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.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday she was "very concerned" about the risk that new variants of coronavirus could pose to the global economic recovery from the pandemic.

For the seventh time in a year, Lebanon's economy ministry has announced new prices for bread, slowly removing subsidies as the country sinks deeper into a dire economic and political crisis.

The ministry said raising the price was necessary as the national currency continues to slide against the dollar, making imports of basic supplies including fuel and wheat more expensive. The currency, pegged to the dollar for nearly 30 years at 1,500 to the dollar, has lost over 90% of its value. It is now trading at nearly 20,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar.

A major power station in Lebanon is to resume operations on Sunday, two days after it ground to a halt due to a lack of fuel at a time of constant power cuts and economic collapse.

Steep bread and diesel price hikes went into force in government-held parts of war-torn Syria on Sunday, bringing more pain for civilians in a long-running economic crisis. 

Pharmacies in crisis-hit Lebanon began an indefinite strike on Friday over medicine shortages as the cash-strapped state struggles to afford subsidies on key imports.

The assembly of gas station owners demonstrated on Wednesday during which they "the difficulties they are facing” warning that they might be “forced to sell our stocks and close.”

According to Rashad Msharrafiyeh, who spoke on behalf of the assembly, in a press conference, “the importing companies are unable to secure sufficient quantities,” and “have imposed on the stations to pay their bills in dollars.”

When the mercury soared to 52 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) this week in Iraq, Ali Karrar placed his baby for a couple of minutes in the fridge.

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority chief on Wednesday signed a final compensation deal with the Japanese owners of the megaship MV Ever Given which blocked the critical maritime artery in March.

Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told a Japanese court on Wednesday that the company's former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, had held too much power, failed to listen to others, and stayed on for too long.

Uchida said Wednesday that those were factors that led to financial misconduct charges for Ghosn. He was testifying as a witness for Nissan Motor Co., which as a corporate entity is standing trial on charges of having falsified securities reports in under-reporting Ghosn's compensation. It does not contest the charges.