Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince has embarked on a multi-stop Asian tour, shoring up the Gulf nation's ties with its biggest energy market and signaling growing independence from Washington amid a bitter row over oil supply.

French oil giant Total said Tuesday it would soon launch exploration activities in search for gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon's coast, following last month's Lebanon-Israel deal on their maritime border.

According to a statement, TotalEnergies and its partner, Italy's ENI, signed with Israel a so-called "Framework Agreement" to implement the U.S.-mediated border agreement reached last month. Lebanon and Israel have been formally at war since Israel's creation in 1948.

Wall Street started the week mostly lower, retreating from a two-day rally as investors await key earnings reports from big retailers.

Germany announced on Monday it was nationalizing a former subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, saying it was necessary because of the company's systemic importance for power supplies in the country.

Sri Lanka's president on Monday proposed to more than double the country's tax revenue as the island nation struggles to come out from its worst economic crisis.

Unsustainable debt, a severe balance of payment crisis on top of lingering scars of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a severe shortage of essentials such as fuel, medicine and food, and the soaring prices have caused severe hardships to most Sri Lankans.

Bali wants the world to know it's back.

Dozens of world leaders and other dignitaries are traveling to the Indonesian island for the G-20 summit, drawing a welcome spotlight on the revival of the tropical destination's vital tourism sector.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab on Monday charged that “some banks are still transferring money” to abroad based on some clients’ “favoritism and ties to bank owners.”

“Capital control prevents selectivity,” Bou Saab added, after a meeting for the joint parliamentary committees.

The European Union's executive commission slashed its forecast for economic growth next year, saying the 19 countries that use the euro currency will slide into recession over the winter as peak inflation hangs on for longer than expected and high fuel and heating costs erode consumer purchasing power.

The European Commission's autumn forecast released Friday predicts falling economic output in the last three months of this year and the first months of 2023.

United Nations chiefs were holding talks with Russian officials Friday on the Black Sea agreements on exporting grain and fertilizers, eight days before one of the deals is set to expire.

The reports about a U.S. warning against bringing Iranian oil into Lebanon were confirmed after caretaker PM Najib Mikati met with visiting USAID chief Samantha Power in the presence of U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, ad-Diyar newspaper said on Friday.

“During the meeting, Mikati was informed that the U.S. considers all Iranian oil as subject to sanctions, and that’s why he has in principle decided to shelve the grant if there won’t be an exemption from the U.S. Treasury similarly to what’s happening with Iraq,” the daily added.