Thursday, June 29, 2017

The 13 demands on Qatar from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt | The National

KUWAIT CITY // Acting as a mediator, Kuwait has presented Qatar a list of demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt, the four Arab nations that cut ties with Qatar in early June.
Here’s the demands:
1. Curb diplomatic ties with Iran and close its diplomatic missions there. Expel members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard from Qatar and cut off any joint military cooperation with Iran. Only trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US and international sanctions will be permitted.
    2. Sever all ties to terrorist organizations, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIL, Al Qaeda, and Hizbollah. Formally declare those entities as terrorist groups.
    3. Shut down Al Jazeera and its affiliate stations.
    4. Shut down news outlets that Qatar funds, directly and indirectly, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al Araby Al Jadeed and Middle East Eye.
    5. Immediately terminate the Turkish military presence currently in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside Qatar.
      6. Stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organisations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, the US and other countries.
      7. Hand over terrorist figures and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain to their countries of origin. Freeze their assets, and provide any desired information about their residency, movements and finances.
        8. End interference in sovereign countries’ internal affairs. Stop granting citizenship to wanted nationals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries’ laws.
        9. Stop all contacts with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Hand over all files detailing Qatar’s prior contacts with and support for those opposition groups.
          10. Pay reparations and compensation for loss of life and other, financial losses caused by Qatar’s policies in recent years. The sum will be determined in coordination with Qatar.
          11. Align itself with the other Gulf and Arab countries militarily, politically, socially and economically, as well as on economic matters, in line with an agreement reached with Saudi Arabia in 2014.
          12. Agree to all the demands within 10 days of it being submitted to Qatar, or the list becomes invalid. The document doesn’t specify what the countries will do if Qatar refuses to comply.
            13. Consent to monthly audits for the first year after agreeing to the demands, then once per quarter during the second year. For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance.
            * Associated Press
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              Friday, June 23, 2017

              Ethiopia, Russia sign MoU on peaceful applications of atomic energy - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan



              IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano met with Afework Kassu Gizaw, State Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology of Ethiopia, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria on 20 December 2016. (IAEA Photo)

              June 22, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) - A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on peaceful uses of atomic energy Thursday was signed by the Ethiopian State Minister of Science and Technology, Afework Kassu Gizaw, and Russian Deputy Director General of ROSATOM Nikolai Spasskiy.

              The first deal of its kind between the two countries was signed within the framework of IX International Forum ATOMEXPO 2017

              “It envisages a bilateral cooperation in a wide range of spheres, i.e. development of nuclear infrastructure in Ethiopia, programs for raising public awareness of nuclear technologies and its application, radioisotopes and radio technologies’ application in industrial, medical, agricultural sectors,” said Ethiopian Foreign Ministry.

              The agreement embraces collaboration in nuclear, radiological and physical security, fundamental and applied researches, HR training, nuclear research centres based on multi-functional research reactors.

              The joint working group of Russia and Ethiopia will define the scope of work for implementation of the initiatives mentioned above.

              The parties agreed to cooperate in the feasibility of implementing common projects referred to the development of collaboration in peaceful uses of atomic energy was agreed to be developed under the Memorandum.
              Among others, atomic energy could be used in the areas of power generation, healthcare, agriculture, food preservation, industry and research.

              The State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM is a Russian publicly-owned corporation, which is the leader in the global nuclear technologies market.

              It brings together nuclear power and power engineering assets, as well as NPP design and construction. ROSATOM is the largest electricity generating company in Russia, producing 196.37 billion kWh of electricity in 2016 (or 18.3% of the country’s total generation of electricity).

              ROSATOM holds first place for the largest portfolio of foreign construction projects (34 NPPs in 12 countries). ROSATOM produces annually approximately 3,000 tonnes of uranium domestically, and some 5,000 tonnes in other countries.

              ROSATOM with its 1/3 world market share takes the lead in global uranium enrichment services and covers 17.7% of the global nuclear fuel market

              ROSATOM brings together over 300 enterprises and organisations, including the world’s only nuclear icebreaker fleet. ROSATOM is tasked with implementing the uniform state policy on the uses of atomic energy as well as fulfilling the Russian Federation’s international obligations on the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

              (ST)