Thousands of people in Niger protested Saturday against French nuclear firm Areva, which has been mining uranium in the impoverished country for nearly 50 years, one of the organizers said.

"The aim of the protest gathering some 5,000 people is to support the government in its upcoming discussions with Areva on the subject of our uranium," Azaoua Mamane told Agencec France Presse. Several other sources confirmed the turnout number.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Friday announced a program to slash costs and reduce bureaucracy at the huge development organization that is expected to result in significant layoffs.

Kim said the Bank would seek to reduce annual costs by $400 million a year, restructuring to reduce compartmentalization and cut bureaucracy, to better deliver bank services in its fight against poverty and underdevelopment.

Finance chiefs of the G20 on Friday called for Washington to quickly resolve the political paralysis over its budget and debt ceiling.

Singling the United States out in a statement on the issues confronting global finance, representatives of the world's most powerful economies signaled worry about the stalemate that could potentially force Washington to default on its debt.

Tax the rich and better target the multinationals: The IMF has set off shockwaves this week in Washington by suggesting countries fight budget deficits by raising taxes.

Tucked inside a report on public debt, the new tack was mostly eclipsed by worries about the U.S. budget crisis, but did not escape the notice of experts and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon are to reopen despite the U.S. government shutdown, with U.S. states temporarily paying the running costs of world-famous landmarks shuttered by the standoff.

Mount Rushmore, Rocky Mountain National Park and eight federal sites in Utah will also reopen starting this weekend, officials said Friday, although other world-famous destinations including Yosemite National Park and Alcatraz prison remain closed.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov called on the U.S. on Friday to quickly resolve the political stalemate over the U.S. budget and debt ceiling.

Speaking in a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers, Siluanov said: "I would like to express our wish that our U.S. counterparts will find a solution to this as quickly as possible... Otherwise we can't move ahead."

Britain's Royal Mail will be valued at £3.3 billion ($5.3 billion, 3.9 billion euros) when it launches on the stock market in a controversial part-privatization, the government said Thursday.

The offer price was set at 330 pence per share, which was at the top of the expected range of between 300-330 pence, it said in a statement.

U.S. federal courts will have to close their doors at the end of next week if no deal is reached to end the government shutdown, officials said Thursday.

Barring an agreement by Congress, the courts will face a shortage of funds by latest the end of business on October 18, the U.S. courts' administrative office said.

Iraq on Thursday signed a $6 billion deal for the construction and operation of an oil refinery with a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, a government statement said.

The statement on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's website said he attended a signing ceremony for the deal between "the oil ministry and Swiss company SATAREM."

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Republicans would vote to extend the government's ability to borrow money for six weeks, averting a default for now — but only if President Barack Obama first agrees to fresh negotiations on spending cuts. Under the Republican plan, the separate partial government shutdown would continue.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama "would likely sign" a bill with no conditions attached increasing the debt cap. He said the president also wants Republicans to reopen the government. But he did not rule out Obama agreeing to the debt ceiling proposal if the government remains closed.