Europe

MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/: The number of officially unemployed in Russia has reached 2.09 mln people, Russia’s Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov said on Monday.

"The number of officially unemployed people is indeed growing as it has already exceeded 2 mln people as of today, reaching 2.09 mln," he said.

On May 27, Kotyakov said that the number of unemployed had exceeded 1.9 mln people.

MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov is not aware whether Russia will decide to open its borders for foreigners by June 24, however, the closed borders regime does not apply to official guests of the Victory Day parade set to take place on that day.

MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/: The number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the past day in Russia reached 9,035, taking the total case tally in the country to 414,878, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

According to the data, the number of daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 9,000 for the second day in a row. The daily growth rate reached 2.2% versus 2.3% a day earlier.

The number of Russians with COVID-19 who recovered rose by 3,994 in the past day to 175,877. The share of recoveries in Russia rose from 42.35% to 42.39%. This was the lowest growth since April 27.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - There are grounds for cautious optimism in Russia about the country’s coronavirus outbreak, where the situation remains stable, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Monday.

Russia has reported 414,878 cases of the novel coronavirus and 4,855 deaths.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has approved sweeping new rules for procurement and spending in the Vatican meant to cut costs, ensure transparent competition and reduce the risk of corruption in awarding contracts.

An Apostolic Letter and 30 pages of new norms released on Monday are the culmination of a four-year process to rationalise spending procedures and tackle nepotism and cronyism.

They come as the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with the Vatican’s finances, forcing it to implement some of the toughest cost-control measures ever.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices were steady on Monday helped by reports that OPEC and Russia were closer to a deal on extending oil cuts but held back by renewed tension between the United States and China.

Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 3 cents, or 0.1%, at $37.87 a barrel at 1031 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 had dipped 27 cents, or 0.8%, at $35.22 a barrel.

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Libyan currency worth over $1 billion which was printed in Moscow and seized by Malta is not counterfeit, Russia’s foreign ministry said in response to US claims.

The US State Department said on Friday that it “commends” the seizure of $1.1 billion of “counterfeit Libyan currency” by Malta.

BRUSSELS/MADRID, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Belgian prince has contracted coronavirus after attending a party during lockdown in Spain, the country’s royal palace says.

Prince Joachim, 28, travelled from Belgium to Spain for an internship on May 26, the palace said.

Two days later, he went to a party in the southern city of Córdoba, before testing positive for Covid-19.

Spanish reports suggest the prince, a nephew of Belgium’s King Philippe, was among 27 people at the party.

LONDON, June 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Despite the ban of mass gatherings in Britain, thousands of people gathered in London and Manchester to protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man suffocated to death by a white police officer in the mid-western US state of Minnesota.

Chanting “no justice, no peace”, the protesters gathered in London’s landmark Trafalgar Square shortly after 1 pm Sunday before marching through Westminster to Downing Street.

YEREVAN, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, speaking during a Facebook live video.

“I didn’t have any symptoms, I decided to take a test as I was planning to visit the frontline”, said Pashinyan, adding that his whole family was infected.