President Vladimir Putin has given his best wishes to Russia’s Jews for the Passover holiday, underscoring the community’s importance in fostering “interethnic and interreligious” dialogue. The president’s letter was published on the Kremlin website on Monday.

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Berlin is planning to restore a 19% sales tax on gas and heat deliveries from the end of this year, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing the German government. The move will effectively end the current discount rate three months earlier than planned.