By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new government on Tuesday which he described as a break with the past, bringing in some fresh faces but retaining many senior ministers.The new government included a new economy minister and a new first deputy prime minister, but the finance, foreign, defense, energy and agriculture ministers all kept their jobs.The new team was formed less than a week after Putin unveiled a sweeping shake-up of the political system, which led to the resignation of his ally Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister along with the entire...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new government on Tuesday which he described as a break with the past, bringing in some fresh faces but retaining many senior ministers.The new government included a new economy minister and a new first deputy prime minister, but the finance, foreign, defense, energy and agriculture ministers all kept their jobs.The new team was formed less than a week after Putin unveiled a sweeping shake-up of the political system, which led to the resignation of his ally Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister along with the entire...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow introduced a travel permit system on Wednesday to help it police a lockdown meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, a move that initially created traffic jams and long queues of people wanting to use the metro.Slideshow The system’s introduction coincided with a record daily rise of 3,388 in the number of confirmed Russian cases of the virus, taking the nationwide tally to 24,490. The coronavirus response centre said 198 people had died, an overnight rise of 28.Moscow, the worst-hit region, has imposed a city-wide lockdown, ordering its 12.7 million...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow introduced a travel permit system on Wednesday to help it police a lockdown meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, a move that initially created traffic jams and long queues of people wanting to use the metro.Slideshow The system’s introduction coincided with a record daily rise of 3,388 in the number of confirmed Russian cases of the virus, taking the nationwide tally to 24,490. The coronavirus response centre said 198 people had died, an overnight rise of 28.Moscow, the worst-hit region, has imposed a city-wide lockdown, ordering its 12.7 million...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian fishing trawler capsized and sank in the freezing waters of the northern Barents Sea on Monday, with 17 of its 19 crew members feared dead.The Emergency Situations Ministry attributed the sinking to a heavy build-up of ice on the trawler, which sank off the coast of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.It said two crew members had been rescued by another fishing boat in the area and that searches to try to recover the rest of the crew were ongoing.“Chances of survival in such conditions, even if someone was wearing a wet suit, are practically zero,” a source...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian fishing trawler capsized and sank in the freezing waters of the northern Barents Sea on Monday, with 17 of its 19 crew members feared dead.The Emergency Situations Ministry attributed the sinking to a heavy build-up of ice on the trawler, which sank off the coast of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.It said two crew members had been rescued by another fishing boat in the area and that searches to try to recover the rest of the crew were ongoing.“Chances of survival in such conditions, even if someone was wearing a wet suit, are practically zero,” a source...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content, threatening to block the U.S. platform outright if it did not comply with its deletion demands.The move escalates a growing stand-off between Moscow and U.S. social media firms. It comes weeks after Russian authorities accused Twitter and others of failing to delete posts that Moscow said illegally urged children to take part in anti-Kremlin protests.In Wednesday’s announcement, Russia’s Roskomnadzor communications regulator...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content, threatening to block the U.S. platform outright if it did not comply with its deletion demands.The move escalates a growing stand-off between Moscow and U.S. social media firms. It comes weeks after Russian authorities accused Twitter and others of failing to delete posts that Moscow said illegally urged children to take part in anti-Kremlin protests.In Wednesday’s announcement, Russia’s Roskomnadzor communications regulator...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content, threatening to block the U.S. platform outright if it did not comply with its deletion demands.The move escalates a growing stand-off between Moscow and U.S. social media firms. It comes weeks after Russian authorities accused Twitter and others of failing to delete posts that Moscow said illegally urged children to take part in anti-Kremlin protests.In Wednesday’s announcement, Russia’s Roskomnadzor communications regulator...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content, threatening to block the U.S. platform outright if it did not comply with its deletion demands.The move escalates a growing stand-off between Moscow and U.S. social media firms. It comes weeks after Russian authorities accused Twitter and others of failing to delete posts that Moscow said illegally urged children to take part in anti-Kremlin protests.In Wednesday’s announcement, Russia’s Roskomnadzor communications regulator...WW…

By MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia was emerging from the novel coronavirus epidemic with minimal losses, having handled it better than the United States where he said party political interests got in the way.With 528,964 confirmed cases, Russia has the third-highest number of infections after Brazil and the United States.Its official death toll stands at 6,948, much lower than in many other countries, including the United States which has had over 115,000 deaths. The veracity of Russian statistics has sometimes been the focus of fierce debate...…By MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia was emerging from the novel coronavirus epidemic with minimal losses, having handled it better than the United States where he said party political interests got in the way.With 528,964 confirmed cases, Russia has the third-highest number of infections after Brazil and the United States.Its official death toll stands at 6,948, much lower than in many other countries, including the United States which has had over 115,000 deaths. The veracity of Russian statistics has sometimes been the focus of fierce debate...WW…