Britain's unemployment is falling as the nation's Covid-hit economy reopens -- but vacancies are soaring as businesses struggle to recruit sufficient staff, official data showed Thursday.

Wall Street rose at the start of trading on Wednesday as traders took heart from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's pledge that the central bank will not end its easy money policies yet.

In testimony released ahead of his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said the US economy has "a long way to go" to return to full employment following the Covid-19 pandemic, and predicted inflation will remain "elevated" inflation in the coming months before declining.

Three quarters of females in Lebanon are struggling to afford period supplies amid a deep economic crisis, forcing many to resort to impractical or unsafe alternatives, non-government groups said Wednesday.

"76.5 percent of women and girls living in Lebanon experienced more difficulty in accessing products because of the sharp rise in prices during the past year," the groups Fe-Male and Plan International found in a survey.

A French firm aims to turn tons of rotting grain at Beirut's devastated port into compost, the company said Tuesday, nearly a year after Lebanon's worst peacetime disaster ravaged its silos.

The Banque du Liban – Lebanon’s central bank -- assured Monday that “Lebanon’s gold is safe,” in response to MP Jamil al-Sayyed’s remarks that BDL Governor Riad Salameh “had partially or totally disposed of the gold owned by the Central Bank.”

The Central Bank said that Lebanon’s gold reserves “have not been touched,” and will not be touched nor used “as a mortgage” against the country’s interests “as some people wish.”

The Covid pandemic caused an estimated 18 percent increase in the number of people facing hunger, a UN report released on Monday found, dealing a massive setback to efforts to ensure everyone has access to food. 

The world was already off track to achieve its goal of eradicating hunger by 2030, but the report warned that Covid had now sent it back in the wrong direction.

Former Nissan and Renault boss Carlos Ghosn denied any responsibility in Renault's alleged cheating on emission tests for diesel vehicles during more than six hours of questioning in Beirut in May, according to documents seen by AFP.

A startling public row between Saudi Arabia and brash neighbor the UAE has exposed the steadily diverging paths of once inseparable allies who are competing to profit from what may be the world's last oil boom.

Israel said Monday it had expanded the fishing zone off Gaza and would allow additional imports into the blockaded Palestinian territory following "recent security calm."

European stock markets struggled to find direction on Monday, with investors waiting for corporate results and economic data later in the week.

London's FTSE 100 index remained in the red, while Frankfurt and Paris climbed back into the black in midday trading.