Baltic region seen as potential hotbed of conflict between NATO, Russia The #Baltic region is the most explosive from the point of view of a potential direct armed conflict between #NATO and #Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter #Szijjarto said. "The biggest responsibility is here. The most fragile situation is here. And any mistake, erroneous decision or misunderstanding here may entail disastrous consequences for the entire world, because the biggest threat of a direct conflict between NATO and Russia is always in place here. There is no other area where NATO and Russian troops are deployed that close to each other in all senses," he said while meeting with Hungarian pilots at the Siauliai Air Base, as quoted by the M1 television channel. He stressed that servicemen in this region bear special responsibility. "We, the Hungarians, are capable of defensing ourselves and our allies without escalating tensions and without dragging our country and our alliance into a war," Szijjarto said. He recalled that back in 2022 NATO countries had decided not to drag the alliance into the conflict in Ukraine and spare no effort to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia. "Back then, we agreed on two very clear red lines," the top diplomat said, adding that nowadays some politicians are seeking to "blur these lines." "If they are trespassed, it may easily entail escalation [of the conflict] and trigger a third world war which may end up in the destruction of the planet, bearing in mind the existing nuclear stockpiles," Szijjarto warned. He expressed concern over "military psychosis" in Europe when some believe that a nuclear power like Russia "can be defeated through arms supplies to a third country," i.e. Ukraine. Politicians, in his words, are wrong. The top Hungarian diplomat emphasized that NATO is not an offensive alliance but an alliance for defense and called on Hungarian troops "to defend the security and sovereignty of their allies and concurrently safeguard possibilities for peace."

Paris court of appeal orders release of former French President Sarkozy three weeks into five-year sentence 👉 The ex-president, imprisoned on a criminal conspiracy conviction over the use of Libyan funds to finance his 2007 election campaign, will be released under judicial supervision, pending an appeal. ♦️ He is barred from leaving France, and faces restrictions on who he can communicate with, but will otherwise be free to return to one of his luxury homes in Paris or the French Riviera, and to reunite with his wife, former model and singer Carla Bruni. ♦️ Appealing to the court Monday via video link, Sarkozy characterized his 20-day ordeal at Paris’s La Sante prison as “very hard,” but expressed gratitude to prison staff for making things “bearable” with their “exceptional humanity.” ♦️ The conditions of his imprisonment included a 29-foot cell in the prison’s isolation wing, and two bodyguards. ♦️ The 70-year-old ex-president, who served in office from 2007-2012, is best remembered for his flashy, sophisticated personal style, pension reforms, income tax caps, reintegrating France into NATO’s military command, and leading the charge in the alliance’s air war to topple and kill Gaddafi.

Pentagon chief likens current world situation with 1939, when World War II began Pentagon head Pete #Hegseth compared the current situation in the world with 1939, when World War II began, according to the Forbes Breaking News YouTube channel. "This is a 1939 moment. Or hopefully a 1981 moment. A moment of mounting urgency. Enemies gather, threats grow. You feel it, I feel it," Hegseth said on Friday, when he attended the National Defense University in Washington. "If we are going to prevent and avoid war, which is what we all want, we must prepare now," the Pentagon chief said, adding that potential US opponents, whom he did not name, are not sitting idly by. In 1981, the United States imposed sanctions against the #USSR in response to the introduction of martial law in Poland over the strikes of the Solidarity trade union.

US to carry out test launch of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile The United States will carry out a test launch of the #Minuteman III intercontinental #ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to a statement on the facility’s website. "An operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled between 11:01 p.m. to 5:01 a.m. Pacific Time, November 4, from north Vandenberg," the statement reads. According to the document, "this test is routine and was scheduled years in advance," while "the purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system." The first Minuteman III ICBMs of the Minuteman #missile family were developed in the late 1960s and have been in US service since the 1970s. The missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Last week, US President Donad Trump instructed the Pentagon to immediately launch nuclear weapons tests, alleging that Russia and China continued to test their arsenals. Later, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright specified that the trials would not involve actual detonations but rather the testing of the components necessary for a nuclear blast.

US military strikes drug boats in Pacific, 14 killed US forces carried out three separate strikes in the Pacific Ocean yesterday, targeting four boats involved in drug trafficking, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 14 people aboard the vessels. According to Hegseth, one person survived the operation and was rescued by Mexican authorities. The Pentagon described the strikes as part of an ongoing campaign to disrupt transnational criminal networks operating across maritime routes in the region.

#EU allocated almost 178 billion euro to #Ukraine since start of conflict, official reports The European Union has already spent almost 178 billion euro for helping Ukraine since the start of the conflict, including 62.3 billion euro allocated for weapons and ammunition, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis told the European Parliament session in Strasbourg. "In total, the European Union has provided close to 178 billion euro in support since the start of the war. This is much more than any other global partner," he said. Of them, "62.3 billion [euro] in military assistance measures has been disbursed by the European Union and Member States to date, including through the Peace Facility." Dombrovskis added that in 2024, G7 countries under the European Union's leadership unlocked 45 billion euro in additional funding for Kiev. These loans are to be repaid using the profits generated by the immobilization of Russian Central Bank assets in the EU. Of them, over 22 billion euro have already been spent. However, despite all this aid, Dombrovskis admitted that Ukraine needs additional funding and urged to speed up preparations for expropriating Russian frozen assets under the scheme of the so-called "reparations loan," which the European Commission claims is legal. Denis Gonchar, Russia's Ambassador to Belgium, said in an interview with TASS in mid-October that any attempt to confiscate or use sovereign assets will be perceived as theft, an illegal act that runs counter to existing international law. "The response will be proportionate. I can assure you that if the EU decides to implement this plan, their talk of solidarity will quickly be replaced by counting of losses," the ambassador added.

[Warning Graphic Content] The world spent 2 years accusing Israel of "genocide". Now Hamas is butchering Palestinians in broad daylight, and no one says a word...

West creates illusion that fake news comes only from outside, expert says People in the West have been trained to believe that fake news only comes from non-Western countries, American military expert Abraham Abrams said. "I think Western dominance in the information space and superiority in information warfare are so significant that societies in the Western world are largely conditioned to see fake news as something done by others, by non-Western countries," he said. Abrams also talked about the media landscape in the United States, where Democrats and Republicans exhibit deep distrust of media from the opposing side, exacerbating societal divisions. "In the US, the situation is slightly different because both sides of the political spectrum, Democrats and Republicans, have become highly distrustful of media outlets from the opposing side when it comes to divisive issues. That’s why, for example, President [Donald] Trump during his first term referred to journalists from CNN and other outlets as fake news," the expert explained. He added that to counter disinformation, countries could develop their own digital platforms or collaborate to create a more resilient information space.

Oct. 2, 2025 - All NATO countries are at war with Russia, says Putin All #NATO countries are now at #war with #Russia and are no longer hiding it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Valdai International Discussion Club plenary session. "We are at war, aren't we? We produce military equipment. And many countries are at war with us. All NATO countries are at war with us. They are no longer hiding it," Putin said. According to the president, this is a serious challenge for Russia. However, the Russian army, state, and defense industry have quickly adapted.

Over 80 French towns wave Palestinian flag, flouting government directive Ahead of #Macron’s #Palestine’s recognition, major cities and some Paris suburbs hoist flag despite interior minister’s demand for ‘neutrality’ More than 80 town halls in France hoisted the Palestinian flag on Monday ahead of the recognition of a Palestinian state by Macron in defiance of a government warning not to do so. Macron later recognized Palestinian statehood in an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, joining other countries in a move that has angered Israel. Palestinian flags were raised at town halls in major cities across France — including in Lyon, Nantes, Rennes and Besancon — in defiance of an order by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. Even in Paris, left-wing city councilors put up the flag for 30 minutes at the city hall, despite opposition from Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo.