Europe

OSLO, Norway (AP) — On a frigid U.S. air base in Germany, the top U.S. military officer was in his element. Striding along the training area in his fatigues, Army Gen. Mark Milley bellowed at the Ukrainian troops gathered around him.

“Slava Ukraini!” he hollered, again and again, the “glory to Ukraine” battle cry. A bit nervously, the Ukrainians shouted back the traditional response, “Heroyam slava,” meaning glory to the heroes.

25 September 2023; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States on Saturday of hypocrisy and double standards in its approach to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the Donbas region of Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference in New York, Lavrov referenced recent contradictory remarks by US officials on respecting the territorial integrity of UN member states while continuing to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

25 September 2023; MEMO: France’s highest Court, on Monday, ruled that the government ban on Muslim dress abaya is legal, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Council of State said it had rejected an appeal by three organisations against the government ban announced last month on abaya – a loose-fitting and full-length robe – worn by some Muslim students in schools.

26 September 2023; MEMO: A fire caused heavy damage to a mosque in south-eastern Sweden, according to local media, Anadolu Agency reports.

The fire in the Arby section of the city of Eskilstuna was caused by arson, Anas Deneche, the mosque’s Communication Director, told public broadcaster, SR.

Police records show the mosque has faced threats and was subjected to physical attacks, he said, adding that they are sure that this was an arson attack.

MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/: The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Piotr Hofmanski has been declared wanted under a criminal article, according to the Russian Interior Ministry’s data base.

"Hofmanski, Piotr Jozef. A Pole. Wanted under an article of the Russian Criminal Code," the database says without mentioning the article involved.

ICC First Vice President Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza and Judge Bertram Schmitt are also wanted on criminal charges.

BAKU, September 25. /TASS/: The reintegration of Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society will be successful, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/: Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev held Russian-Omani security consultations while visiting Muscat.

"A detailed discussion of prospects for the Russian-Omani relationship and cooperation in information security, as well as interaction between [the two countries’] law enforcement agencies, special services and financial intelligence was held," the Russian Security Council said. "In addition, the implementation of some economic projects was discussed," it noted.

MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/: CEO of Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear corporation Alexey Likhachev and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi have agreed to continue communication as part of their working relationship, Rosatom press service said on Monday.

"Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on the sidelines of the 67th IAEA General Conference. The sides agreed to continue maintaining regular working contacts," it said.

GENEVA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russian occupiers tortured Ukrainians so brutally that some of their victims died, and forced families to listen as they raped women next door, members of a U.N.-mandated investigative body said on Monday, in their latest findings from the field.

Erik Møse, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva his team had "collected further evidence indicating that the use of torture by Russian armed forces in areas under their control has been widespread and systematic".

KYIV, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Special Forces said on Monday that Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, had been killed in a Ukrainian attack last week on the fleet headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

The Russian Defence Ministry did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters to confirm or deny that Sokolov had been killed in the attack on Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014.

The Ukrainian military said Friday's attack had targeted a meeting of the Russian Navy's leadership in the city of Sevastopol.