S. Korea, US cancel joint naval drill
SEOUL- South Korea and the United States have decided to cancel a joint naval drill in the Yellow Sea, originally scheduled late this month, local media reported on Sunday, citing a senior government source.
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The two allies made the decision in order to "not to irritate neighboring countries" so as to improve conditions for the upcoming G20 summit, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency said, citing another government source.
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[link to www.chinadaily.com.cn]

US politicians' "blame China" game questioned
Los Angeles, October 24 (Xinhua) -- Politicians in the United States have intensified their campaign ahead of the midterm elections on November 2, making China a scapegoat in a manner some find deplorable.
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The New York Times quoted Robert A. Kapp, a former president of the U.S.-China Business Council, as saying that even though tensions had flared in the past, he had never seen China used as such an obvious punching bag by American politicians.
"To bring one country into the crosshairs in so many districts, at such a late stage of the campaign, represents something new and a calculated gamble," Kapp said. "I find it deplorable. I find it demeaning."
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[link to www.chinadaily.com.cn]


Russia wants equal role in NATO missile shield: minister
Russia is open to talks on NATO's planned European missile shield but wants to play an equal role in its development, Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Anatoly Serdyukov told the German weekly Der Spiegel.
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France, Germany and other Western powers have agreed to discuss this, but also remain tied to the NATO vision of a Euro-Atlantic pact including the United States and Canada, with a NATO-Russia council attached to it.
However Serdyukov said that in the near future the two former Cold War rivals will look at each other much more as partners.
[link to www.spacedaily.com]