Fuel prices dropped anew in Lebanon on Wednesday a day after oil suffered another dizzying plunge, with Brent crude sliding to a five-year low under $59.

The weekly update of fuel prices witnessed yet another LL1,100 drop on gasoline prices, while the diesel prices decreased by LL1,000.

U.S. President Barack Obama will sign into law a bill passed by Congress to tighten sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, the White House said Tuesday, amid a dramatic run on the ruble.

U.S. and European sanctions against Russia could be lifted within days if President Vladimir Putin makes the right choices in Ukraine, top U.S. diplomat John Kerry said Tuesday.

The Russian ruble crashed to new record lows Tuesday, losing some 20 percent in value by the afternoon despite drastic overnight measures by the central bank to hike the key rate.

The ruble hit 80 to the dollar and 100 to the euro on the Moscow Exchange. Overall the Russian currency has lost nearly 60 percent of its value since the start of the year.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday branded new sanctions approved by the U.S. Congress against Russia as hostile.

"This move by the United States is of course hostile," he told Interfax news agency in an interview. "The President (Barack Obama) now has a choice whether or not to sign this law."

The United Nations on Monday released a damning report accusing Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels of torturing and indiscriminately shelling civilians in the bloody conflict in the separatist east.

Its global governing body believes the eight-month conflict has killed at least 4,634 and wounded 10,234 people -- although Monday's survey suggests "the actual numbers of casualties is likely to be considerably higher".

Human Rights Watch sounded the alarm Monday over the rising number of homophobic attacks in Russia, slamming Vladimir Putin's government for "inaction" and urging a crackdown on hate crimes.

The U.S.-based rights group said homophobic attacks increased in Russia after Putin signed a hugely controversial law banning "gay propaganda" to minors.

Sales by Russian arms manufacturers continue to expand thanks to Moscow's investments despite a downturn in global defense spending, a Stockholm-based think-tank said Monday.

"The remarkable increases in Russian companies' arms sales in both 2012 and 2013 are in large part due to uninterrupted investments in military procurement by the Russian government during the 2000s," said Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Top U.S. diplomat John Kerry met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov Sunday, amid anger in Moscow over the prospect of new U.S. sanctions and possible lethal military aid for Ukraine.

The meeting in Rome came after U.S. lawmakers passed a bill -- dubbed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act -- calling for additional sanctions against Russia and the delivery of up to $350 million (280 million euros) worth of U.S. military hardware to Kiev.

Top U.S. diplomat John Kerry was to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov Sunday, amid anger in Moscow over the prospect of new U.S. sanctions and possible lethal military aid for Ukraine.