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.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday that sweeping reforms remain vital to rescue the stricken economy, despite a return to modest growth this year.

Mikati said the economy had grown by nearly two percent in 2022 after two straight years of severe recession that saw Gross Domestic Product fall by 25.9 percent in 2020 and by 10.5 percent in 2021, according to World Bank figures.

The head of the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon, Joe Salloum, warned Wednesday that the dramatic surge in the dollar exchange rate on the black market has led to “a near-complete halt of the delivery of medicines and baby milk to pharmacies.”

Pharmacies are “gradually running out” of medicines and baby milk, Salloum cautioned.

Elon Musk said that he plans on remaining as Twitter's CEO until he can find someone willing to replace him in the job.

Musk's announcement came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in an unscientific poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.