Bitcoin plunged below $40,000 for the first time in more than three months Wednesday after China said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them.

Most markets rose in Asia on Tuesday as investors looked past rising virus infections in the region and bet on the global recovery, with Tokyo brushing off data showing the Japanese economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter.

Asian markets were mixed Monday as optimism about the global recovery was offset by concerns about a spike in new infections in several countries that have officials battling to avert new lockdowns.

Lebanon lost as much as a quarter of its power grid supply Friday when a Turkish firm halted power generation, the latest blow to the crisis-hit country already suffering long blackouts.

Lebanon's ailing electricity sector is facing dire cash shortages, as the country grapples with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The shelves are bare at the Panacea pharmacy north of Beirut. Its owner, Rita El Khoury, has spent the past few weeks packing up her career, apartment and belongings before leaving Lebanon for a new life abroad.

For the 35-year-old pharmacist and her husband, and countless others feeling trapped in a country hammered by multiple crises, Lebanon has become unlivable.

Britain's economic recovery began to recover strongly at the end of the first quarter despite lockdown restrictions, official data revealed on Wednesday.

France on Tuesday joined the race to woo tourists on the move again after a year of having their wings clipped by Covid-19, launching a multi-million-euro campaign targeted mainly at Europeans.

The world's top tourism destination in 2019 is hoping to save its standing among tourists keen to roam the world again after a year of national lockdowns.

Lebanon's central bank has announced a "conditional" plan that would allow depositors, hit by strangling financial restrictions, to access part of their foreign currency savings stuck in Lebanese banks.

"If it goes on like this, there won't be any more fishing around here," warns Loic Farnham, a 30-year-old fisherman, after post-Brexit rule changes prompted a furious French protest.

A fire broke out Sunday on an oil tanker off northwest Syria's Banias refinery due to "technical failure" in one of its engines, state media reported.

"A technical failure in one of the engines of an oil tanker parked off the coast of the city of Banias led to a small fire and the appearance of black smoke," SANA news agency said.