Europe

NIS, Serbia, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) pledged to allocate 165 million euros (165 million U.S. dollars) to aid Serbia amid the ongoing energy crisis, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said here on Friday.

She made the remarks after she met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at a gas infrastructure construction site near the city of Nis in Serbia.

ROME, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Prices in Italy jumped by 11.9 percent in October compared to the same month a year ago, the highest in nearly four decades, according to provisional data released by the National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) on Friday.

The figure was 3 percentage points above the then-record 8.9-percent of annual inflation in September, and it was the highest since 1983 in Italy. It was also the first time that the country's inflation experienced double digits since Italy's adoption of the euro currency in 1999.

GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss railway company claimed the record for the world’s longest passenger train Saturday with a trip on one of the most spectacular tracks through the Alps.

The Rhaetian Railway company ran the 1.9-kilometer-long (1.2-mile-long) train composed of 100 coaches along the Albula/Bernina route from Preda to Berguen.

The route was designated a UNESCO World Heritage in 2008 and leads through 22 tunnels, some of which spiral through mountains, and across 48 bridges, including the curved Landwasser Viaduct.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia announced Saturday that it will move to suspend its implementation of a U.N.-brokered grain deal that has seen more than 9 million tons of grain exported from Ukraine during the war and has brought down soaring global food prices.

The Russian Defense Ministry cited an alleged Ukrainian drone attack against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ships moored off the coast of occupied Crimea, which Russia says took place early Saturday, as the reason for the move. Ukraine has denied the attack, saying that the Russians mishandled their own weapons.

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/: Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev wished US entrepreneur Elon Musk good luck in overcoming the political dictatorship on the Twitter social platform. He also suggested he "quit" the "Starlink in Ukraine business."

"Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business," Medvedev tweeted Friday, tagging Musk’s account.

NOVO-OGAROVO, October 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu that only well-trained mobilized reservists should be sent to the front line in the special military operation in Ukraine.

"Actually speaking, 41,000 [fighters] are operating as part of combat units while all the rest are still undergoing combat training in one way or another," Putin said, after listening to the defense chief’s report.

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/: The Bank of Russia is interacting with foreign partners on alternatives to the Mir payment card, Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday at the press conference after the regulator’s Board meeting.

"We are interacting with all the partners. It depends on each party, each party is special. We will not probably comment on details now but we endeavor to establish various alternative opportunities for our citizens frequently going to tourist trips, on business, to have the opportunity of using modern payment methods," she said.

ATHENS, October 28. /TASS/: The EU countries have not managed yet to create a mechanism to influence gas prices on the level of the Exchange, a participant of the gas market in Greece told TASS. He was speaking after a meeting of the EU energy ministers in Luxembourg.

So far, there is no understanding how such a mechanism should function, the industry expert added.

NOVO-OGARYOVO, October 28. /TASS/: The partial mobilization has ended in Russia, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

"The deployment of citizens called up for mobilization was completed today. The conscription of citizens has stopped. The target you set - 300,000 people - has been met. No additional assignments are being planned," the Russian defense minister said.

LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of England looks set to raise borrowing costs by the most since 1989 next week even as it prepares for a recession that could be deepened by spending cuts under new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

As well as raising interest rates on Thursday for an eighth meeting in a row to tame inflation above 10% - this time by three-quarters of a percentage point according to most analysts - the BoE is also due to become the world's first big central bank to start selling bonds from its stimulus stockpile on Tuesday.