Disruptions to supplies of commodities, financial strains and higher prices are among the impacts of the war in Ukraine that will slow economies in Asia in coming months, the World Bank says in a report released Tuesday.

The report forecasts slower growth and rising poverty in the Asia-Pacific region this year as "multiple shocks" compound troubles for people and for businesses.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday that there is a "total determination" from all 27 European Union countries for sanctions against Russia that could target oil and coal over evidence its troops deliberately killed Ukrainian civilians.

Europe's dependence on Russian oil, gas and coal means finding unanimity on energy measures is a tall order, but the reports of the killings outside Kyiv have increased pressure for tougher EU sanctions.

Each day brings new financial burdens for Ikhlas Zakaria, a single mother of six who sells cups of tea at a roadside stand in a provincial town in Sudan. Prices for basic goods have skyrocketed, and at times she can only provide one meal a day for her children.

The cost of the water she boils for tea has doubled. Two of her children dropped out of school a few months ago to work in the fields, but their earnings are shrinking as dry spells hurt harvests.

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun decided on Tuesday to lift travel bans against BLOM Bank chairman Saad al-Azhari and Bank Audi chairman Samir Hanna.

The decision came after the lawyer of the two banks, Sakher al-Hashem submitted a request to lift the travel bans to Judge Aoun.

The Central Bank is stumbling, economic expert Edmond Shammas told al-Jadeed on Tuesday, following a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Shami about the Central Bank being bankrupted.

Shami had explained in a TV interview that his remarks had been quoted out of context.

Trade in the amphetamine-type stimulant captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion, posing an increasing health and security risk to the region, a report said.

Some captagon production facilities, albeit small ones, are located in Lebanon, already the world's third-largest hashish exporter after Morocco and Afghanistan.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Monday it was not yet possible for the EU to cut Russian gas imports as a sanction against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, since it would do it more harm than just to Russia.

Rights groups on Monday said an Egyptian request for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) must require Cairo to expand social protection, tackle corruption and ensure judicial independence.

The U.S. government seized a mega yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to the Russian president on Monday, the first in the government's sanctions initiative to "seize and freeze" giant boats and other pricey assets of Russian elites.

Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the yacht at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat on Monday morning.

Sri Lanka's president asked opposition parties to form a unity government on Monday after his Cabinet resigned amid public protests over the country's worst economic crisis in memory and deepening mistrust in his leadership.

All 26 ministers of the Rajapaksa government handed in their resignations Sunday night after thousands of people held street protests denouncing the government despite a countrywide state of emergency and a curfew.