The black market dollar exchange rate witnessed a dramatic drop around noon Tuesday after Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh announced that banks will start selling dollars to the public at a Sayrafa platform rate of LBP 38,000.

“Throughout the three-day holidays period, the U.S. dollar exchange rate surged by LBP 2,000 on the parallel market due to speculation operations and the smuggling of dollars to abroad. This hike caused inflation on the markets, which harmed the Lebanese citizen seeing as prices in Lebanon are linked to the dollar exchange rate,” Salameh said in a statement.

Everything from the signboard outside down to the napkins bears the official emblem of the top international coffee chain. But in Baghdad, looks are deceiving: The "Starbucks" in the Iraqi capital is unlicensed.

Real Starbucks merchandise is imported from neighboring countries to stock the three cafes in the city, but all are operating illegally. Starbucks filed a lawsuit in an attempt to shut down the trademark violation, but the case was halted after the owner allegedly threatened lawyers hired by the coffee house.

Iraq's prime minister appealed to visiting Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Friday for closer economic ties with his oil-rich country suffering from power cuts and decaying infrastructure.

Meloni, who leads the eurozone's third-largest economy, is on her first bilateral trip outside Europe. She is on a pre-Christmas visit to Italian troops posted in Iraq in support of an anti-jihadist mission.

Moscow could cut oil production by up to seven percent in early 2023 following an oil price cap agreed by Western countries, a Russian deputy prime minister said Friday.

"At the start of next year, we could make a reduction of 500,000-700,000 barrels per day. For us, that's around 5-7 percent," Alexander Novak, who is in charge of Moscow's energy policy, said according to Russian news agencies.

Youssef Safouri wandered through a noisy jam-packed Beirut Christmas market, where the hundreds of families who flocked to stands selling gifts by Lebanese designers belied a severe economic crisis that has sapped the savings of millions.

Safouri is among thousands of Lebanese who left the country when its economy started to tumble in late 2019. They have now become a lifeline for families back home who receive remittances from abroad and cash brought in suitcases during holiday visits. Three-quarters of the population is now plunged into poverty.

More than nine years after Croatia became the European Union's newest member, the country is on a roll to make the most of its status as the EU member in the Western Balkans.

Croatia is adopting the EU's common currency, the euro, and joining the Schengen Area, Europe's visa-free travel area, on Jan. 1. Officials in the small nation of 4 million people predict the developments will be remembered as one of the country's biggest achievements since it gained independence during the breakup of Yugoslavia 31 years ago.

World shares were mixed Thursday after a rally on Wall Street as investors welcomed a report showing U.S. consumer confidence is holding up despite the Federal Reserve's campaign to fight inflation by raising interest rates.

Germany's DAX edged 0.1% lower to 14,081.26. The CAC 40 in Paris also lost 0.1%, to 6,578.93. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%, to 7,525.54.

EU nations have adopted a mechanism to cap natural gas prices, but experts say it will likely have only a limited impact on reducing what businesses and households pay -- and could harm efforts to purchase supplies next winter. 

- How does the price cap work? -Natural gas is traded on wholesale exchanges where utilities and even some large industrial firms can buy supplies. 

The German government said Thursday that it has nationalized energy company Uniper after the European Union gave its blessing for it to rescue the gas supplier.

The government announced its plan to nationalize Uniper in September, expanding state intervention in the energy sector to prevent a shortage resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine. The deal built on an initial rescue package agreed in July and features a capital increase of 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion) that Germany is financing.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang praised the Hong Kong government's efforts in revitalizing the economy as it rolls back COVID-19 restrictions, in a meeting on Thursday with the territory's leader in Beijing.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is on his first trip to the capital to deliver an annual year-end report to leaders. He is expected to meet with President Xi Jinping to discuss the city's political, economic and COVID-19 situations before returning to Hong Kong on Saturday.