Omani foreign minister meets Pompeo to discuss Yemen

The conflict in Yemen emerged as the main focus of discussion between Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi and United States officials during his week-long visit to Washington.

Mr Alawi met Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday after talks with US Defence Secretary James Mattis, members of Congress including House Speaker Paul Ryan, and national security and treasury officials.

The State Department said that Mr Pompeo and Mr Alawi discussed Yemen, where they "affirmed the importance of continued support for the efforts of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and emphasised the need for all parties to show restraint to avoid further escalation of hostilities."

"They discussed the ways in which US and Gulf interests coincide and agreed upon the importance of promoting regional stability and co-operation" the statement read.

Yemen's three-year-old civil war and peace efforts led by Mr Griffiths have been a major topic of discussion. The UN special envoy has been leading shuttle diplomacy between Muscat, Sanaa and Washington to resolve a stand off over the rebel-held port city of Hodeidah.

Gerald Feierstein, a former US ambassador and director for Gulf Affairs at the Middle East Institute, said Mr Alawi’s discussions have focused on "Yemen and the effort to resume co-operation within the Gulf Co-operation Council".

"Oman has historically played a mediating role on both issues and their continued engagement with the US can help advance talks now," Mr Feierstein told The National.

The US-Iran stand off was also expected to be on the table, before the resumption of US banking sanctions next week. Muscat, after boosting trade ties with Tehran in the past three years, is now trying to readjust its investment portfolio to avoid backlash from US sanctions.

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Comment: Maximal pressure, minimum impact: how US-Iranian war of words is unlikely to be matched with action

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“The Omanis are not happy about the US decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal but they’re unlikely to openly challenge the resumption of sanctions,” said Mr Feierstein. Oman has played a back-channel role between Washington and Tehran in the past, but there is no indication of such an effort now as the US focus remains on increasing pressure on the Iranian government.

Instead, Yemen is emerging as the focal point of the visit. Following their meeting at the Pentagon, spokeswoman Dana White said Mr Alawi and Mr Mattis “discussed a broad range of regional security issues, including the conflict in Yemen, freedom of navigation and multilateral counter-terrorism co-operation”.

Fatima Al Asrar, a senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation who follows Yemen, told The National that "while Oman is playing a neutral part in the [Yemen] conflict, it should do more to ensure that it's able to secure its borders from smuggling activity along the Omani-Yemeni border, which benefits the Houthi militia."

Mr Mattis had raised the issue during his visit to Oman in March.

Ms Al Asrar said that increasing border security and anti-smuggling efforts would grant Oman “a far greater role in Yemen's peace process”.

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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.

Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.

A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.

Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.

A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.

On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.

The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.

Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.

The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.

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Investments: Grants/private funding

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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