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Europe can’t live without Russian gas. Can this tiny Middle East country help? | CNN Business

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Europe can’t live without Russian gas. Can this tiny Middle East country help? | CNN Business


Abu Dhabi, UAE
CNN
 — 

“It’s all the time good to be needed,” Qatar’s vitality minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi mentioned in jest throughout an unique interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson on Thursday. “Everybody in Europe is speaking to us,” he mentioned.

Qatar, one of many world’s prime suppliers of liquefied pure gasoline (LNG), has been thrust into the limelight as European states rush to search out alternate options to the Russian gasoline that has powered their economies for many years, as Moscow presses on with its brutal struggle in Ukraine.

However Kaabi warned the transition will likely be troublesome. Changing Russian gasoline provide to Europe is “not virtually potential” simply but, he mentioned. Qatar’s present gasoline capability received’t fulfill European demand, he mentioned – but it surely may sooner or later.

The European Union is dependent upon Russia for about 40% of its pure gasoline. This week, German financial system minister Robert Habeck left the Qatari capital Doha with an understanding to have Qatar provide it with gasoline. Germany at the moment has no terminals to obtain direct shipments of LNG from Qatar, but it surely plans to construct two.

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US President Joe Biden and his counterpart on the European Fee, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday introduced a joint activity drive aimed toward discovering various provides of lLNG and decreasing total demand for pure gasoline transferring ahead.

“Europe has been a vacation spot for us, and is a vital marketplace for us,” the Qatari minister, who can be president and CEO of QatarEnergy, mentioned. “And we will likely be supplying Europe.”

Qatar has invested $28 billion into increasing its large North Discipline and expects gasoline capability to rise by greater than 60% in 4 years, he mentioned. After that, round half of its capability is anticipated to go to Europe. “Our plan is we need to be 50% east of Suez, 50%, west of Suez,” he mentioned, referring to the Egyptian waterway. Round 80% of Qatar’s gasoline at the moment goes to Asian patrons, lots of whom have signed long run contracts that don’t enable a diversion of provides to different patrons.

Right here’s what you might want to know in regards to the position Qatar can play in Europe’s efforts to wean itself off Russian gasoline:

What can Qatar do to assist cut back Europe’s dependence on Russian gasoline now?

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Russia has the world’s greatest reserves of pure gasoline, virtually double these of Qatar, and its gasoline provides account for 40% of the European Union’s utilization. Analysts mentioned it’s nearly unimaginable to switch Russian gasoline in the intervening time.

“There may be principally no spare LNG on the earth market,” mentioned Robin Mills, CEO of Dubai-based vitality consulting agency Qamar Vitality. Qatar’s personal divertible LNG is proscribed “and bidding for that may drive up costs.”

The one means Qatar can exchange Russian gasoline imports to Europe is by diverting cargoes from different prospects who’ve signed long run contracts, comparable to these in Asia, one thing it hasn’t been prepared to do. By doing so it might incur compensation claims from these patrons.

Contractually divertible gasoline provides the vendor the pliability to redirect shipments to the very best worth market in response to altering market circumstances.

As Europe tries to cut back its reliance on hydrocarbons, rising economies in Asia, like China and India, could also be extra engaging locations for Qatari gasoline, mentioned Yousef Alshammari, a senior analysis fellow at London’s Imperial Faculty.

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The US may additionally emerge as a gasoline provider to Europe.

The White Home mentioned Friday that the US will work towards supplying Europe with at the least 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied pure gasoline in 2022 in partnership with different nations.

“It’s an enormous alternative for the US,” mentioned Kaabi. “I feel, positively the US goes to be, , one of many largest suppliers, if not the biggest provider [to Europe] sooner or later,” he mentioned.

Would changing Russian gasoline with Qatari vitality face logistical points?

Russia’s gasoline provide to Europe is delivered by way of pipelines. There aren’t any gasoline pipelines from Qatar to Europe so the Gulf nation’s vitality must shipped to Europe in liquefied kind.

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“Liquefaction of pure gasoline is vitality intensive, which emits carbon and that offsets local weather advantages” of utilizing pure gasoline, mentioned Alshammari. “It will likely be exhausting for European policymakers as they set bold local weather agendas and net-zero targets.”

European nations can even want infrastructure to help these shipments, which may take time to construct, mentioned Karen Younger, senior fellow at Washington’s Center East Institute. Shifting to Qatari gasoline could also be simpler for international locations that have already got that infastructure, like the UK and Spain, she mentioned.

“The issue is that Europe is leaping into an LNG market that can’t accommodate its quick want for immense volumes,” mentioned Nikos Tsafos of the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research in Washington DC. “In fact, Qatar may ship extra gasoline to Europe, but it surely hasn’t but regardless of extremely excessive costs in Europe, which means that its flows to Asia is perhaps stickier than we predict.”

What would this imply for Qatar-Russia relations?

Qatar is eager to painting its gasoline offers as industrial transactions, and Al Kaabi mentioned he isn’t in favor of blending politics with vitality.

“This can be a industrial settlement between industrial entities,” Al Kaabi informed Becky Anderson, referring to potential partnering with German vitality firms to produce gasoline. “From a enterprise perspective, we don’t select sides, we act as a enterprise and we do our enterprise,” he mentioned.

Qatar would need to current it as a market-based transfer, “not a strategic alignment in opposition to Russia,” mentioned Mills.

Blinken to satisfy Abu Dhabi crown prince in Center East tour

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in Morocco in a tour of the Center East that begins Saturday.The 2 will talk about a spread of points together with Iran, Yemen, Syria, international vitality markets and Ethiopia.

  • Background: Blinken’s assembly will likely be a part of a go to by means of the area that features stops in Israel, Ramallah, Morocco, and Algeria. The journey is anticipated to be closely dominated by dialogue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
  • Why it issues: US-UAE relations have been strained of late amid a reluctance by President Biden’s oil producing Center East allies to extend crude manufacturing to assist dive down oil costs. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have additionally been calling on extra help from the US to assist beat back assaults from Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi rebels.

Iran’s international minister says Riyadh sending blended messages on normalization

Iran has obtained contradictory statements from Saudi Arabia on the renewal of bilateral relations, the international minister Hossein Amirabdollahian mentioned throughout a information convention in Beirut on Thursday.

  • Background: Iraq, which is brokering talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad, had mentioned the fifth spherical of talks would begin on March 16. However Iran unilaterally suspended talks after Saudi Arabia earlier this month executed 81 males, a few of whom had been Shiites. Iran is majority Shiite.
  • Why it issues: Saudi Arabia and Iran, that are locked in proxy conflicts all through the Center East, began direct talks final yr to attempt to include tensions however the talks haven’t progressed a lot. Any progress may considerably assist de-escalate tensions within the area.

Dubai ruler’s ex-wife will get custody of youngsters

A senior British choose awarded Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, the ex-wife of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, sole accountability for taking care of their youngsters. The choose concluded that the sheikh inflicted “exorbitant” home abuse in opposition to his ex-wife. A press release issued on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed mentioned he liked his youngsters and would all the time present for them. “He maintains his denial of the allegations made in these contentious proceedings,” it mentioned.

  • Background: The dispute between the royals started shortly after Haya fled to Britain in April 2019, following the invention she was having an affair with a bodyguard. In December, Sheikh Mohammed was ordered to pay Princess Haya greater than $728 million in one of many largest divorce settlements ever handed down by a UK court docket.
  • Why it issues: The ruling caps the top of an costly three-year custody battle on the Excessive Court docket in London between Sheikh Mohammed and his former spouse. The rulings seem to not have affected relations between Britain, Dubai and the UAE.


Regiona
l: #Saudi_League

Saudi Arabia certified for the FIFA World Cup for the primary time since 2006, that means the Gulf state will compete at its sixth finals. Saudi Arabia drew 1-1 with China within the crew’s penultimate group recreation on Thursday however had already certified for the 2022 match when Japan beat Australia in Sydney earlier that day. Saudi Arabia and Japan have now booked their spots for the World Cup as automated qualifiers.

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Regional: #Psychological_support

Arab social media customers on Friday known as for psychological help and psychological wellbeing, with many posting quotes or photos aimed toward boosting morale. In a 2021 psychological well being report that sampled responses from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen, knowledge confirmed that near 40% of respondents aged 18-24 had been both “distressed or struggling.” Psychological well being consciousness is slowly gaining traction within the Center East, with a number of on-line platforms and hotlines now providing assist to these in want.

Oman: #Buy_from_Omani_shops

Omani social media customers are calling on residents to buy native merchandise and help the nation’s many nook outlets forward of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the place conventional sweets and fruits are widespread delicacies are widespread amongst worshipers. Many posted pictures of Oman’s colourful markets, saying it’s a nationwide responsibility to help native merchants. The inflow of main grocery store chains within the nation has seen footfall in smaller outlets fall over the previous decade.

By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN

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Events to look out for on Tuesday include speeches from the Federal Reserve governor, Home Depot earnings and Spotify results:

Fedspeak: Less than a week on from the central bank’s second rate cut of the year, Federal Reserve governor Chris Waller will deliver the keynote at the Clearing House Annual Conference in New York. Separately, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Tom Barkin is scheduled to speak at a summit in Baltimore. At Carnegie Mellon University, Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker will deliver a lecture on “Fintech, AI & the Changing Financial Landscape”.

Home Depot: Investors will be eager to find out whether the Federal Reserve’s back-to-back rate cuts, which will have an effect on mortgage rates, have made a difference to consumer appetite for home improvement projects. Home Depot, which last quarter cut its sales outlook on weakened consumer spending, is projected to report a 4.3 per cent increase in third-quarter revenues, to $39.3bn.

Other earnings: Tyson Foods will announce fourth-quarter earnings before the opening bell. Flutter and Spotify will post quarterly results after market close.

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President-elect Donald Trump’s newly picked “border czar” Tom Homan addressed his forthcoming deportation plan and state leaders who have objected to sweeping immigration policies.

During an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Homan issued a warning to so-called “sanctuary” states and cities to “get the hell out of the way” of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.

File – In this Dec. 5, 2017 file photo, then Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Thomas Homan at a news conference in Washington.

“I saw today numerous governors from sanctuary states saying they’re going to step in the way. They better get the hell out of the way. Either you help us or get the hell out of the way, because ICE is going to do their job,” he warned, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he formerly served as director.

“I’ll double the workforce in that sanctuary city. We’re going to do our job despite the politics. We’re doing it. So get used to it, because we’re coming,” Homan said.

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When asked if he plans to deport American citizens, Homan said, “President Trump has made it clear we will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats first, and that’s how the focus would be.”

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Germany’s Olaf Scholz defies odds as party swings behind re-election bid

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Germany’s Olaf Scholz defies odds as party swings behind re-election bid

Olaf Scholz has just pulled the plug on his coalition and lost his parliamentary majority, with polls suggesting his party will be defeated in Germany’s upcoming snap election. Yet he still looks likely to be crowned as his party’s candidate for chancellor.

The government crisis that culminated last week with Scholz calling time on the three-party alliance plunged Germany into a new phase of turbulence. But Social Democrat leaders have rallied round him, steadying his status in a party that long nurtured doubts about their chancellor.

Some Social Democrats would still prefer to see him replaced on the ballot by Boris Pistorius, the popular defence minister. But they are the minority. Most expect an SPD congress to be held in the coming weeks to anoint Scholz as the party’s Kanzlerkandidat — regardless of his approval ratings.

The support for Scholz was on full display at an emotional meeting of the SPD parliamentary group last week when he was given a standing ovation by MPs.

Jens Spahn, an MP for the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and a former health minister, described the scene as “surreal”.

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“Here is Olaf Scholz, a failed chancellor, his coalition has just broken down, he’s sacked his finance minister and his SPD thinks it’s a cause for celebration?” Spahn told the Financial Times.

The incredulity in opposition ranks increased after a television interview with Scholz on Sunday evening in which he refused to admit mistakes and, in the view of some commentators, came across as cold and unsympathetic.

Some have openly questioned why the party still backs Scholz. TV presenter Micky Beisenherz compared him to Bruce Willis in the film The Sixth Sense. He “goes to work every day even though he’s long dead,” he wrote on X. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

Just months ago, Scholz’s position was precarious. Some in the SPD blamed him for the party’s slump in support, with polls putting it at between 14 and 16 per cent over the past year, way behind the CDU on 30 to 32 per cent.

Many Social Democrats wonder whether they would be better off fielding defence minister Boris Pistorius © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

But Scholz’s standing among some of his party colleagues has paradoxically improved since the government’s collapse. They have hailed him as a hero who finally lanced the boil, ending a dysfunctional government riven by ideological conflict.

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For them, the sacking of finance minister Christian Lindner, leader of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), was the inevitable climax of months of provocation.

“There is relief that we will no longer be subjected to endless humiliation by Lindner and the FDP,” said one SPD MP.

Scholz said he fired Lindner because he refused to suspend the “debt brake” — Germany’s constitutional cap on new borrowing — to allow for more funding for Ukraine. The issue has taken on greater urgency since US voters re-elected Donald Trump, who has questioned western aid to Kyiv.

The dismissal played well in the SPD’s grassroots. “It was a kind of liberation — long overdue,” said Dirk Smaczny, head of the party’s local branch in Rheinhausen-Mitte, near the Ruhr industrial city of Duisburg. “We’ve been waiting a long time for Scholz to show strong leadership, and he finally delivered it.”

“He could have said ‘let’s just muddle through another year’,” said Johannes Fechner, a senior SPD MP. “The fact he accepted that the country needed a new government, even though it might mean he’ll lose his job — the SPD rank-and-file really respect him for that.”

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Yet Scholz remains controversial in the party. Closely associated with the labour market reforms of chancellor Gerhard Schröder in the early 2000s that alienated working-class voters, he lost his bid for the party leadership in 2019 in a humiliating defeat.

He staged a remarkable comeback two years later, running for chancellor in 2021 and winning the election. He then brought together the SPD, FDP and Greens in a coalition that was unique in Germany’s history.

But his record has been clouded by countless internal rows over economic policy that he tried — and ultimately failed — to mediate. Scholz has seen the worst approval ratings of any postwar chancellor.

On Monday two SPD politicians from the chancellor’s home town of Hamburg, Markus Schreiber and Tim Stoberock, said he should make way for the defence minister.

“Our chances of winning the election or at least performing a lot better are much greater with [Pistorius], who has long been Germany’s most popular politician,” they wrote on Instagram.

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Scholz spent too much time cobbling together compromises “in technocratic language” which were then rejected by his coalition partners. “We believe the negative image the people in this country have of him can no longer be repaired,” they wrote.

Privately, some SPD lawmakers agreed that Pistorius might be a better bet. “But politics doesn’t work like that,” said one. “Scholz’s huge strategic advantage is that he holds the reins of power. He’s the one who took this step. He’s the one who announced early elections. That gives him a certain strength.”

Scholz has shown no inclination to stand aside — nor does he intend to put his candidacy to a party vote.

His spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit on Monday defended the absence of a formal selection process, saying there was no need — and also no time.

“First of all, he’s the natural candidate because he’s chancellor,” he told reporters. “Secondly, look at the clock . . . We’re going to have snap elections quite soon, if he loses the confidence vote. We all need to focus on that right now, and you can understand why.”

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Observers said that approach made sense, especially in light of what just happened in the US.

Wolfgang Schroeder, a political scientist at Kassel University, noted that the Democrats had hoped to improve their fortunes by substituting Joe Biden for Kamala Harris just months before the election.

“It injected some momentum, but it didn’t turn out to be long-lasting or effective,” he said. “For that reason I would advise the SPD against carrying out any grand experiments right now.”

MPs from the opposition CDU say that suits them, predicting that Scholz will be soundly beaten by their leader Friedrich Merz. “Olaf Scholz is the face of failure,” said CDU’s Spahn. “As such, we couldn’t wish for a better opponent.”

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