Senegal booked their place Tuesday in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, eliminating Egypt in the African qualifiers on penalties.

The Lions of Teranga scored the only goal in regular time when forward Boulaye Dia put the ball into the net in the third minute at Stade Me Abdoulaye Wade near Dakar.

The match went to extra time because Egypt beat Senegal 1-0 in the first match of Round Three in the 2022 Confederation of African Football (CAF) World Cup qualifiers last week.

Neither team managed to find a goal after 30 minutes and the match headed to penalties.

Senegal won 3-1 on penalties to reach Qatar 2022.

Liverpool's Egyptian star Mohamed Salah will not be in Qatar but his Senegalese teammate Sadio Mane will play for his nation.

Salah was among the Egyptian players who missed penalty kicks in the shootout.

Mane scored the decisive penalty to send Senegal to the World Cup.

Senegal secured a World Cup berth for the second time in a row.

The Lions of Teranga previously played in the 2002 and 2018 World Cup tournaments.

Meanwhile, during the shootout, several Senegalese fans aimed laser pointers into the eyes of Egypt players to distract them.

Both sides faced each other in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final on Feb. 6 with Senegal beating Egypt 4-2 on penalties to be crowned winners.

Earlier Tuesday, Ghana reached Qatar 2022 despite drawing with Nigeria 1-1.

Ghana reached the World Cup thanks to an away goal advantage.

The Black Stars appeared in three World Cup tournaments in 2006, 2010 and 2014.

The 2022 World Cup will be held Nov. 21 - Dec. 18 with 32 teams in eight groups./agencies

A Bruno Fernandes double gave Portugal a 2-0 win against North Macedonia in the European Qualifiers playoff final Tuesday to send them to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Portugal scored the opener in the 32nd minute at Porto's Dragao Stadium after Manchester United star Fernandes intercepted the ball in midfield.

The Portuguese midfielder made a one-two with his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and then Fernandes entered the area to fire a shot that beat North Macedonian goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Home team Portugal led the first half 1-0.

Fernando Santos' men made it 2-0 in the 65th minute as Fernandes scored another goal from short distance on a counter attack.

The Portuguese national team’s 2-0 win earned them a spot at Qatar 2022. Meanwhile, North Macedonia’s fairy tale ended in the playoff final.

North Macedonia shocked UEFA EURO 2020 champions Italy 1-0 last week to face Portugal.

Portugal have been a World Cup mainstay since 2002. North Macedonia have never been in the World Cup finals.

Meanwhile, Turkiye, who were previously eliminated by Portugal 3-1, lost to Italy 3-2 in a friendly match Tuesday at MEDAS Konya Buyuksehir Stadium in the Turkish city of Konya.

Cengiz Under and Serdar Dursun were the scorers for Turkiye.

Italy's Bryan Cristante and Giacomo Raspadori (2) scored for the visitors.

The 2022 World Cup will be held Nov. 21 to Dec. 18 with 32 teams in eight groups.

- Poland qualify for Qatar 2022

Meanwhile, Poland beat Sweden 2-0 at Silesian Stadium in Chorzow to go to the 2022 World Cup.

Polish forward Robert Lewandowski scored from the penalty spot in the 50th minute.

Piotr Zielinski put the ball into Sweden’s net in the 72nd minute to cement the victory.

Poland qualified for a World Cup tournament for the second time in a row.

They previously appeared in Russia in 2018./aa

Kuwait said Tuesday that the offshore Durra/Arash gas field belongs to the Gulf nation and its neighbor Saudi Arabia. 

In a statement, Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah said both Kuwait and Riyadh have the exclusive right to invest in the gas field.

“Iran is not part of the gas field. It is a purely Kuwaiti-Saudi gas field,” he added. 

On Saturday, Iran dismissed an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to develop the offshore field as "illegal," saying it must be included as one of the parties. 

The agreement was inked last week by Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammad Al Fares and his Saudi counterpart Abdulaziz bin Salman al Saud, who announced that the project will be jointly developed by Saudi-based Aramco Gulf Operations Company and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, with both countries sharing the output equally. 

The gas field is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of gas and 84,000 barrels of condensate per day, according to reports.

The field, developed in the 1960s, contains large gas reserves, with some estimates putting it at 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 300 million barrels of oil./aa

The Spanish Cabinet approved on Tuesday a €16 billion ($17.8 billion) economic package to mitigate the impacts of the Russian war in Ukraine and tame soaring inflation. 

“The unjustified attack has brought a war to Europe’s doorstep and it is already having economic and social effects – the flow of refugees, spikes in energy and commodity prices, and the disruption of supply chains,” said Economy Minister Nadia Calvino.

The soaring fuel prices have already led to a crippling transport strike in Spain, which is losing participants but continues into its third week.

The fishing sector had also halted activity due to gas prices and delivery issues, while several major factories were forced to pause production.

To dampen the knock-on effects of high fuel prices, a key pillar of the government’s package is to reduce the price of gasoline and diesel for everyone by at least €0.20 per liter (around $0.80 per gallon).

The measure will take effect on April 1 and remain until at least June 30.

Affected companies will also be offered hundreds of millions in direct aid and a new €10 billion line of credit to cover liquidity needs. Any of the companies being assisted by the government, however, will be prohibited from firing employees due to high energy prices.

For the first time ever, Spain will also introduce a temporary limitation on rent increases. For the next three months, most landlords will not be able to hike rents by more than 2%.

Meanwhile, welfare payments will be expanded to another 600,000 people and increase by 15% to help the most vulnerable residents of society cope with inflation that has hit 30-year highs.

Boosting energy security and reducing price volatility are other key pillars of Spain’s latest recovery plan. That is why the government announced accelerating investments in green energy and energy efficiency, and changing certain regulations for green energy producers.

Last week’s European Commission meeting also gave Spain and Portugal the green light to put price caps on electricity prices. That price cap still has not been announced because Portugal is in the process of swearing in a new government this week./aa

A Turkish imam evacuated from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol called for urgent humanitarian aid to the region.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mehmet Yuce, the imam of the Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent Mosque in Mariupol, said people were suffering difficult conditions and many civilians have died in the city.

"Right now, the need for water, food, clothing, and heating must be urgently met. The weather conditions are bad, rainy, and the temperatures have dropped to minus 10-15 degrees (Celsius). They're really hungry and thirsty," Yuce said.

Arriving in Cologne, Germany with his pregnant wife Nadia and their baby after eight days on the road, he said they did not expect the war would actually break out.

"We thought that if such a thing was possible, they (Russian forces) would come from the east. At the first stage, we couldn't get out of there (Mariupol), as our city was like a peninsula on the border, with Russian troops entering from all directions at once."

The Russian forces first cut the Internet and then shut down the electricity, water, and television broadcasts in Mariupol, said Yuce.

Having arrived in Mariupol to lead prayers at the mosque just months ago, he said they were able to contact the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Directorate of Religious Affairs with the help of the Ukrainian security forces.

Yuce, who is fluent in Russian, added that after the war began, they had opened the mosque's doors to everyone fleeing the Russian attacks, sheltering up to 200 people at times.

During the assault on the city, a rocket struck the mosque's garden and damaged its doors and windows, he recounted.

"This war, fought between two brothers, is really upsetting to us. We hope it ends as soon as possible, peace comes, and people continue their lives in peace," he added.

His wife, Nadia Yuce, said they had faced difficulties due to Mariupol's proximity to the Russian border.

"The first days of the war were terrible, we just heard the sounds everywhere. We were shocked and no one could believe that it is a war," she said.

She said they were happy to be in Germany now. Most Ukrainians hope to return home one day, she added.

Around 160,000 civilians are trapped in Mariupol, the mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city said on Monday.

At least 1,151 civilians have been killed and 1,824 injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war on its neighbor on Feb. 24, according to the UN, which has said that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 3.86 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the UN refugee agency./aa

US President Joe Biden sent to Congress on Monday a nearly $6 trillion budget proposal that includes sweeping spending increases across the federal government, and tax hikes on the richest Americans.

Biden's $5.8 trillion plan to fund the government for the fiscal year that begins in October would cut the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, the White House said in a statement.

It would do so, in part, by establishing a new minimum tax of 20% on billionaires, and households with over $100 million in total income. That would apply to about 0.01% of households, the White House said.

It would also raise taxes on corporations to 28%, levels seen before sweeping corporate cuts in 2017 dropped the rate to 21%, and impose "additional measures" to ensure US firms cannot use foreign tax havens to circumvent a global minimum tax Biden brokered with over 130 countries last year.

"Budgets are statements of values, and the budget I am releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world, and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America," Biden said in a statement.

The president's budget includes a dramatic increase in spending for the Pentagon, with Biden seeking $813 billion for the department and defense-related activities. That includes roughly $40 billion for programs at external agencies for fiscal year 2023.

Just $650 billion is being requested for non-defense spending. The rest of the nearly $6 trillion plan is being allocated for what are known as "mandatory programs," such as Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and interest owed on the national debt.

It includes $682 million for Ukraine, an increase of $219 million above the level lawmakers approved for the 2021 fiscal year "to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity issues, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience."

It also proposes $6.9 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Biden is seeking a nearly 20% boost in funding for the State Department, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and other international programs. In all, he is seeking $67.6 billion, which excludes emergency funding.

The president's proposal also includes a 31% bump for the Commerce Department, a 21% increase for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a 20% increase for the Department of the Interior, and a 27% increase for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Biden's budget is merely a proposal, and will have to be taken up in Congress where it is certain to see massive revisions from lawmakers as they allocate government funding./aa