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Government

Two detainees released from Afghanistan – U.S. State Dept

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Reuters UK

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An American and a U.S. resident have been freed from detention in Afghanistan, the State Department said on Friday, and one of the pair identified themselves as brothers who were engaged in humanitarian work when the Taliban arrested them. Saifullah Rauf, the U.S. citizen and U.S. Navy reservist, and Anees Khalil, a U.S. green card-holder, were “unjustly detained” and are in Qatar awaiting travel to the United States, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. Their release came against a backdrop of icy U.S.-Taliban relations, fueled by a ban on Afghan gi…

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Market

Analysis-In Russia-Europe gas standoff, both sides lose

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Reuters UK

By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) – Europe and Russia will both lose heavily if President Vladimir Putin follows through on his threat to cut gas supplies to countries he judges “unfriendly” unless they pay in roubles. Even at the height of the Cold War, Moscow never cut gas to Europe, but on Thursday, Putin signed a decree ordering foreign buyers to pay in roubles instead of euros from April 1 or face going without Russian supplies. European capitals rejected the ultimatum and on Friday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would not affect settlements until later this month. Although the t…

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Information

EU regulators close antitrust investigation into Qatar Energy

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Reuters UK

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators on Friday scrapped their investigation into Qatar Energy after evidence they collected did not confirm their initial concerns. “Today’s closure decision is based on a thorough analysis of all relevant evidence, including information received from Qatar Energy and the European gas importers,” the European Commission said in a statement. Reuters exclusively reported last month that the state-owned company was no longer in the EU crosshairs. The EU investigation opened in 2018 focused on Qatar Energy’s supply agreements with European gas importers and …

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Athletic

Social Media Reacts to USMNT Qualifying for World Cup

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Sports Illustrated

By Zach Koons Fans and athletes alike were thrilled to see the United States men’s national team qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The United States men’s national team is headed back to the World Cup for the first time since 2014. After disappointment struck four years ago, the USMNT exorcised its demons from 2018 and qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Wednesday evening despite a 2–0 defeat against Costa Rica. The USMNT came into Wednesday’s match nearly assured of a spot in this year’s tournament field after trouncing Panama 5–1 on Sunday. Although the result against Panama solidifie…

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General

DELICATE DECISION

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Energy and Power

The impact of the Ukraine war is spilling over into the world. Discussion on fuel supply shortage and its price volatility in the global market supersedes all talks now. After 14 years, the price of crude oil reached US$140.00/barrel and then for various hectic parleys settled around US$110. LNG spot price in Asian market reached US$ 57.00/MMBTU in early March 2022. The LNG price is now shooting up in Europe. The latest recorded price was US$ 85.00/MMBTU. European countries are anxious about Russian gas supply. Russia is still complying with nominated gas supply. Europe has not imposed a ban o…

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Athletic

Messi, Ronaldo and the Potential Last Dance for Transcendent Stars at the World Cup

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Sports Illustrated

By Andrew Gastelum With Argentina and Portugal both qualifying for the World Cup, two legends will get another crack at the sport’s biggest prize—perhaps, and most likely, for the last time. One of the shared experiences that binds fans from across all sports is the sobering realization they must face when it comes to their age and that of their favorite players. Often occurring at the same time, new stars of the game may look like mere children while the same demigods who drew you to the sport in the first place fade. Essentially, the experience of bearing witness to superstar athletes become…

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Market

Barclays shares fall after top investor offloads stake

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Reuters UK

By Iain Withers LONDON (Reuters) -Shares in Barclays fell as much as 6% in early trading on Tuesday, after one of its top investors offloaded stock roughly equivalent to a 3% stake in the lender. An unnamed investor launched a sales process for 575 million shares on Monday evening, facilitated by Goldman Sachs. The offering was priced at 150 pence on Tuesday, towards the top of the target range of 147.50 pence to 150.75 pence, but this still represented a discount greater than 6% to Monday’s closing price, heaping pressure on the share price. Barclays shares opened down around 6%, near the sal…

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Government

Former champ Lahm: football World Cup should never have gone to Qatar

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DPA

Germany’s former World Cup winning captain Philipp Lahm has said the award of this year’s edition to Qatar was a mistake and called for a modification of the bidding process. “In principle, I think it is indispensable that in future, when the World Cup is awarded, watertight criteria are laid down and then you stick to them,” the 38-year-old told the German publishing group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Monday. “The selection procedure must be transparent.” And Lahm was highly critical when asked if Qatar should have been awarded the 2022 tournament back in 2010. “No, it shouldn’t have,” i…

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General

Russian forces take Chernobyl workers’ town; fighting in centre of Mariupol

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Reuters UK

By Gleb Garanich and Natalia Zinets MARIUPOL/LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Russian forces have taken control of a town where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live, the governor of Kyiv region said on Saturday, and fighting was reported in the streets of the besieged southern port of Mariupol. After more than four weeks of conflict, Russia has failed to seize any major Ukrainian city and on Friday Moscow signalled it was scaling back its military ambitions to focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east. However, intense fighting was reported in a number of pla…

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Market

Ukrainian president calls on energy producers to hike output

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Reuters UK

DOHA (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on energy producing countries on Saturday to increase output so that Russia cannot use its oil and gas wealth to “blackmail” other nations. Addressing the Doha Forum international conference via video link, Zelenskiy said countries such as Qatar could make a contribution to the stabilisation of Europe. “They can do much to restore justice. The future of Europe depends on your effort. I ask you to increase the output of energy to ensure that everyone in Russia understands that no country can use energy as a weapon and blackmail the…

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