Lebanon, two international oil giants and state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Energy signed an agreement Sunday for the Qatari firm to join a consortium that will search for gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon's coast.

Britain's finance minister on Friday dismissed "gloom" over its recession-threatened economy and vowed to tap into Brexit opportunities and tackle rampant inflation to boost growth during a cost-of-living crisis.

Global shares advanced Friday, tracking a rally on Wall Street following reports suggesting the economy and corporate profits may be doing better than feared.

France's CAC 40 gained 0.2% to 7,107.44. Germany's DAX was unchanged at 15,134.04, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose nearly 0.2% to 7,773.10. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1% lower and that for the S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%.

For the second time this month, House Republicans are seeking to restrict presidential use of the nation's emergency oil stockpile — a proposal that has already drawn a White House veto threat.

A GOP bill set for a vote Friday would require the government to offset any non-emergency withdrawals from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with new drilling on public lands and oceans. Republicans accuse President Joe Biden of abusing the reserve for political reasons to keep gas prices low, while Biden says tapping the reserve was needed last year in response to a ban on Russian oil imports following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Lebanon, which is in a deep economic, social and political crisis, is also witnessing a major showdown between a judge investigating a devastating explosion and the country's top prosecutor.

Here is a recap of events since protests erupted in October 2019:

Lebanon's central bank said Thursday it has frozen the accounts of a foreign exchange trader and his sons, after the U.S. sanctioned them this week over links to Hezbollah.

The central bank "took a decision to freeze all the accounts" of Hassan Moukalled as well as those of his sons Rayyan and Rani and two businesses that he owns, it said in a statement.

Thousands of workers in Cyprus, including government employees, teachers and builders walked off the job Thursday for an island-wide, three-hour work stoppage to protest what they claim is employers' backpedaling on a deal for inflation-linked pay increases.

Some 14 trade unions representing a diverse range of workers from bus drivers to airport staff responded to a call by union bosses to stage the brief strike as a warning to employers and government mediators that they won't accept any rollbacks on what they say they're lawfully entitled to.

The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.9% annual pace from October through December, ending 2022 with momentum despite the pressure of high interest rates and widespread fears of a looming recession.

Thursday's estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation's gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of economic output — decelerated last quarter from the 3.2% annual growth rate it had posted from July through September. Most economists think the economy will slow further in the current quarter and slide into at least a mild recession by midyear.

Israel's tech industry has long been the driving force behind the country's economy. Now, as Israel's new government pushes ahead with its far-right agenda, the industry is flexing its muscle and speaking out in unprecedented criticism against policies it fears will drive away investors and decimate the booming sector.

The public outcry presents a pointed challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who champions Israeli technology on the international stage and has long boasted of his own economic prowess. It also highlights how deep and broad opposition to the government's policies runs, from political rivals, to top members of the justice system and military.

Wall Street is weakening Wednesday on worries about corporate profits following a mixed set of earnings reports and forecasts from Microsoft and others.

The S&P 500 was 1.4% lower in early trading, on pace for a second step down after reaching its highest level in seven weeks on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 314 points, or 0.9%, at 33,423, as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.1% lower.