In Estonia, military exercises, named Sibul 2017 ("Onion 2017") and organized by the volunteer military organization Kaitseliit (Estonian Defense League), were launched on Saturday.

The maneuvers are being held at the Central Range of the Defense Force near the town of Tapa, in conjunction with the NATO combat group deployed in Estonia. In the classroom, combat skills will be developed with regard to conventional warfare.

According to the exercise scenario, the combat and rear companies of …

The terrorist group, Islamic State took control of the city of Al Qaryatayn in the territory under control of the Syrian government forces, reports the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Local journalists have confirmed this information.

It is noted that the city, captured by the ISIS terrorists, is deep within government held territory, southwest of Palmyra.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the so-called "sleeping cell" of Islamists operated in this city.

The capture …

Russian media reports the death of yet another military personnel in Syria.

Valery Fedyanin, commander of 61st Separate Kirkenes Red Banner Naval Infantry Brigade was killed, reported SeverPost.ru news website referring to the statement of Fedyanin’s colleagues.

The media source notes that the Colonel was fatally injured by a mine explosion while conducting his combat duties.

He was taken to Burdenko military Clinical Hospital in Moscow but later succumbed to his wounds.

The Russian …

The Polish Sejm created a committee which will work on Germany's payment of reparations for World War II, Polish news agency PAP reports.

We want to start work in the Polish parliament, which aims to analyze the amount of compensation that Germany must pay to Poland, and we want to clearly understand the legal paths or options for implementing these requirements," MP from the ruling PiS (Law and Justice) party Arkadiusz Mularczyk said.

The first meeting of the group will be held during the …

The Executive Committee of the International Weightlifting Organization (IWF) decided to prohibit the Russian national weightlifting team from participating in all international competitions for a year. The announcement was made on Saturday, September 30, on the organization's website.

In addition to the Russian national team, the teams of eight more countries will not be able to participate in the tournaments. The reason for this was the numerous violations of the anti-doping rules at the …

US sanctions against Russia did not lead to a drastic change in the situation in Ukraine, said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper former US Ambassador to Russia, John Tefft.

In his opinion, the imposed sanctions proved to be effective against Russia. "And the Russian president, together with a number of other Russian Federation officials, acknowledged this," he emphasized. "But did these sanctions lead to a drastic change in the situation in Ukraine? Obviously not."

Nevertheless, …

In the city of Kolomyia, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the German company, Leoni has launched its first production line of its newly built plant in Ukraine. The company manufactures parts for a number of automobile brands. Ukrainian President Peter Poroshenko was present at the opening ceremony.

The plant, which will produce automobile cables, was opened on Friday, September 29th.

"Imagine, the products that will be produced in Kolomyia will be installed on elite cars such as Audi, …

Russia received an advance payment from Turkey for the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, as indicated by Vladimir Kozhin, Presidential Aide for military technical cooperation on September 29. "Yes, we received it. We cannot discuss the time frame for deliveries at this time," Kozhin said.

According to him, Turkey wants the S-400 deliveries to start before 2019, however this issue is still being discussed. Earlier, the Undersecretary for Defense Industries of Turkey, Ismail Demir, said that …