Europe

NOVO-OGARYOVO, May 13. /TASS/: Requirements for civilian gun ownership need to be tightened, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with cabinet members on Thursday.

He was confident that the Investigative Committee would thoroughly investigate the circumstances of a tragic incident in the city of Kazan, where nine people were killed and 23 suffered wounds in a school shooting.

SEVASTOPOL, May 13. /TASS/: The Russian Black Sea Fleet is set to get seven combat ships and craft in 2021, Black Sea Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Igor Osipov said on Thursday.

"New warships constantly arrive. This year, we are planning to accept seven combat ships and boats for service in the Fleet," the commander said.

MINSK, May 13. /TASS/: Belarus plans to purchase and manufacture domestically Russia’s single-dose Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine. Plans are also in store to launch the full production cycle of the Sputnik V vaccine this coming fall, Belarusian Health Minister Dmitry Pinevich said in an interview the SB Belarus Segodnya newspaper published on Thursday.

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/: The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has announced the approval of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of the Republic of Maldives.

"FDA granted Sputnik V an emergency use authorization. Thus Sputnik V has been registered in 65 countries with total population of over 3.2 billion people," the Fund said in a statement on Thursday.

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a video conversation on Thursday to discuss, among other things, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They voiced support for a two-state solution to the problem, the Kremlin's press service said on Thursday.

Putin and Guterres held a "detailed exchange of opinion on a number of crucial regional issues."

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/: The school shooting incident in the Russian city of Kazan was a terrible catastrophe and a barbaric crime, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with cabinet members on Thursday.

"We will open by addressing the tragedy that recently occurred in Kazan. As you know, a terrible catastrophe took place two days ago. The victims of this barbaric crime were several children and teachers at School Number 175," the head of state said.

He asked the meeting’s participants to observe a minute of silence in memory of those killed in the school attack.

(Reuters) --- Britain's independent adviser on ministers' behaviour said on Thursday he would publish any advice he gives to Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the refurbishment of his Downing Street apartment and declarations of his own interests.

Britain's Electoral Commission has launched an investigation into the funding of work on the prime minister's apartment in Downing Street, saying there were grounds to suspect an offence had been committed. Johnson says he has followed the rules and covered the costs of the refurbishment.

(Reuters) --- Former British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday that it was "painful" for him to have to face parliamentary scrutiny over the collapse of Greensill Capital, for which he had acted as an advisor and lobbyist.

"This is a painful day coming back to a place that I love and respect so much, albeit virtually, but in these circumstances," he said in an opening statement to the House of Commons' Treasury Committee.

(Reuters) --- An ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said on Thursday his team could no longer organise formal street protests after a Russian state crackdown, but that "spontaneous" protests would take their place.

The comments, by Lithuania-based Leonid Volkov, are the latest sign that a legal onslaught against Navalny's movement has forced it to rethink the way it does things. 

13 May 2021; MEMO: British lawmaker Layla Moran, who is of Palestinian descent, made an impassioned plea in parliament Wednesday for the UK to support every effort to stop the escalating violence in Israel and Palestine, especially in Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency reported.