Europe

ST. PETERSBURG, July 29. /TASS/:  Russia received about 30 peace initiatives for a settlement in Ukraine through official and unofficial channels, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the sidelines of the second Russia-Africa summit.

"We are grateful to everyone. There were many such initiatives. It seems to me that a month ago there were already about 30 [initiatives] that were made by public figures through state channels or even in some private way," the diplomat noted.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/: Those countries that the West is "courting" in its efforts to promote the peace formula put forward by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky need to understand that the future of millions of Russians is at stake, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/: Russia is not waiting for yet more promises, but for the fulfillment of the original Russia-related provisions of the Black Sea grain deal for unblocking Russian agricultural exports, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law imposing a 10% tax on excess profits for large companies. The document was published on the official website of legal information.

The bill will go into effect on January 1, 2024, and the tax must be paid by January 28, 2024. It will be allocated to the federal budget and will be one-time. The tax is expected to generate 300 bln rubles ($3.12 bln) in revenue.

COPENHAGEN, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Denmark is tightening border controls to boost domestic security and prevent unwanted individuals from entering the country after recent Koran burnings, the government said, following a similar decision by Sweden this week.

Authorities fear revenge attacks after anti-Islam activists in Denmark and Sweden burned and damaged several copies of the Muslim holy book in recent months, inciting outrage in the Muslim world and demands that governments ban such acts.

KAMNIK, Slovenia Aug 4 (Reuters) - At least two people died as torrential rains hit northern and western Slovenia on Friday, causing floods, cutting power and disrupting traffic.

Two men from the Netherlands died, possibly after being hit by lightning, Slovenian press agency STA reported. The Dutch government confirmed the deaths but not the cause.

An elderly Slovenian woman also died during the storm, though authorities were still looking into the circumstances, STA added.

KYIV, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Security Service of Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of preparing to stage a "false flag" attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to blame Ukrainian saboteurs as part of an effort to draw Minsk into the war in Ukraine.

The attack, it said in a statement on the Telegram app, would be carried out by military and intelligence forces sent by Moscow to Belarus disguised as Wagner mercenaries who were exiled after staging a mutiny in Russia in June.

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia has doubled its 2023 defence spending target to more than $100 billion - a third of all public expenditure - a government document reviewed by Reuters showed, as the costs of the war in Ukraine spiral and place growing strain on Moscow's finances.

The figures shed light on Russia's spending on the conflict at a time when sector-specific budget expenditure data is no longer published.

ROME (AP) — An American woman was killed off the Amalfi Coast after the motorboat she and her family were traveling on crashed into a tourist sailboat, Italian state TV said Friday.

The crash occurred Thursday off the popular stretch of coastline near Naples in southern Italy.

According to Italian media reports, the motorboat, rented through a skipper, slammed into the sailboat, which was carrying dozens of U.S. and German tourists, including some celebrating a wedding.

MELEKHOVO, Russia (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is preparing to hear the verdict Friday in his latest trial on extremism charges.

The prosecution has demanded a 20-year prison sentence, and the politician himself said he expects to receive a lengthy term. If the court finds Navalny guilty, it would be his fifth criminal conviction, all of which his supporters see as a deliberate Kremlin strategy to silence its most ardent opponent.