The French government on Wednesday started the process of requisitioning workers at petrol depots of ExxonMobil's French branch Esso in an attempt to ensure that service stations around the country are supplied with badly needed fuel amid an ongoing strike.

France's Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne asked prefects at the National Assembly to launch the procedure "to requisition workers who are indispensable to the functioning" of the Esso petrol depots and is expected to make a similar decision soon regarding Total facilities if salary negotiations do not start quickly.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via a link of the Germany-bound Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea, but that "the ball was in the EU's court."

Speaking at a Moscow energy forum, Putin again charged that the U.S. was likely behind the explosions that ripped through both links of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one of the two links of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, causing a massive gas leak and taking them out of service.

A new liquefied natural gas project off Africa's western coast may only be 80% complete, but already the prospect of a new energy supplier has drawn visits from the leaders of Poland and Germany.

The initial field near Senegal and Mauritania's coastlines is expected to contain about 15 trillion cubic feet (425 billion cubic meters) of gas, five times more than what gas-dependent Germany used in all of 2019. But production isn't expected to start until the end of next year.

President Joe Biden has said there will be "consequences" for Saudi Arabia as the Riyadh-led OPEC+ alliance moves to cut oil production and Democratic lawmakers call for a freeze on cooperation with the Saudis.

Biden suggested he would soon take action, as aides announced that the administration is reevaluating its relationship with the kingdom in light of the oil production cut that White House officials say will help another OPEC+ member, Russia, pad its coffers as it continues its nearly eight-month war in Ukraine.

The United Nations' development program is calling on rich countries and financial institutions in them to do more to help alleviate a growing debt crisis faced by the world's poorest countries, including by writing off debts — not just rescheduling them.

A report from UNDP released Tuesday comes amid meetings by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Group of 20 countries in Washington that are expected to consider in part a growing debt crisis that is weighing on the developing world, as interest rates have climbed this year — raising the cost of borrowing.

The head of Britain's cyber-intelligence agency is accusing China of using its economic and technological clout to clamp down at home and exert control abroad, saying Beijing's aggressive stance is driven by fear and poses "a huge threat to us all."

Jeremy Fleming, director of GCHQ, says Beijing's Communist authorities are seeking to "shape the global tech ecosystem," using technologies such as digital currencies and satellite systems to control China's population and increase its influence around the world.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday hailed a recent decision by OPEC, Russia and other oil producing nations to limit production as key to stabilizing the global energy market, as he met the leader of the United Arab Emirates for talks on fostering economic ties.

Speaking at the start of his talks in St. Petersburg with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the president of the United Arab Emirates, Putin hailed the ties between the two countries as important for regional and global stability.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez has called for freezing all U.S. cooperation with Saudi Arabia, delivering one of the strongest expressions yet of U.S. anger over Saudi oil-production cuts that serve to boost Russia in its war in Ukraine.

In a statement, Menendez specifically called for cutting off all arms sales and security cooperation — one of the underpinnings of the more than 70-year U.S. strategic partnership with the oil kingdom — beyond the minimum necessary to defend Americans and American interests.

The German government pledged Tuesday to provide more support to cities and towns struggling to house the more than 1.1 million refugees and migrants who have arrived in the country this year, mostly from war-torn Ukraine but also other countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.

After meeting with state and local officials, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said while the government already allocated federal real estate for tens of thousands of refugees earlier this year, it would immediately provide additional property for about 4,000 refugees to ease the current housing crisis. Faeser also promised financial support but did not give any concrete figures.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati on Tuesday asked French energy giant TotalEnergies to kick start gas exploration off its shores, after Israel said the two countries have reached a U.S.-mediated deal to settle their maritime border.

Lebanon's search for gas riches in the hydrocarbon-rich eastern Mediterranean had stalled since 2020 over competing claims with Israel over offshore gas fields.