Alastair Cook reveals England retirement decision was six months in the making


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Alastair Cook said on Tuesday that his decision to retire from international cricket has been six months in the making as the opening batsman prepares for his final England appearance.

Cook, 33, revealed on Monday that he will step away from the England stage following the fifth Test against India at The Oval this week.

England's record run-scorer had been pondering the move for most of the year and eventually made the decision ahead of last week's fourth Test with India, where his country secured a series win.

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"It's hard to put it into words but over the last six months there have been signs in my mind this was going to happen," former England captain Cook said.

"I always had been mentally tough and had that edge to everything I've done and that edge had kind of gone."

Cook informed captain Joe Root before the game and head coach Trevor Bayliss while it was going on, but the rest of the squad found out in a emotional speech afterwards.

"I told Rooty before the game and then told Trevor during the game," Cook said.

"At the end of the game I said, 'It might be good news, it might be sad for some, it might be happy for others but it's time and I have done my bit. I will play one more game'.

"There was a little bit of silence, then Mo [Ali] said something, everybody laughed and then it was forgotten about."

Cook will leave the game as England's most decorated player, having maximised his talent to its fullest.

"I can look back and say I became the best I could become. That actually means quite a lot to me," he said. "I have never been the most talented cricketer, I don't pretend I was, but I definitely think I got everything out of my ability.

"Hopefully this week can go well, score some runs and then I can go."

Cook has been given an extra incentive to go out with a century after rock legend Mick Jagger offered a charity reward.

There will be an added bonus for runs scored by England and India thanks to Jagger, who is to donate £20,000 (Dh94,200) to the Chance to Shine charity for any individual century in the fifth Test.

The bowlers are not being left out on either side, with the same amount on offer for a five-wicket haul.

If one of them manages three wickets or any other batsman hits a half-century, that will be worth £10,000 for the charity, who provide opportunities for young people to play and follow cricket through involvement in state schools and deprived areas.

Rolling Stones frontman Jagger said: "I follow England - the game in general, in fact - from wherever I am in the world and thought this would be a fun way to make some money for Chance to Shine."

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

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Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.

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