Europe

ZAGREB, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said here on Monday that his country has been supporting Montenegro's entry into the European Union (EU) for years and will continue to do so.

"As much as we can help, we will help," Milanovic said at a joint press conference with his visiting Montenegrin counterpart, Jakov Milatovic, who arrived in the capital of Croatia on Monday for a two-day official visit.

Milatovic said that he appreciated Croatia's support and that Montenegro's EU membership would be a "positive signal" to the rest of the region.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron opened the door Monday to experimenting in some public schools with uniforms or a dress code amid debate in France over a ban in classrooms on long robes worn mainly by Muslims.

The ban on robes known as abayas for girls and women and khamis for boys and men went into effectn Monday.

Macron said he is in favor of “experimenting” with uniforms in order to “inform public debate,” speaking in a live interview on online media HugoDecrypte, broadcasted on Youtube and TikTok.

VIENNA (AP) — Iran has slowed the pace at which it is enriching uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels, according to a report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press on Monday. That could be a sign Tehran is trying to ease tensions after years of strain between it and the U.S.

The confidential report comes as Iran and the United States are negotiating a prisoner swap and the release of billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in South Korea. However, international inspectors also noted new challenges in trying to monitor Iran’s program.

(AP) --- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday tweeted a pirate-style picture of himself with a black eye patch and dark-red bruises on the right side of his face — the result of a jogging accident on the weekend.

“Am excited to see the memes,” the chancellor wrote in the caption.

To deflect any possible worries about his health, on the photo, which appears to have been taken at the chancellery, Scholz smiled slightly and also wrote: “Thanks for the well wishes, it looks worse than it is!”

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Copenhagen’s mayor on Monday urged foreigners not to buy weed in the city’s Christiania neighborhood where a 30-year-old man was shot and killed and four others injured two weeks ago due to gang turf wars fighting over the marijuana trade in the area.

The Aug. 26 killing was the latest in a bloody feud between rival gangs, the Hells Angels and the outlawed Loyal to Family. Both are trying to monopolize the sale of cannabis in Christiania.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov submitted a letter of resignation on Monday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be replaced and named his successor.

Oleksii Reznikov’s removal follows a scandal around the defense ministry’s procurement of military jackets. It was not the first similar case during the ongoing war.

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, September 3. /TASS/: Japan is becoming increasingly more involved in a confrontation with Russia by providing military aid to Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said.

"It is also bad that Japan located nearby is more and more actively providing aid to the Kiev regime and pulling itself into the military confrontation," Medvedev said during his visit to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/: Four ships have sailed through the temporary corridor in the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Sunday.

"Four ships have already passed along our new alternative maritime corridor from our southern seaports," he said in a video address on his Telegram channel.

The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte container vessel was the first to sail along Kiev’s temporary corridor from the port of Odessa on August 16.

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, September 3. /TASS/: Around 280,000 individuals were enlisted by contract with the Russian Armed Forces from January 1, 2023, Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said.

MOSCOW, September 3 /TASS/: The Russian Aerospace Force delivered a group drone strike against fuel storage facilities used to support Ukrainian army materiel, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The Russian Aerospace Force made a group strike by unmanned aerial vehicles this night against fuel storages used for supplies to military vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the port of Reni, Odessa Region. The strike objective was achieved. All the designated targets were engaged," the ministry said.