Page 75 - Peter Graff News Today

(Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin complained on Tuesday that most of his fighters had not yet received medals promised by President Vladimir Putin for their role in the Ukraine wars bloodiest battle, the latest twist in a feud with the top brass.

The European Union was set to unveil on Tuesday an aid package for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros ($55 bln), two officials said ahead of a formal announcement. The figure - due to be unveiled by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - comes after a review of the bloc's 2021-27 budget and ahead of an international conference in London on Wednesday and Thursday on raising funds to rebuild Ukraine from a war Russia unleashed on it a year and a half ago. The World Bank estimates ...

Bhutan will lower the nightly fees it charges tourists who stay more than four days, in an attempt to boost visitor numbers that are still a fraction of the level before the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities say the SDF is designed to attract wealthy tourists by discouraging budget travelers who spoil the environment. Bhutan bans mountain climbing to preserve the sanctity of its peaks, and draws only a fraction of the tourists that visit nearby Nepal.

TUNIS (Reuters) - France will offer Tunisia 25.8 million euros to help it stop boats carrying migrants across the Mediterranean, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said during a visit to Tunis on Monday.

The World Trade Organization largely backed Japan on Monday in its challenge to Chinese anti-dumping duties imposed in 2019 on imports of Japanese stainless steel.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who quit parliament last week over a finding that he misled lawmakers about COVID lockdown parties, was accused on Friday of a new breach for taking a newspaper columnist job without waiting for required ethics vetting.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday cited positive data points to laud Russia's economic health and said surging defence spending was needed to boost national security, as Moscow grapples with the cost of fighting in Ukraine. Putin, speaking at the plenary session of Russia's flagship St Petersburg International Economic Forum, said the public finances were generally balanced, putting the $42-billion budget deficit so far this year largely down to bringing forward some planned expenditu...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two coders at the file-sharing website Megaupload were sentenced to prison by a New Zealand court on Thursday after pleading guilty in a deal in which they promised to testify against the site's founder Kim Dotcom, according to the New Zealand Herald. Mathias Ortmann was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison and Bram van der Kolk to two years and six months by the

SOUTHEASTERN UKRAINE (Reuters) - Russia announced plans on Thursday to stage elections in occupied parts of Ukraine in just three months, Moscows latest bid to signal it is in control even as a Ukrainian counteroffensive has pushed its forces back in some areas.

* New finance minister, central bank chief named since re-election * Erdogan determined to bring inflation to single digits * Turkish leader is self-described enemy of interest rat...