Equities and oil prices tumbled Wednesday after a brief respite from last week's painful rout across world markets, with recession fears building as central banks hike interest rates to combat decades-high inflation.

Britain's inflation rate hit a new 40-year high of 9.1% in the 12 months to May, figures showed Wednesday, as Russia's war in Ukraine drove food and fuel prices ever higher.

The Office for National Statistics said consumer price inflation rose slightly from 9% in April, itself the highest level since 1982.

A Turkish cargo ship on Wednesday left Ukraine's Russian-occupied port of Mariupol after a round of "constructive" grain talks with Moscow, the Turkish defense ministry said, without specifying if it was carrying wheat.

"The meeting in Moscow gave its first concrete result," the Turkish ministry said in a statement. 

Sri Lanka's debt-laden economy has "collapsed" after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity, its prime minister told lawmakers Wednesday, in comments underscoring the country's dire situation as it seeks help from international lenders.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament the South Asian country is "facing a far more serious situation beyond the mere shortages of fuel, gas, electricity and food. Our economy has completely collapsed."

A number of bakeries stopped working in Sidon on Wednesday as they were running out of flour, media reports said, which caused citizens to queue in front of the open bakeries to obtain bread.

Meanwhile in Nabatiyeh, a bundle of bread was sold for LBP 25,000 - instead of 15,000 - on the black market, as companies could not deliver bread to the shops.

The head of Qatar Airways on Tuesday accused plane-maker Airbus of acting like a "bully" as their billion-dollar dispute over peeling paint looked no closer to a resolution.

New York shares opened trading on Tuesday on the upswing, as investors brushed off recession and pandemic fears to capitalize on low prices after last week's dive.

Ukraine accused Russian energy giant Gazprom on Tuesday of illegally cutting natural gas supplies to European countries in a move that has seen EU member states scramble to fill the energy shortfall. 

"Gazprom has limited gas supplies to Europe for far-fetched and illegal reasons, justifying this by saying Nord Stream 1 is not operating at full capacity," said Yuriy Vitrenko, the head of Ukraine state energy company Naftogaz. 

Beirut Attorney General Judge Ziad Abu Haidar on Tuesday rejected anew to press charges against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh as requested in a memo sent to him by State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat, LBCI TV reported.

An agreement was signed Tuesday in Beirut for importing Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon through Syria.

"The importance of this deal... stems from the fact that it will secure an additional four hours of electricity per day following its implementation," caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad said.