Europe is struggling to find ways to stop paying Russia $850 million a day for energy and hit the Kremlin's finances over its invasion of Ukraine. Leaders of the 27-member European Union are finding that reversing decades of dependence on Russian oil and natural gas is not a simple matter.

The EU is now discussing sanctions on Russian oil, including a possible boycott. Here is what such a move could mean for people in Europe and the rest of the world:

The Lebanese currency on Thursday declined on the black market, with a rate exceeding 26,000 against the dollar.

It dropped to a rate of 26,500 as the country prepares for its parliamentary elections in May.

Japan's weakening yen raised further alarm in Tokyo on Wednesday as the government reported a bigger-than-expected trade deficit largely due to soaring costs for imports of oil, food and other necessities.

The deficit of 412 billion yen ($3.2 billion) for March was lower than the previous month's 670 billion yen but was quadruple analysts' estimates and a reversal of the 615 billion yen surplus recorded a year earlier for the world's third-largest economy.

European stocks rose Wednesday but gains were capped as Russia continued its new offensive in eastern Ukraine, dealers said.

Japan formally revoked Russia's "most favored nation" trade status Wednesday over its invasion of Ukraine, as Tokyo steps up sanctions amid revelations of the Russian military's widespread atrocities against civilians.

The stripping of Russia's trade status is Japan's latest move against Moscow and was part of a list of sanctions measures Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last month that also included a decision to expel eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.

An unexpectedly sharp drop in subscribers has Netflix considering changes it has long resisted: Minimizing password sharing and creating a low-cost subscription supported by advertising.

Looming changes announced late Tuesday are designed to help Netflix regain momentum lost over the past year. Pandemic-driven lockdowns that drove binge-watching have lifted, while deep-pocketed rivals such as Apple and Walt Disney have begun to chip away at its vast audience with their own streaming services.

Lebanon is close to reaching an agreement with the World Bank in which the international agency would give the crisis-hit country a $150 million loan for food security and to stabilize bread prices for the next six months, the economy minister has said.

Amin Salam said talks with the International Monetary Fund were progressing in a positive way.

Rising food prices that have been pushed even higher by Russia's invasion of Ukraine could force upwards of 10 million people into poverty, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Tuesday reassured that authorities have no plans to “eliminate depositors’ rights or undermine the banking sector.”

“The government’s priority in its economic approach is to preserve depositors’ rights and not to waste them,” Miqati told a delegation from the Association of Banks in Lebanon.

Lebanon is ready to work with Cyprus to exploit potential gas deposits in waters between the two east Mediterranean countries, Lebanon's top diplomat said, even though a deal on offshore rights hasn't been formally finalized.

Cyprus and Lebanon signed an agreement delineating their respective offshore exclusive economic zones in 2007, but the Lebanese parliament has yet to ratify it amid the country's ongoing maritime border dispute with Israel.