Barzani, Johnson Discuss Energy Exports to Replace Russian Oil, Gas

 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
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Barzani, Johnson Discuss Energy Exports to Replace Russian Oil, Gas

 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)

Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke with his British counterpart Boris Johnson about his desire to export energy to Europe and reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas, Reuters reported.

“Prime Minister Barzani spoke about his aspiration to export energy to Europe, and the Prime Minister (Johnson) lauded his efforts to help reduce Western reliance on Russian oil and gas,” a British government readout of a meeting between the two in London said.

In late March, Barzani told an industry conference in Dubai that Kurdistan would soon become an important source of energy.

“I am confident that Kurdistan will soon become an important source of energy for the world's growing demand,” he stressed.

He affirmed that Kurdistan has capacity now to make up for at least some of the shortfalls of oil in Europe.

“We will become a net exporter of gas to the rest of Iraq, to Turkey and Europe in the near future,” he added.



Series of Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut, At Least 1 Building Destroyed

Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Series of Israeli Airstrikes Hit Central Beirut, At Least 1 Building Destroyed

Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Powerful Israeli airstrikes targeted central Beirut on Saturday, resulting in a large number of fatalities and injuries and destroying an eight-story building, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Footage broadcast by TV stations showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it in the Basta neighborhood.

At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured. Lebanon's civil defense said the death toll was provisional as emergency responders were still digging through the rubble looking for survivors. 

Israel used bunker buster bombs in the strike, leaving a deep crater, said NNA. Beirut smelled strongly of explosives hours after the attack.
The blasts shook the capital around 4 a.m.

NNA said at least five bombs were dropped in the attack.
It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, where the bulk of Israel's attacks have targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

On Sunday an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah's media relations chief Mohammad Afif in the Ras al-Nabaa district of central Beirut.

The Israeli military did not issue a warning for Basta's residents to evacuate prior to the strike and did not immediately issue a statement on it.

Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

Meanwhile, heavy ground fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants was ongoing in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops have pushed farther from the border.