By AFP More by this AuthorDubaiThe oil-rich United Arab Emirates on Saturday announced the startup of its Barakah nuclear power plant, scoring another first for the Arab world. "UAE first nuclear reactor at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant has achieved first criticality and successfully started up," tweeted Hamad Alkaabi, the country's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Barakah plant, on the coast facing Iran across the Gulf, stands just 50 kilometres from the Saudi border and closer to Qatar's capital Doha than to Abu Dhabi. Qatar, the target of a boycott by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others since June 2017, last year said the Barakah plant poses a "flagrant threat to regional peace and environment". The UAE has repeatedly said its nuclear ambitions are for "peaceful purposes" and moved to dispel any concerns over safety.

Source: Daily Nation August 01, 2020 11:26 UTC