Dozens of drones floated through the skies of Tel Aviv on Monday, ferrying cartons of ice cream and sushi across the city in an experiment that officials hope provided a glimpse of the not-too-distant future.

Israel's National Drone Initiative, a government program, carried out the drill to prepare for a world in which large quantities of commercial deliveries will be made by drones to take pressure off highly congested urban roads. The two-year program aims to apply the capabilities of Israeli drone companies to establish a nationwide network where customers can order goods and have them delivered to pick up spots.

Global shares were mixed on Monday amid persisting worries about energy shortages and weaker than expected jobs growth in the U.S.

Shares fell in Paris, Frankfurt and Sydney but rose in Tokyo and London. Shanghai was flat.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa admitted his government is "not delivering" as shortages persist of food, medicines and other essential items because of a dire foreign exchange squeeze.

The International Monetary Fund said Sunday it still had not decided whether its embattled chief would keep her job, with the lack of clarity over Kristalina Georgieva's future threatening to overshadow the body's fall meetings this week.

Canadian David Card, Israeli-American Joshua Angrist and Dutch-American Guido Imbens on Monday won the Nobel Economics Prize for insights into the labor market and "natural experiments," the jury said.

Lebanon’s national electricity grid has been restored following a total blackout and power supply will increase at the end of the month, Energy Minister Walid Fayyad announced on Sunday.

Lebanon's two main power plants have been forced to shut down after running out of fuel, leaving the small country with no government-produced power.

Lebanon is grappling with a crippling energy crisis made worse by its dependency on fuel imports. Erratic power supplies have put hospitals and essential services in crisis mode. The Lebanese increasingly depend on private operators that also struggle to secure supplies amid an unprecedented crash of the national currency.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday announced that Tehran will continue to send fuel shipments to Lebanon via Hizbullah, while noting that his country is also ready to provide Lebanon with medicine and other needs.

“We will help brotherly Lebanon overcome its crisis,” Abdollahian said at a press conference at the end of a two-day visit to Lebanon.

Chinese authorities have ordered dozens of coal mines to expand production amid a nationwide energy crunch, state media reported Friday.

Israel ceremonially opened its gleaming pavilion at the world's fair in Dubai on Thursday, over a year after normalizing ties with the United Arab Emirates and amid a pandemic that has disrupted much of the tourist and cultural exchanges promised by the U.S.-brokered accords.

The pavilion's arch — chock-full of flashy videos promoting Israel's windmills, high-tech advances and historic sights — came to life as night fell. Zany Hebrew music played and patriotic balloons floated — all within eyesight of the Palestinian pavilion nearby.