Iraq approves record $153 billion budget including big public hiring

By Ahmed Rasheed and Timour Azhari BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraq’s parliament on Monday approved a 2023 budget of 198.9 trillion dinars ($153 billion) that sets out record spending on a growing public wage bill and development projects to improve services and rebuild infrastructure ruined by neglect and war. The budget deficit is estimated at a record…

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Children who survived five weeks in Colombia jungle will tell own story: father

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Four Indigenous children who were missing for more than five weeks in Colombia’s southern jungle will tell their own story about the ordeal, the father of the two youngest siblings said on Sunday. The children, aged 1 through 13, survived a May 1 plane crash that killed their mother and two other…

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Ukraine announces gains in “first results” of counterattack against Russia

By Tom Balmforth KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Sunday its troops had made territorial advances on three villages in its southeast, the first liberated settlements it has reported since launching a counter-offensive this past week. Kyiv’s forces posted unverified videos showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at a bombed-out building in the village of Blahodatne…

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Japan’s wholesale inflation eases, goods close to consumers continue to rise

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s wholesale inflation slowed for a fifth consecutive month in May because of sliding fuel and commodity prices, data showed on Monday, a sign cost-push pressure that has driven up consumer inflation may be subsiding. The data underscores the central bank’s view that consumer inflation will slow in coming months…

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US House Speaker McCarthy hopes to ‘get back on right track’ after Conservative revolt

(Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday he hoped to get back on the right track after a conservative revolt paralyzed the Republican Party’s efforts to advance its agenda in Washington. The standoff between McCarthy and a hardline faction of his own Republican majority has forced the chamber into a holding pattern….

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North Korea’s Kim vows to ‘hold hands’ with Putin for strategic cooperation

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to “hold hands” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and bolster strategic cooperation on their shared goal of building a powerful country, state media KCNA reported on Monday. Kim made the pledge in a message to Putin marking Russia’s National Day, defending his decision to…

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BOJ set to keep ultra-low rates, may signal inflation overshoot

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy this week and its forecast for a moderate economic recovery, as robust corporate and household spending cushion the blow from slowing overseas demand, sources said. The central bank also may signal that inflation is overshooting its forecasts, which…

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