President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials have met with the oil minister of Iran to discuss cooperation in energy matters and efforts to defeat economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies.

Officials from both oil-producing nations ratified agreements in this week's meetings in Venezuela, according to a statement from that country's Petroleum Ministry. Iran's delegation was led by Oil Minister Javad Owji.

Across Europe, rising energy prices are testing the resolve of ordinary consumers and business owners who are caught between the continent's dependence on cheap Russian energy and its revulsion over President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Governments are trying to replace energy supplies from Russia, mindful that their regular payments are funding a war that has seen thousands of civilian deaths and widespread destruction. They also face a nerve-wracking showdown with Moscow over its demands for payments in rubles, and the possibility that Russia will block supplies, as it did to Bulgaria and Poland last week.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said the EU would impose a gradual Russian oil ban, as Brussels unveiled new sanctions to punish Russia for invading Ukraine.

Iran's oil minister has paid an official visit to ally Venezuela to meet President Nicolas Maduro and discuss ways to "overcome" the effects of U.S. sanctions against both nations, officials said. 

President Michel Aoun on Sunday greeted Lebanese workers as the country marked Labor Day, pledging that he will continue to work for “transforming Lebanon’s economy from a rentier economy into a productive one.”

Stocks are falling in early trading on Wall Street Friday, putting major indexes back into the red for the week after several sharp moves both up and down. The market is also heading for steep losses in April as traders fret about the tough medicine the Federal Reserve is planning to fight inflation in the form of higher interest rates, which will increase borrowing costs across the board, raising loan rates for cars, credit cards and mortgages. Bond yields rose after another hot reading on inflation, and Amazon sank 11% after reporting a rare quarterly loss. The S&P 500 fell 1.1%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

Poland's government and gas companies were attempting Friday to restore the flow of gas to some municipalities after a Russian firm halted supply when Warsaw slapped it with sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The supply cut was a separate development from Russia's decision earlier this week to stop gas deliveries to Poland.

Elon Musk has sold 4.4 million shares of Tesla stock worth roughly $4 billion, most likely to help fund his purchase of Twitter.

Musk reported the sale in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The shares were sold over the past few days, at prices ranging from $872.02 to $999.13.

Sri Lanka's president has agreed to replace his older brother as prime minister in a proposed interim government to solve a political impasse caused by the country's worst economic crisis in decades, a prominent lawmaker said Friday.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed that a national council will be appointed to name a new prime minister and Cabinet comprised of all parties in Parliament, lawmaker Maithripala Sirisena said after meeting with the president.

Mountainous and remote, the Greek-Bulgaria border once formed the southern corner of the Iron Curtain. Today, it's where the European Union is redrawing the region's energy map to ease its heavy reliance on Russian natural gas.

A new pipeline — built during the COVID-19 pandemic, tested and due to start commercial operation in June — would ensure that large volumes of gas flow between the two countries in both directions to generate electricity, fuel industry and heat homes.