Main news of October 25

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* A German ship hijacked by Somali pirates off the Kenyan coast on Sunday has been released, the East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) said

RUSSIA

* A Moscow court ruled that rail monopoly Russian Railways must pay over 178,000 rubles ($5,880) to the parents of a teenager killed by a high-speed Sapsan train six months ago

* A probe ordered by Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has confirmed that children were abused in the St. Bogolyubsky Convent in the central Vladimir Region, Lukin's press service reported

* One thousand people will be allowed to take part in a rally on Moscow's Triumfalnaya Square on October 31, a leading human rights activist said

* The significant part of the arms used by the North Caucasus militants is supplied from military depots, Russia's Deputy Prosecutor General Ivan Sydoruk said

BUSINESS

* Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov ruled out a merger between Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz

* Russian gas giant Gazprom is considering a possible swap of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to India in exchange for its 20 percent stake in the Sakhalin-1 project, Gazprom's head of Foreign Relations Stanislav Tsygankov said

* The world's largest aluminum maker, RusAl, has rebuffed an offer by rival shareolder Vladimir Potanin to sell its stake in Norilsk Nickel, and says it has no plans to sell its stake in the world's top nickel producer, RusAl said

SPORTS

* The next Winter Olympics may include new types of competitions, including team figure skating, mixed biathlon and slopestyle snowboard, International Olympic Committee Director of Communications Mark Adams said