The U.N. humanitarian chief warned that Afghanistan's economic collapse "is happening before our eyes" and urged the international community to take action to stop "the freefall" before it leads to more deaths.

Martin Griffiths said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that donor nations need to agree that in addition to emergency humanitarian aid they need to support basic services for the Afghan people including education, hospitals, electricity and paying civil servants — and they must inject liquidity into the economy which has seen the banking system ""pretty well shut down."

Global stock markets declined Friday ahead of U.S. inflation data that might influence a Federal Reserve decision on when to roll back economic stimulus.

London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong retreated.

The Lebanese currency has plummeted on the black market after the central bank raised the exchange rate for U.S. dollar deposits held in the country's banks.

"The central bank... has decided to raise the exchange rate for U.S. dollars from 3,900 to 8,000 Lebanese pounds," it said in a statement.

Syria will host an Arab energy conference in 2024, the country's energy ministry said Thursday, the latest sign that Arab countries are moving to re-engage with the government of Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad.

The announcement followed a unanimous vote from members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries during a virtual meeting Thursday, the ministry said. The conference will be held in Damascus, according to a ministry statement on Facebook and the official state news agency SANA. Qatar is hosting the 2023 conference.

Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Shami said that "we need the approval of the Cabinet to start with the IMF's plan."

"If Cabinet doesn't convene, there would be difficulties to negotiate with the IMF," Shami said.

The central bank on Thursday hiked the dollar exchange rate for bank withdrawals from LBP 3,900 to LBP 8,000 while setting a $3,000 monthly cap per account.

In a statement, the bank said its measure comes ahead of “devising an integrated and comprehensive governmental pan that is based on the economic and reformist principles and the requirements of the International Monetary Fund.”

Chinese squid vessels were documented using wide nets to illegally catch already overfished tuna as part of a surge in unregulated activity in the Indian Ocean, according to a new report by Norway-based watchdog group that highlights growing concerns about the lack of international cooperation to protect marine species on the high seas.

The report, published Wednesday by Trygg Mat Tracking, found that the number of squid vessels in the high seas of the Indian Ocean — where fishing of the species is not regulated — has exploded six-fold since 2016.

The United Arab Emirates' move to a Western-style Saturday-Sunday weekend is an attempt to maintain its edge over rising regional competitors, particularly Saudi Arabia, experts said.

Stocks advanced Wednesday in Asia after another broad rally on Wall Street as investors wagered that the new variant of the COVID-19 virus won't pose a big threat to the economy.

Shares rose in Paris, London, Tokyo and Shanghai but fell in Frankfurt as Germany's parliament elected Olaf Scholz as the country's ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the European Union's largest economy after Angela Merkel's 16-year tenure.

Energy Minister Walid Fayyad affirmed, after meeting President Michel Aoun Wednesday, that he will visit France to discuss issues related to electricity and gas exploration.

“I am invited to an official visit to France to discuss gas exploration with (French multinational oil and gas company) Total (Energies) and other firms,” Fayyad said in a press conference.