EU nations have adopted a mechanism to cap natural gas prices, but experts say it will likely have only a limited impact on reducing what businesses and households pay -- and could harm efforts to purchase supplies next winter. 

- How does the price cap work? -Natural gas is traded on wholesale exchanges where utilities and even some large industrial firms can buy supplies. 

The German government said Thursday that it has nationalized energy company Uniper after the European Union gave its blessing for it to rescue the gas supplier.

The government announced its plan to nationalize Uniper in September, expanding state intervention in the energy sector to prevent a shortage resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine. The deal built on an initial rescue package agreed in July and features a capital increase of 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion) that Germany is financing.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang praised the Hong Kong government's efforts in revitalizing the economy as it rolls back COVID-19 restrictions, in a meeting on Thursday with the territory's leader in Beijing.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is on his first trip to the capital to deliver an annual year-end report to leaders. He is expected to meet with President Xi Jinping to discuss the city's political, economic and COVID-19 situations before returning to Hong Kong on Saturday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday that sweeping reforms remain vital to rescue the stricken economy, despite a return to modest growth this year.

Mikati said the economy had grown by nearly two percent in 2022 after two straight years of severe recession that saw Gross Domestic Product fall by 25.9 percent in 2020 and by 10.5 percent in 2021, according to World Bank figures.

The head of the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon, Joe Salloum, warned Wednesday that the dramatic surge in the dollar exchange rate on the black market has led to “a near-complete halt of the delivery of medicines and baby milk to pharmacies.”

Pharmacies are “gradually running out” of medicines and baby milk, Salloum cautioned.

Elon Musk said that he plans on remaining as Twitter's CEO until he can find someone willing to replace him in the job.

Musk's announcement came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in an unscientific poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.

With a backpack slung over his shoulder, Jacek Kryg walks down one row and then another of outdoor vegetable stands at Warsaw's historic Hala Mirowska market. The 72-year-old Kryg already knows which one has the best prices on carrots, broccoli, mushrooms and his other staples. But he is keenly aware of what he spends, so he double-checks all the prices.

His pension, after 30-plus years as a writer and teacher of Chinese metaphysics, is just 2,000 zlotys ($450) a month. Given how inflation has surged, he can't live on that. He's already stopped buying clothes, he travels home to Krakow less frequently to visit his wife and daughter and he needs to keep teaching his workshops.

European shares were higher Wednesday after a mixed session in Asia in the absence of major data releases.

Germany's DAX rose 0.7% to 13,987.59 while the CAC 40 in Paris jumped 1% to 6,514.30. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5% to 7,407.92.

Lebanese drinks giant Kassatly Group Holding has started work on a new plant in Cyprus under "Boutique Beverage Bottling Int'l Ltd" as part of ambitious plans to move the brand from a regional powerhouse to a global player.

The mega plant in Ypsonas, Limassol, should be fully operational by the end of 2023, with the company aiming to make the island home within a year, creating 100+ jobs.

The government of Cyprus is weighing a proposal for a pipeline that would carry natural gas from Israel to the island nation, where it would be processed and exported by ship to Europe and elsewhere as Russia's war in Ukraine compounds an energy crisis, the Cypriot energy minister said.

Minister Natasa Pilides said the government is mulling licensing requests from energy company Energean to move ahead with the plan once Israel decides how much offshore gas it would agree to export via such a pipeline. The plan to then liquefy and ship the gas from Cyprus is a better option than a pipeline that would connect east Mediterranean gas deposits to Europe, she said.