What can be done about food waste?

ISTANBUL: Iranian and European diplomats are set to meet in Istanbul Friday to embark on the latest drive to unpick the deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Representatives from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3 nations, will gather at the Iranian consulate building for the first talks since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, which involved US bombers striking nuclear-related facilities.

The talks are centered on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program.

The return of sanctions, known as a “snapback” mechanism, “remains on the table,” according to a European diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

“A possible delay in triggering snapback has been floated to the Iranians on the condition that there is credible diplomatic engagement by Iran, that they resume full cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and that they address concerns about their highly-enriched uranium stockpile,” the diplomat said.

European leaders have said sanctions will resume by the end of August if there is no progress on containing Iran’s nuclear program.

Tehran, meanwhile, has said the US, which withdrew from the 2015 deal during President Donald Trump ‘s first term, needs to rebuild faith in its role in negotiations.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran’s engagement was dependent on “several key principles” that included “rebuilding Iran’s trust – as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States.”

In a social media post Thursday, he also said the talks shouldn’t be used “as a platform for hidden agendas such as military action.” Gharibabadi insisted that Iran’s right to enrich uranium “in line with its legitimate needs” be respected and sanctions removed.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits it to refrain from developing nuclear weapons, if sanctions return.

Friday’s talks will be held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi. A similar meeting was held in Istanbul in May. The identity of the E3 representatives were not immediately clear but the European Union’s deputy foreign policy commissioner is expected to attend.

The UK, France and Germany were signatories to the 2015 deal, alongside the US, Russia and China. When the US withdrew in 2018, Trump insisted the agreement wasn’t tough enough. Under the original deal, neither Russia nor China can veto reimposed sanctions.

Since the Israeli and US strikes on Iran, which saw American B-52 bombers hit three nuclear sites, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the E3 of hypocrisy, saying they failed to uphold their obligations while supporting Israel’s attacks.

Against the backdrop of the conflict, which saw Iran respond with missile attacks on Israel and a strike on a US base in Qatar, the road ahead remains uncertain

While European officials have said they want to avoid further conflict and are open to a negotiated solution, they have warned that time is running out.

Tehran maintains it is open to diplomacy, though it recently suspended cooperation with the IAEA.

A central concern for Western powers was highlighted when the IAEA reported in May that Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent – just below weapons-grade level – had grown to over 400 kilograms (882 pounds).

In an interview with Al Jazeera that aired Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is prepared for another war and reiterated that its nuclear program will continue within the framework of international law while adding the country had no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.

A spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Thursday the country’s nuclear industry would “grow back and thrive again” after the recent attacks by Israel and the US

MANILA: A tropical storm was blowing across the Philippines’ mountainous north Friday, worsening more than a week of bad weather that has caused at least 25 deaths and prompted evacuations in villages affected by flooding and landslides.

The storm was Typhoon Co-may when it made landfall Thursday night in the town of Agno in Pangasinan province with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 165 kph (102 mph). It was weakening as it advanced northeastward and had sustained winds of 100 kph (62 mph) Friday morning.

Co-may was intensifying seasonal monsoon rains that had swamped a large swath of the country for more than a week.

Disaster-response officials have received reports of at least 25 deaths since last weekend, mostly due to flash floods, toppled trees, landslides and electrocution. Eight other people were reported missing.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries directly caused by Co-may, locally called Emong, the fifth weather disturbance to hit the Philippines since the rainy season started in last month. More than a dozen more tropical storms were expected to batter the Southeast Asian country the rest of the year, forecasters said.

The government shut down schools in metropolitan Manila for the third day Friday and suspended classes in 35 provinces in the main northern region of Luzon. At least 77 towns and cities, mostly in Luzon, have declared a state of calamity, a designation that speeds emergency funds and freezes the prices of commodities, including rice.

The days of stormy weather have forced 278,000 people to leave their homes for safety in emergency shelters or relatives’ homes. Nearly 3,000 houses have been damaged, the government’s disaster response agency said.

Travel by sea and air has been restricted in northern provinces being pounded or in the typhoon’s path.

Thousands of army forces, police, coast guard personnel, firefighters and civilian volunteers have been deployed to help rescue people in villages swamped in floodwaters or isolated due to roads blocked by landslides, fallen trees and boulders.

After returning from his White House meeting with US President Donald Trump, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited emergency shelters Thursday in Rizal province to help distribute food packs to displaced residents. He later convened an emergency meeting with disaster-response officials, where he underscored the need for the government and the people to adapt to and brace for climate change and the larger number of and more unpredictable natural calamities it’s setting off.

“Everything has changed,” Marcos said. “Let’s not say, `The storm may come, what will happen?’ because the storm will really come.”

The United States, Manila’s longtime treaty ally, has pledged to provide military aircraft to airlift food and other aid to remote island provinces and the countryside if the calamity worsens, the Philippines military said.

The Philippines, which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Seas, is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. It’s often hit by earthquakes and has about two dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.