Iraqi merchant Mohamed has never seen such a grim tourist season: years of drought have shrunken the majestic Lake Habbaniyah, keeping away the holidaymakers who once flocked there during summer.

"The last two years, there was some activity, but now there's no more water," said 35-year-old Mohamed, asking to be identified by his first name only.

The Russian ruble has reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Western sanctions weigh on energy exports and weaken demand for the national currency.

On Monday, the Russian currency passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than 25% decline in its value since the beginning of the year and hitting the lowest level in almost 17 months.

Global stock markets were mixed Monday after stronger U.S. inflation revived worries the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates again.

Shanghai, London and Tokyo declined. Paris, Frankfurt and Wall Street futures rose. Oil prices fell.

A preliminary forensic audit of Lebanon's central bank by professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has painted a damning picture of the institution under long-serving former governor Riad Salameh.

The British economy unexpectedly grew in the second quarter of the year largely as a result of a strong rebound in June when many businesses, particularly in the leisure sector benefited from the warm and settled weather, official figures showed Friday.

The Office for National Statistics said the economy expanded by 0.2% in the April to June period, compared with the previous three-month period. That was higher than the 0.1% recorded in the first quarter and ahead of economists' expectations for no change.

Egypt's annual inflation rate reached a record high in July, as price hikes continue unabated in the cash-strapped North African country, official figures said Thursday.

Consumer prices rose 38.2% from a year earlier, up from 36.8% in June, according to data released by the state-run Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics.

Bringing back factory jobs is one of the most popular of White House promises — regardless of who happens to be the president.

Donald Trump said he'd do it with tariffs. Barack Obama said companies would start "insourcing." George W. Bush said tax cuts would do the trick. But factory jobs seemed to struggle to fully return after each recession.

The signs of hip-hop's influence are everywhere — from Pharrell Williams becoming Louis Vuitton's men's creative director to billion-dollar brands like Dr. Dre's Beats headphones and retail mainstays like Diddy's Sean John and Jay-Z's Rocawear.

It didn't start out that way.

Stocks and bonds are holding relatively steady as Wall Street waits for a highly anticipated report on inflation. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading Wednesday, coming off a rough run where it's dropped five of the last six days. The Dow and the Nasdaq were also barely moving. On Thursday the government will give the latest monthly update on inflation that consumers are feeling across the country. Economists expect to see an acceleration to 3.3% in July from 3% in June. That's down sharply from a peak of more than 9% last summer.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

The Syrian government decided to increase prices of drugs by 50%, the head of the pharmacies syndicate in Damascus said Tuesday, as the Syrian pound hit new a low in recent days.

Hassan Derwan did not give a reason for the price hike in his interview with the pro-government daily Al-Watan. Earlier this year, prices were raised by between 50% and 80%.