Russia said Monday it may use an arrangement similar to that used for payments for its gas supplies to pay its dollar-denominated foreign debts.

The Vedomosti business daily quoted Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying that Russia will offer the holders of its Eurobond obligations to accept a payment system bypassing Western financial infrastructure.

China fell short Monday on a bold plan to have 10 Pacific nations endorse a sweeping new agreement covering everything from security to fisheries as some in the region expressed deep concerns.

But there have been plenty of smaller wins for China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi as he continues an island-hopping tour of the region.

European Union leaders will gather Monday in a new show of solidarity with Ukraine, but divisions over whether to target Russian oil in a new series of sanctions are exposing the limits of how far the bloc can go to help the war-torn country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will address the 27 heads of state and government by videoconference in the evening, has repeatedly demanded that the EU target Russia's lucrative energy sector and deprive Moscow of billions of dollars each day in supply payments.

Lebanon has questioned ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn after receiving an Interpol red notice for his arrest but did not take new legal measures against him, a court official said Monday.

"Judge Imad Qabalan interrogated Ghosn in the presence of his legal representative over the contents of the red notice," the official said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak on the issue.

It now costs Ayan Hassan Abdirahman twice as much as it did just a few months ago to buy the wheat flour she uses to make breakfast each day for her 11 children in Somalia's capital.

Nearly all the wheat sold in Somalia comes from Ukraine and Russia, which have halted exports through the Black Sea since Moscow waged war on its neighbor on Feb. 24. The timing could not be worse: The U.N. has warned that an estimated 13 million people were facing severe hunger in the Horn of Africa region as a result of a persistent drought.

Leading international credit ratings agency Fitch has warned that the results of this month's parliamentary elections in Lebanon make it difficult for any coalition to have a governing majority, potentially complicating implementation of reforms.

Lebanon is in the grips of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history.

Wall Street stocks rose early Friday, extending a recent positive run for the market following U.S. data that suggested inflation is moderating.

The unofficial dollar exchange rate dropped from a record high of LBP 38,000 to at least LBP 34,300 on Friday, immediately after Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh issued a statement saying banks would resume exchange operations at the Sayrafa platform rate as of Monday.

In a statement addressed to “all the holders of Lebanese pounds, be them citizens or institutions, who want to exchange them for U.S. dollars,” Salameh said exchange requests can be submitted to Lebanese banks as of Monday.

President Michel Aoun on Friday signed a decree forming the "National Council for Pricing Policy", which is being formed for the first time since a decision was taken to form it in 1974, the Presidency said.

The Council is “a national par excellence council that comprises all the relevant parties from the official administrations and the associations of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers that represent the various segments of the Lebanese society,” the Presidency added.

China's premier called for more to be done to stabilize the world's second-largest economy, issuing an unusually stark warning as the country's zero-Covid strategy bites into growth.