The World Economic Forum is again delaying its much-ballyhooed annual meeting of world leaders, business executives and other elites in Davos, Switzerland, amid new uncertainties about the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The forum, which repeatedly delayed, moved and finally canceled last year's event, says the previously planned Jan. 17-21 gathering in the alpine town will now take place in "early summer" — without giving specifics.

Each month, hundreds of trucks heavy with fuel, cement and other goods cross a plowed no man's land between Egypt and the Gaza Strip — and Hamas becomes stronger.

Hamas collects tens of millions of dollars a month in taxes and customs at the crossing in the border town of Rafah, according to estimates. The funds help it operate a government and powerful armed wing while international aid covers most of the basic needs of Gaza's 2 million residents.

The leaders of the European Union's two most important nations faced reporters together during a joint news conference early Friday, a show of unity at the end of the EU's final summit of the year.

Then two words - "nuclear energy" - intervened.

The value of Afghanistan's currency is tumbling, exacerbating an already severe economic crisis and deepening poverty in a country where more than half the population already doesn't have enough to eat.

The afghani lost more than 11% of its value against the U.S. dollar in the space of a day earlier this week, before recouping somewhat. But the market remains volatile, and the devaluation is already impacting Afghans.

Turkey's currency crashed to an new all-time low against the dollar Friday, a day after the Central Bank again lowered a key interest rate despite surging consumer prices, a move in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's unconventional economic policy.

The lira's fall prompted the Central Bank to intervene by selling off more foreign currency. It was the bank's fifth intervention in recent weeks to attempt to prop up the lira.

Amid ongoing talks on a new aid program, the IMF is examining data from Lebanon's government on the scope of financial sector losses, estimated at about $69 billion, a fund spokesman has said.

"I'd say there's been considerable progress in identifying financial sector losses," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters in reference to the information submitted this week by Beirut.

Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has hosted the first Council meeting of the UK-Lebanon Association Agreement in the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants in Beirut, in the presence of the British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard and Luciana Verda, Head of wider Middle East Trade Policy at the UK’s Department for International Trade.

The Bank of England raised interest rates in the United Kingdom on Thursday to combat surging consumer prices, becoming the first central bank among the world's leading economies to do so since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The increase in the bank's main rate to 0.25% from the record low of 0.1% was a surprise given the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus across the country, which is already hurting many businesses, particularly those in the hospitality sector.

Turkey's Central Bank again cut a key interest rate Thursday despite soaring consumer prices that are making it difficult for people to buy food and other basic goods, sending the country's currency to record lows against the U.S. dollar.

The bank's monetary policy committee said it is cutting the rate from 15% to 14%, though inflation is running at 21%, according to official data.

The dollar exchange rate on Lebanon’s black market witnessed a major drop on Wednesday morning, hours after the central bank announced in a statement that it would take a host of measures aimed at halting the Lebanese lira’s freefall.

The exchange rate had hit a record high of LBP 29,000 on Tuesday evening before dropping to around LBP 26,450 on Wednesday.