Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in China on Tuesday for a three-day visit, flanked by a large delegation including his central bank chief and ministers for trade, the economy and oil.

Europe's economy will grow more than previously forecast this year as it avoids a winter recession, with inflation expected to ease as gas prices have fallen, the European Commission said Monday.

There are “contacts” aimed at persuading Lebanon’s partially-closed banks not to suspend all services, a media report said on Monday.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Friday defended himself anew in the face of a host of accusations.

“The lawsuits targeted against me are unfounded and I have submitted audited official documents,” Salameh said in an interview with Asharq TV.

Lebanon's battered commercial banks on Tuesday closed their doors to customers in protest of a recent court ruling that forced one of the country's largest banks to pay out two of its depositors their trapped savings in cash.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon, which lobbies for the banks, released a statement calling the action an "open-ended strike" and criticized the court ruling, claiming it was detrimental to all depositors, because the banks cannot afford to pay out everyone else's savings in full.

Fresh strikes hit trains, schools and refineries in France on Tuesday over an unpopular pension reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, with nationwide protests planned for later in the day.

A third day of union-backed demonstrations since January 19 is set to test momentum for the protest movement which has vowed to block Macron's bid to raise the retirement age.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iraqi counterpart on Monday discussed unpaid bills owed to Russian oil companies because of US sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told a Baghdad news conference that he would discuss the issue during a visit to Washington on Wednesday.

Lebanon has been ranked third in food price inflation, according to a study by the World Bank.

Domestic food price inflation remains high around the world. The countries affected most are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia, the World Bank said in a statement.

Security forces have arrested a number of notorious money changers who are accused of currency speculation operations in a wave of raids across Lebanon.

The French diplomat charged with coordinating international support for Lebanon, so it can receive International Monetary Fund aid, has criticized the slow pace of reforms in the crisis-hit country.