Russia

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/: The coronavirus situation in Russia is stabilizing, Anna Popova, chief of Russia’s sanitary watchdog, said on Monday.

"The epidemic situation in Russia is stabilizing. This is an obvious fact. The daily tally of newly confirmed cases is decreasing," she told a briefing on the prospects for the revival of the country’s travel sector.

She stressed that the Russian authorities are taking all possible measures to protect people’s health.

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/: Nearly 1,000 staff of the Federal Penitentiary Service and 238 inmates have contracted the coronavirus, the Russian prison authority’s press service told TASS on Monday.

"To date, the number of confirmed cases of disease caused by COVID-19 among suspects, defendants and convicts stands at 238, and there are 980 cases among staff and workers of the service," the press service said.

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a draft of a new CIS treaty on combating legalization of criminal incomes, financing terrorism and sponsoring proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as follows from a document posted on the official website of legal information on Monday.

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/: Attempts to privatize the Moon run counter to international law, CEO of Russia's Roscosmos State Space Agency Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station on Monday.

"We will not, in any case, accept any attempts to privatize the Moon. It is illegal, it runs counter to international law," Rogozin pointed out.

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/: The Russian government will start gradually lifting restrictions on domestic tourism from June 1, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Monday.

"The safe and controlled launch of domestic tourism in the first half of summer is, of course, a priority for us. From June 1, the Russian government will start easing restrictions systemically and accurately," the vice-premier said at a government meeting on the prospects of reopening the tourism industry.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors asked a court on Monday to sentence former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is on trial accused of spying for the United States, to 18 years in a maximum security prison, his lawyer said.

Whelan, a U.S. national who also holds British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained in December 2018. He says he was set up in a sting and has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His trial, which began on March 23, has been closed to the public as its content broaches classified information.

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/: Investigators of the Federal Security Service (FSB) have terminated a criminal case against a 17-year-old boy, who brought an explosive device to the agency’s regional office and died when it exploded, a law enforcement source told TASS.

"FSB investigators carried out a thorough investigation as part of the terrorism case launched against the teenager. Investigators received results of forensic examinations, questioned witnesses and resolved to terminate the case in connection with the suspect’s death, for reasons other than exoneration," the source said.

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/: Russian regions will be provided with 100 bln rubles ($1.4 bln) in assistance allocated in order to compensate for the declining budget revenues, according to a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

"The funds allocated in line with the Russian president’s instructions will be provided to 56 federal subjects where tax and non-tax revenues as of May 1, 2020 were lower than those in the previous two years," the government’s press service said.

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/: The United States is trying to use controlled media, bloggers and opposition politicians to undermine Russians’ trust in President Vladimir Putin, whose policy has brought the country to a new level, State Duma (lower house) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Sunday.

"Our President Vladimir Putin has brought Russia to a new level when it is taken into account and respected. If compared with the 1990s, it is absolutely evident that there has been significant growth in all spheres of life," Volodin said.

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/: The number of new COVID-19 cases in Russia rose by 8,599 in the past day, a record low growth since May 1, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

A total of 344,481 COVID-19 cases have been registered in all Russian regions. According to the crisis center, the daily growth in cases was at a record low rate of 2.6% versus 2.9% a day earlier.