French anti-corruption judges have taken over the probe into the personal wealth of Lebanon's central bank chief, prosecutors said, raising the likelihood he may face money-laundering charges.

A demonstrator was shot dead during protests against water shortages in drought-hit Khuzestan in southwestern Iran, state media reported Saturday, with an official blaming the death on "opportunists and rioters."

The demonstrator was killed in the Khuzestan province town of Shadegan, the official IRNA news agency said.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea has met with World Food Program Deputy Country Director Nicolas Oberlin and others to learn more about the World Food Program’s ongoing efforts to address the deteriorating food security situation in Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy said on Friday.

Most Asian and European stock markets declined Friday as concerns over inflation, economic growth and virus outbreaks weighed on investors' minds, dealers said.

Traders digested data confirming eurozone inflation had slowed in June to 1.9 percent from 2.0 percent in May, which suggested that price pressures remain elevated.

The Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors on Friday after nine months of shutdown caused by the Covid pandemic, the landmark's longest closure since World War II.

The lifts of the "Iron Lady" again whisked tourists to its 300-metre (1,000-foot) summit and its majestic views of the French capital as a marching band played.

Britain's competition regulator announced Thursday it has imposed hundreds of millions of pounds in fines on several pharmaceutical firms for breaching the law in the supply of hydrocortisone tablets.

Italy has struck a deal with the European Commission over the creation of a new airline to replace its beleaguered national airline Alitalia, the economy ministry said Thursday.

Moscow prosecutors on Thursday asked for suspended sentences of six years for a prominent U.S. investor and five for a French banker whose arrests more than two years ago rattled Russia's business community.

Britain's unemployment is falling as the nation's Covid-hit economy reopens -- but vacancies are soaring as businesses struggle to recruit sufficient staff, official data showed Thursday.

Wall Street rose at the start of trading on Wednesday as traders took heart from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's pledge that the central bank will not end its easy money policies yet.

In testimony released ahead of his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said the US economy has "a long way to go" to return to full employment following the Covid-19 pandemic, and predicted inflation will remain "elevated" inflation in the coming months before declining.