Four men walked to the parking lot before dawn, then sat down blocking the entrance and linked their arms to await the arrival of hundreds of federal and state employees for the work day.

Protesting years without pay raises, the four employees of Puerto Rico's Authority of Roads and Transportation refused to budge. A specialized police unit finally moved in to remove them, and as they were put in handcuffs, one of the men yelled: "Fair salary! Give us what you owe us!"

World shares were mixed on Friday as investors watched developments in the Ukraine after the U.S. warned of a high risk of a Russian invasion.

Benchmarks rose in London, Paris and Shanghai but fell in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Oil prices fell and U.S. futures were higher.

An iconic Gaza bookstore destroyed in an Israeli airstrike last year has reopened, lifting the spirits of its ecstatic owner and a large crowd of well-wishers celebrating the moment.

The five-story building that housed Samir Mansour's bookstore on its ground floor was reduced to rubble during the 11-day war between Israel and the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers in May. The 100,000 books at the shop became piles of torn papers mired in ash and dust.

Saudi Arabia is signaling it isn't willing to pump more oil and won't push for changes to an agreement with Russia and other producers that has kept a lid on oil production levels.

This has Washington concerned as gasoline prices rise and tensions with Russia over Ukraine fuel market uncertainty.

A tanker owned by a Los Angeles-based private equity firm likely took part in the illicit trade of Iranian crude oil at sea despite American sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic amid the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers, an advocacy group alleges. The firm said Thursday it is cooperating with U.S. government investigators.

The group United Against Nuclear Iran raised its allegations in a letter dated Tuesday to Oaktree Capital Management, which holds assets worth over $160 billion. Satellite images and maritime tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press correspond to the group's identification of the vessels allegedly involved and showed them side-by-side off the coast of Singapore on Saturday.

The European Parliament on Tuesday agreed to an urgent vote on a 1.2-billion-euro ($1.4-billion) EU aid package for Ukraine, as fears of a potential Russian invasion threaten its economy. 

European stock markets rebounded and oil prices tumbled Tuesday on hopes that Ukraine and Russia would avoid a full-blown conflict.

Delays in dealing with the growing debt burden in poor countries seems unlikely to be resolved by the G20, a top World Bank official warned.

A week-long petrol scarcity is fraying nerves in oil-producing Nigeria as gas stations run out of stock, causing long queues of motorists in major cities.

The Israel Government Companies Authority decided this week to disqualify a Turkish company from taking part in a tender for the privatization of Haifa Port, an Israeli media report said.