Lithuania on Monday introduced new power lines to Sweden and Poland connecting the EU-member Baltic states to the western energy market while reducing their dependence on imports from Russia.

Vilnius hopes its new 700-megawatt undersea power link to Sweden will bring in cheaper energy while its 500-megawatt line to Poland should help integrate the Baltic states into the European power grid.

An Israeli parliamentary committee refused to give its blessing Monday to a natural gas deal aimed at tapping a huge field in the Mediterranean despite a strong push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The 7-6 vote against the deal by the Knesset's economics committee was however non-binding and Netanyahu is expected to seek to move ahead anyway, with a court battle likely to result.

Chinese Internet giant Alibaba will pay U.S.$266 million for Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, the newspaper said Monday, far higher than analysts' estimates in a deal that has sparked fears the paper will lose its independent voice.

The business had been valued at half that amount, and some observers said the hefty price tag reflects Alibaba's desire to control media in the semi-autonomous territory.

Oil prices extended losses in Asia on Monday on fears that a global supply glut will last another year, with analysts saying the Paris climate deal likely will have no near-term effect on the commodity.

The OPEC cartel's refusal to cut production as Iran prepares for the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports have brought the price of crude down to levels not seen since early 2009 during the global financial crisis.

Greece cannot remove the IMF from its economic bailout, the head of the EU's rescue fund said Sunday, adding that the possibility of a Greek eurozone exit remains if reforms are neglected.

"There has to be a financial contribution because the IMF, according to the ESM Treaty and to the agreement in the July summit, should be part of the program also financially," Klaus Regling, head of the European Stability Mechanism, told To Vima weekly.

Leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India during a ceremony in the Turkmen desert broke ground Sunday on a major pipeline that could help ease energy deficits in South Asia.

Presidents Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan and Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan were on hand for the ceremony outside the city of Mary in the Karakum Desert, marking the beginning of work on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) link.

Share prices in the energy-rich Gulf states tumbled to multi-year lows on Sunday after oil prices closed the week below $38 a barrel, the lowest in seven years.

The slide was led by markets in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which plunged below key resistance points amid a sell-off by concerned investors.

After a long buildup that stirred waves of turbulence in global markets, the Federal Reserve finally is expected to end its seven-year crisis stance with an interest rate increase on Wednesday.

Most bets are that the Fed will increase the benchmark federal funds rate for the first time in nearly a decade, signaling confidence in U.S. economic growth even as the rest of the world sags.

Japan will build India's first bullet train under a sweeping tally of agreements made following talks in New Delhi Saturday, deepening a partnership Prime Minister Narendra Modi said would "shape the course of Asia".

The Indian premier spoke warmly of his friendship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well as pointing to the power of their political alliance, after signing deals including the $15 billion Shinkansen train.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned Friday that the risk of Britain leaving the European Union could affect its triple-A ranking.

S&P, the only major ratings agency to rate Britain as AAA, maintained the ranking with a negative outlook due to uncertainties over a coming referendum on Britain's EU membership.