Israel's tech industry has long been the driving force behind the country's economy. Now, as Israel's new government pushes ahead with its far-right agenda, the industry is flexing its muscle and speaking out in unprecedented criticism against policies it fears will drive away investors and decimate the booming sector.

The public outcry presents a pointed challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who champions Israeli technology on the international stage and has long boasted of his own economic prowess. It also highlights how deep and broad opposition to the government's policies runs, from political rivals, to top members of the justice system and military.

Wall Street is weakening Wednesday on worries about corporate profits following a mixed set of earnings reports and forecasts from Microsoft and others.

The S&P 500 was 1.4% lower in early trading, on pace for a second step down after reaching its highest level in seven weeks on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 314 points, or 0.9%, at 33,423, as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.1% lower.

Amazon warehouse workers went on strike for the first time in Britain on Wednesday because of a dispute over pay and working conditions, adding to a wave of industrial labor action across the country fueled by the soaring cost of living.

Union members voted to walk off the job for one day at the e-commerce giant's fulfillment center in Coventry, a city about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of London near Birmingham.

The German government on Wednesday said it expects to eke out economic growth this year instead of a decline as Europe's largest economy manages its energy divorce from Russia and shells out support for consumers and businesses hit by higher energy costs.

The outlook improved to an 0.2% expansion from a 0.4% contraction expected in October, when Germany feared that this winter it would run out of natural gas used to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes. Warmer-than-usual weather helped, as did a scramble to line up additional supplies of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, that comes by ship instead of pipeline from Russia.

Protesters on Wednesday blocked roads and burnt tires near the central bank in Beirut as the weakened local currency plummeted to a new low against the dollar.

Alaa Kharchib of the Depositors' Outcry Association that had organised the demonstration warned of an impending "social explosion".

India and Egypt agreed Wednesday to boost trade between their countries during a visit by the Egyptian president that underscores Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to fortify ties with other emerging economies.

Modi and President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi agreed on measures to increase two-way trade within five years to $12 billion. Trade totaled $7.3 billion in 2021-22. The two countries also signed agreements on expanding cooperation in cyber security, information technology, culture and broadcasting.

Hundreds of protesters rallied Wednesday near the Central Bank in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, angered by the recent devaluation of the Iraqi dinar and demanding the government take action to stabilize the currency.

The protesters — mainly young people — rallied amid a heavy security presence, with many carrying the Iraqi flag and banners with slogans. One slogan read: "The politicians are the ones covering up the financial corruption for the banks."

The arm-wrestling between Prosecutor General Ghassan Oueidat and judge Tarek Bitar, who is investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast, is the latest of crisis-torn Lebanon's mounting woes, as the value of the national currency hit a new record low against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday.

Dozens protested in front of the Central Bank in Beirut, denouncing the slide of the Lebanese pound, which began in 2019.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday designated several individuals and associated entities accused of “facilitating financial activities for Hezbollah.”

More landlords are taking Twitter to court over unpaid rent at the social media company's headquarters in San Francisco and its British offices — the latest legal headaches for billionaire owner Elon Musk, who has been trying to slash expenses.

Twitter is facing a lawsuit over allegations it failed to pay rent for its head office, according to California court documents. The owner of its premises in central London, meanwhile, said it's taking the company to court over rental debt.