From the Editors: UAE’s historic milestone with start of Barakah Nuclear Power Plant

UAE’s HISTORIC MILESTONE: With the start of commercial operations at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE has become the first Arab nation to produce nuclear energy. It is indeed an historic milestone that significantly enhances the sustainability of the country’s power sector. The nuclear plant will now provide constant and reliable electricity round the clock. It was a great moment of pride for our leaders, engineers and scientists when the first megawatt from the first Arab nuclear plant entered the national power grid. Barakah, which means ‘blessing’ in Arabic, is harbinger of more prosperity and sustainable development with focus on protecting the environment. [COMMENT BY: Ashfaq Ahmed, Senior Assistant Editor]

IRAN NEEDS TO COME CLEAN ON NUCLEAR ISSUE DURING TALKS: Talks are underway between Iran and America to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal after then President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement. The lack of trust is plain to see - the talks are not even face-to-face. But the bigger issue is that Iran has been stockpiling more uranium than is permitted under the deal. Its stockpile of enriched uranium has almost tripled. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in February that Tehran could have stored nuclear materials at three undeclared sites - and the government now even refuses to answer questions about these sites. For talks to succeed, Iran needs to come clean first. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]

NEW STUDY RAISES ANXIETY ON COVID-19: Studies on COVID-19 continue to throw up new results every other day. The fact that those who suffer from COVID-19 may lose their sense of taste and smell is well-known. Now comes a new study saying that one in three people who overcome the coronavirus disease suffer from a neurological or psychiatric diagnosis six months on. The study said that COVID-19 patients were more likely to develop brain conditions, including anxiety and mood disorders, than those suffering from other respiratory tract infections. Although further research is needed on the subject, this is not good news on the pandemic front. [COMMENT BY: Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor]

LIVERPOOL WILL HAVE A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB: A 3-1 loss in the first leg of their Champions League quarter finals may be tough for Liverpool to overturn against Real Madrid, but manager Juergen Klopp is not willing to give up on their chances. Vinicius Jr. and Marco Asensio put Real ahead before the break at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium and while Mohamed Salah grabbed an away goal in the second half, some poor defending allowed the Spanish side to net a third later. “We have to go for everything,’’ Klopp told media about their second leg at Anfield – where the Reds have a history of achieving the impossible.[COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

WHAT’S IN A TITLE YOU SAY? ASK MRS.SRI LANKA: The debacle that unfolded on stage at the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant this week will go down in history as one of the most shocking incidents to occur at such an event, overshadowing even Steve Harvey’s faux pas where he called out the wrong name at 2015’s Miss Universe competition. The video showing Caroline Jurie, the outgoing Mrs. World, attempting to snatch the crown from Pushpika De Silva’s head after declaring she had been disqualified for being a divorcee has now gone viral. While Jurie’s statement has been proven false by De Silva herself and the Mrs. World organisation, it remains to be seen what prompted such a behaviour on stage because surely, there could have been a better way to raise doubts without turning it into a fiasco for the world to see. [COMMENT BY: Bindu Rai, Entertainment Editor]