Indonesia has launched the first-ever Russia-ASEAN military exercise

 The first-ever naval exercises of Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have begun in Indonesia. This was announced by a TASS correspondent at the Permanent Representation of the Russian Federation to the organization.

Russia's opening representative to ASEAN, Alexander Ivanov, and Russia's ambassador to the country, Lyudmila Vorobyova, attended the opening ceremony. "These exercises are about peace, stability and prosperity in the region. We are opening a new page in our strategic partnership, "Ivanov stressed.

For his part, the commander of the 1st Fleet of the Indonesian Navy, Rear Admiral Abdul Rassiid, said that the maneuvers "will improve the interaction and mutual understanding of the Russians and the ASEAN military, as well as strengthen the friendship between them."

The Russia-ASEAN naval exercises will continue until December 3 in Indonesian territorial waters in the region of North Sumatra. On the Russian side, the Admiral Panteleev vessel took part in them. The exercises are divided into two phases - virtual and marine.

  The fourth Russia-ASEAN summit was held in virtual format on October 28. The meeting was aimed at the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the Russian Federation and the association, which is being celebrated this year. It adopted a number of documents aimed at further developing the strategic partnership. The leaders approved the decision to hold the first-ever naval exercises of the Russian Federation and ASEAN, the agency recalls.

Poland has restricted the access of outsiders - including media representatives - to the border with Belarus

 Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed a law restricting the access of outsiders - including charities and journalists - to the border with Belarus as the country grapples with the migrant crisis, the reported Observer , citing a media report.

The law is a blow to opposition parties advocating unrestricted media access, an amendment approved by the upper house of parliament last Friday but rejected by the lower house.

Based on a law passed on Tuesday, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski imposed a three-month ban on outsiders staying in the area bordering Belarus, where a state of emergency is in place due to migrants.

The verdict in the case against Francois Fillon will be announced in May 2022

 

The Court of Appeals in Paris closed on Tuesday the hearings on the appeal of the former presidential candidate and former Prime Minister of France Francois Fillon against the verdict in the case of fictitious work of his wife. The verdict will be handed down on May 9, 2022, AFP reports.

It is noted that the deadline may be changed if the court does not decide by December 14 on two priority issues of the constitutionality of the laws on the basis of which the decision of the first instance was made. In this case, the questions may be referred to the Court of Cassation.

  On Monday, the Prosecutor General's Office demanded that former Prime Minister Francois Fillon be sentenced to five years in prison, four of which with probation. In addition, the prosecution is demanding a fine for Fillon in the amount of 375 thousand euros and the loss of the right to vote for a period of 10 years. For his wife Penelope, the Prosecutor General's Office requested a two-year suspended sentence, a fine of 100,000 euros, and the loss of the right to vote for 10 years.

The scandal surrounding Fillon, then a leading figure in the French center-right, erupted during the 2017 presidential campaign. The weekly Canar Anchene revealed that the wife of the former prime minister and presidential candidate was paid eight years as an assistant worked. Penelope Fillon was originally appointed by her husband, then a member of the lower house of parliament. After Fillon was appointed prime minister, his wife was reappointed by his successor, Marc Jullot.

US Senate approves consideration of amendment with sanctions against Nord Stream 2

 Democrats in the US Senate have agreed to include in the package of amendments to the draft defense budget for the current fiscal year (which began on October 1) an initiative to impose sanctions on companies for participating in the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. This was reported by the American newspaper The Hill, citing its sources.

Republicans on Monday blocked further adoption of the draft defense budget in the upper house, in part because of Democrats' refusal to discuss amending sanctions against the pipeline.

According to the publication, the Senate is working to reach an agreement on the adoption of the draft defense budget on Wednesday. The leadership of the factions of the two parties in the Senate is still considering whether any of the legislators will oppose the proposal and decide to block it. The package of 21 amendments to the draft budget will be voted on on 1 December. It included a number of Republican proposals, including restrictions against companies participating in the pipeline's certification. According to The Hill, the State Department tried to persuade Democrats in the Senate to block the amendment.

 As expected, after the approval of 21 amendments, the Senate will vote on the final adoption of the draft defense budget for about 770 billion dollars. As the newspaper notes, the agreement has not yet been finally approved. "We have just received a new proposal from the Democrats. We sent them a proposal earlier today <...> and so I hope we get something that will allow the process to continue, "said Senate Republican Minority Deputy Leader John Tun (South Dakota). Asked if Republicans want to vote on the amendment related to Nord Stream 2, he stressed: "This is very important."

 Construction of Nord Stream 2 was fully completed on September 10, 2021. It was originally planned to be completed by the end of 2019, but due to US restrictions, work has been delayed.

 In late September, the House of Representatives approved the draft defense budget for the current fiscal year, which includes anti-Russian legislative initiatives, including those on Nord Stream 2. The Senate has begun to consider this initiative and intends to include a number of amendments to it. After the approval of the document by the senators, the congressmen will have to approve it again, taking into account the changes made, after which the draft budget will be sent to the head of state for signature.

Russia’s upgraded Pantsyr anti-aircraft missile/gun system can fight any strike drones

 

TASS/. The upgraded Pantsyr-S1M surface-to-air missile/gun system is capable of fighting all types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including strike drones, Industrial Director of the Armaments Cluster at the state tech corporation Rostec Bekkhan Ozdoyev told TASS on Tuesday.

"The upgrade has substantially boosted the Pantsyr’s capabilities for fighting all types of drones. In particular, the system is capable of effectively detecting and destroying all types of strike drones that are in operational service," he said.

Deputy CEO of the High Precision Weapons Company (part of Rostec) Sergei Mikhailov told TASS at the EDEX 2021 international arms show that the upgraded Pantsyr had the potential to become the basis for tactical air defenses.

"The Pantsyr-S1M can be used as the basis for building an effective modular air defense network capable of shielding any military units from small-size and strike drones, precision weapons and, of course, military aviation - aircraft and helicopters. The system fully complies with the present-day A2/AD [anti-access/area denial] principles [an air defense system used to prevent an enemy from penetrating into vital areas]," Mikhailov said.

The Pantsyr-S1M has received new hypersonic surface-to-air missiles that has boosted its striking range from 20 km to 30 km, its operational altitude from 15 km to 18 km and its destruction area threefold. Along with new missiles, the system can also fire missiles of the Pantsyr-S1 launcher. The upgrade of the Pantsyr-S1M has also improved its stealth, jamming resistance and the rate of fire.

Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed the first contract on the delivery of Pantsyr-S1M anti-aircraft missile/gun systems at the Army 2021 international arms show on August 25.

Upgraded Pantsyr to lay basis for Russia’s multi-layered counter-drone system

The upgraded Pantsyr-S1M surface-to-air missile/gun system will be a major element of Russia’s multi-layered counter-drone system, Deputy CEO of the High Precision Weapons Company Sergei Mikhailov said at the EDEX international defense show running on November 29 - December 2 in Cairo.

"Countering drones is a major task for present-day air defense weapons. Currently, the Russian industry produces two types of counter-drone capabilities: ‘soft-kill’ to suppress drones by electronic countermeasures and ‘hard-kill’ to physically destroy UAVs. The network integrating both technologies was unveiled at the IDEX 2021 [international arms] show and the Pantsyr-S1M will be its major component, in particular, within a group of systems for physically eliminating drones," Mikhailov explained.

The Pantsyr-S1M is highly cost efficient in fighting modern drones, he said. "The munitions that are used make it possible to fully meet the cost/efficiency ratio in striking targets. We can confidently say that the Pantsyr-S1M is the world’s least expensive counter-drone system," he added.

3 students killed in Michigan school shooting

 At least three students were killed and six other people were wounded in a school shooting in Oakland County, Michigan, north of Detroit. A 15-year-old suspect who police said acted alone and used a handgun, is in custody.

“We have one suspected shooter in custody along with a handgun,” Oakland County undersheriff Mike McCabe said on Tuesday.

Police believe the suspect acted alone in the attack at Oxford High School, and used only one weapon. He surrendered to deputies without further incident.

The FBI is assisting local law enforcement and looking at the suspect’s social media to figure out a potential motive.

Oxford is a suburban township about 40 miles (64 km) north of Detroit. Police got a call at 12:51p.m. local time about an active shooter at Oxford High School. Deputies had the suspect in custody within five minutes of that, the sheriff’s department said. A deputy assigned to the school assisted in the arrest.

The school was evacuated and students were reunited with parents and relatives at a nearby parking lot.

Russia & China to team up against ‘illegitimate’ US sanctions

 The relationship between Russia and China is improving, and teaming up is the best response to unfriendly actions and unilateral sanctions by other countries, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a videoconference with his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, Mishustin called for Moscow and Beijing to “join forces” on the principles of “equality, mutual trust and respect.”

“Russian-Chinese cooperation is developing in a difficult external environment,” Mishustin said. “Unfortunately, some foreign partners continue to take unfriendly actions against us and use techniques of unfair competition, often violating the basic norms of the multilateral trading system.”

  “Illegal unilateral sanctions, political and economic pressure – both Russia and China face these challenges,” he continued.

In particular, Mishustin noted plans to pair the Eurasian Economic Union, a group of five former Soviet Union member states, and the Belt and Road Initiative, a Chinese global infrastructure development strategy.

“This is important for strengthening interconnectivity in the Eurasian space, will help ensure the economic progress of Russia and China,” Mishustin said.

"In recent years, Moscow and Beijing have worked together extensively in different fields, including economically and militarily. On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the 3rd Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum that his country is “ready to pool efforts with Russia to achieve closer energy cooperation, to defend energy security, and to counter the challenges of global climate change.”