- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
- Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- 'Stolen satire' feeds US election misinformation
- Rookie McCarty captures first PGA Tour title in Black Desert Championship
- Australia all-rounder Green ruled out of India Test series
- Seeing double in Nigeria's 'twins capital of the world'
- UK FM to attend EU foreign affairs talks for first time in 2 years
- Carter, Billups among 13 new Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Ravens rip Commanders as Lions lose NFL sacks leader in win
- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
- Stewart leads Liberty past Lynx to level WNBA Finals
- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
- Ravens outlast Commanders while Bucs batter Saints in NFL
- Dozens hurt in Israel as Hezbollah claims drone strike
- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
EU chief, Italian PM head to Israel for energy talks
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi were headed to Israel Monday as the EU seeks to wean itself off Russian fossil fuel imports.
Both leaders were due to hold energy talks in Israel, which has turned from a natural gas importer into an exporter in recent years because of major offshore finds.
Von der Leyen was to meet Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday, with talks expected to focus "in particular on energy cooperation," a commission statement said.
Mario Draghi, on his first Middle East trip since taking office last year, will also discuss energy and food security during his two-day trip, Italian media reported.
Both leaders will on Tuesday meet Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shttayeh in the occupied West Bank.
The EU this month formally adopted a ban on most Russian oil imports, its toughest sanctions yet over the war on Ukraine. Von der Leyen has suggested the bloc end its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, including gas, by 2027.
Draghi and other EU leaders have warned European customers may need protection as energy costs continue to rise.
Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar and other officials have said their country could help meet EU demand if it can deliver gas from its offshore reserves estimated at nearly 1,000 billion cubic metres.
- Export options -
For now, getting Israeli gas to Europe is fraught with challenges and would require major and long-term infrastructure investments.
With no pipeline linking its offshore fields to Europe, one option for now is piping natural to Egypt, where it could be liquified for export by ship to Europe.
Another scenario that has been floated is building a pipeline to Turkey.
Israel's ties with Ankara have thawed after more than a decade of diplomatic rupture and experts have said Turkey's desire for joint energy projects has partly triggered its outreach to Israel.
That pipeline project would take $1.5 billion and two to three years to complete, according to Israel's former energy minister Yuval Steizitz, now an opposition lawmaker.
Option three is known as the EastMed project, a proposal for a seafloor pipeline linking Israel with Cyprus and Greece.
Experts have however raised concerns about the cost and viability of the project, while Israel has said it would like to see Italy sign on.
Further complicating Israel's offshore gas production is a long-running maritime border dispute with Lebanon.
The neighbours technically remain at war but have agreed to US-mediated talks aimed at delineating the border to allow both countries to boost exploration.
Talks broke down last year but Israel has urged Lebanon to re-engage.
Tensions flared this month following a Lebanese claim that Israeli production was taking place in contested waters.
Israel countered that the area was located clearly south of the disputed zone.
The US envoy mediating the maritime border talks, Amos Hochstein, was due in Lebanon on Monday.
M.A.Colin--AMWN