Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun decided on Tuesday to lift travel bans against BLOM Bank chairman Saad al-Azhari and Bank Audi chairman Samir Hanna.

The decision came after the lawyer of the two banks, Sakher al-Hashem submitted a request to lift the travel bans to Judge Aoun.

The Central Bank is stumbling, economic expert Edmond Shammas told al-Jadeed on Tuesday, following a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Shami about the Central Bank being bankrupted.

Shami had explained in a TV interview that his remarks had been quoted out of context.

Trade in the amphetamine-type stimulant captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion, posing an increasing health and security risk to the region, a report said.

Some captagon production facilities, albeit small ones, are located in Lebanon, already the world's third-largest hashish exporter after Morocco and Afghanistan.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Monday it was not yet possible for the EU to cut Russian gas imports as a sanction against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, since it would do it more harm than just to Russia.

Rights groups on Monday said an Egyptian request for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) must require Cairo to expand social protection, tackle corruption and ensure judicial independence.

The U.S. government seized a mega yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to the Russian president on Monday, the first in the government's sanctions initiative to "seize and freeze" giant boats and other pricey assets of Russian elites.

Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the yacht at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat on Monday morning.

Sri Lanka's president asked opposition parties to form a unity government on Monday after his Cabinet resigned amid public protests over the country's worst economic crisis in memory and deepening mistrust in his leadership.

All 26 ministers of the Rajapaksa government handed in their resignations Sunday night after thousands of people held street protests denouncing the government despite a countrywide state of emergency and a curfew.

Global shares were mixed Monday, with European stocks mostly lower after a day of gains in Asia.

Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong rose. London was little changed. Shanghai was closed for a holiday.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter, purchasing approximately 73.5 million shares, according to a regulatory filing Monday.

Musk's stake in Twitter is considered a passive investment, which means Musk is a long-term investor that's looking to minimize his buying and selling of the shares.

BMW has halted production at two German factories. Mercedes is slowing work at its assembly plants. Volkswagen, warning of production stoppages, is looking for alternative sources for parts.

For more than a year, the global auto industry has struggled with a disastrous shortage of computer chips and other vital parts that has shrunk production, slowed deliveries and sent prices for new and used cars soaring beyond reach for millions of consumers.