may have no major impact on the talks in Vienna.
That's because Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has shown interest in a return to the deal.
"He is the leader in practice, as well as in title," said Kenneth Katzman, an Iran expert at the Congressional Research Service in Washington.
"He is Commander in Chief of the armed forces. He is not shy about stating his positions.
"He has clearly indicated that if the US comes back into compliance with the nuclear deal, Iran would do so. I think we have to take him at his word," he said last week.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
Company%20Profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
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Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
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Sunday's games
All times UAE:
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm
Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm
Everton v Watford, 8.30pm
Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
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JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
