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1. On Tuesday, the Russian parliament passed in final reading the law on the 2018 World Cup.

The new legislation will ease the visa regime for incoming foreigners engaged in the preparations and in the event itself. They will not have to get a work permit or find a place of residence to get registered.

Also, the new law will make it easier for the authorities to acquire the land designated for the sports infrastructure, if any of it turns out to be private property.

The bill, which still has to be approved by the Federation Council and signed into law by the president, applies both to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup.

2. Also on Tuesday, the State Duma approved in second reading a bill to protect religious feelings.

A serious offense may carry a sentence of up to three years, while minor cases of misconduct will be punished by forced community service or a fine of up to 500,000 roubles.

The controversial bill was introduced after the Pussy Riot all-female band staged a ‘punk prayer’ in the country’s main cathedral.

3. Russian Liberal Democrats are considering a ban on monosodium glutamate, known as E621. It’s a universally used food enhancer, but scientists have questioned its safety ever since it was first extracted more than a hundred years ago.

‘A healthy nation needs a healthy ration. Enough of sausages full of starch and soybeans instead of meat, enough of ice cream made of palm oil and not milk. We are not a third world country, and we need to stop poisoning our nation’, said one of the sponsors of the bill, Yaroslav Nilov.

According to him, the substance causes addiction, obesity and carries a risk of diabetes.

The Liberal Democrat MPs have promised to review scientific data on the issue before drafting the law.