A Turkish cargo ship on Wednesday left Ukraine's Russian-occupied port of Mariupol after a round of "constructive" grain talks with Moscow, the Turkish defense ministry said, without specifying if it was carrying wheat.

"The meeting in Moscow gave its first concrete result," the Turkish ministry said in a statement. 

Sri Lanka's debt-laden economy has "collapsed" after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity, its prime minister told lawmakers Wednesday, in comments underscoring the country's dire situation as it seeks help from international lenders.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament the South Asian country is "facing a far more serious situation beyond the mere shortages of fuel, gas, electricity and food. Our economy has completely collapsed."

A number of bakeries stopped working in Sidon on Wednesday as they were running out of flour, media reports said, which caused citizens to queue in front of the open bakeries to obtain bread.

Meanwhile in Nabatiyeh, a bundle of bread was sold for LBP 25,000 - instead of 15,000 - on the black market, as companies could not deliver bread to the shops.

The head of Qatar Airways on Tuesday accused plane-maker Airbus of acting like a "bully" as their billion-dollar dispute over peeling paint looked no closer to a resolution.

New York shares opened trading on Tuesday on the upswing, as investors brushed off recession and pandemic fears to capitalize on low prices after last week's dive.

Ukraine accused Russian energy giant Gazprom on Tuesday of illegally cutting natural gas supplies to European countries in a move that has seen EU member states scramble to fill the energy shortfall. 

"Gazprom has limited gas supplies to Europe for far-fetched and illegal reasons, justifying this by saying Nord Stream 1 is not operating at full capacity," said Yuriy Vitrenko, the head of Ukraine state energy company Naftogaz. 

Beirut Attorney General Judge Ziad Abu Haidar on Tuesday rejected anew to press charges against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh as requested in a memo sent to him by State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat, LBCI TV reported.

An agreement was signed Tuesday in Beirut for importing Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon through Syria.

"The importance of this deal... stems from the fact that it will secure an additional four hours of electricity per day following its implementation," caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad said.

It's not a summer heat wave that's making European leaders and businesses sweat. It's fear that Russia's manipulation of natural gas supplies will lead to an economic and political crisis next winter. Or, in the worst case, even sooner.

Here are key things to know about the energy pressure game over the war in Ukraine:

A delegation of Egyptian business leaders was in Israel on Monday, the first such visit in a decade, in a sign of "warming" ties between the two countries, Israeli officials said.