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TORY: China announced new military drills around Taiwan on Monday, drawing concern from U.S. President Joe Biden, a day after the scheduled end of Beijing's largest military exercises in the area to protest last week's visit to the island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Asked if the Pentagon's assessment that China would not try to retake Taiwan militarily in the next two years had changed since Pelosi's trip, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said: "No." Pelosi's visit infuriated China, which responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time, as well as...

LONDON (Reuters) -Russia warned NATO member Lithuania on Monday that unless the transit of goods to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea was swiftly restored then Moscow would take undisclosed measures to defend its national interests. With east-west relations at a half-century low over Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Vilnius banned the transit of goods sanctioned by the European Union through Lithuanian territory to and from the exclave, citing EU sanction rules. Russia's foreign ministry summoned Lithuania's top envoy in Moscow to deliver a protest while the Kremlin said the situation was beyond serious. "The situation is more...

China's armed forces carried out another round of exercises near Taiwan last week to improve joint combat operations, the People's Liberation Army said on Monday, after the Chinese-claimed island reported a spike in activity. Taiwan has complained for the past two years about frequent Chinese military activity near it, mostly concentrated in the southern and southwestern part of the island's air defence identification zone, or ADIZ. Taiwan's air force scrambled planes on Friday to warn away 18 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defence zone, and reported further incursions on Saturday and Sunday, though with fewer aircraft. read more The...

Countries near Belarus are warning that the migrant crisis on the European Union's eastern borders could escalate into a military confrontation. Video released by the Polish defense ministry is said to show Belarus border guards carrying heavy arms at the border, including grenade launchers and sniper rifles. Reuters couldn't verify the grenade launcher claim, but it comes as Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania -- which are both EU and NATO members -- say the incident is posing a serious threat to European security. And Ukraine, which is not an EU member, but is wary of becoming another flashpoint, says it will...

PARIS (Reuters) - Barack Obama's trip to Europe this weekend revealed deep anxieties among the French and Germans that the U.S. president, hugely popular in both countries, doesn't really like them. After years in which France and Germany happily distanced themselves from the unpopular policies of former President George W. Bush, Obama appeared bemused as he tried to reassure French and German journalists they should not read anything into the brevity of his 2-1/2-day trip.

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks on Monday with Pakistani defence officials who told him Pakistan was fighting a war for its survival against militancy. His visit to Pakistan, apparently his first stop on a foreign tour since taking charge of U.S. Central Command on Friday, highlights U.S. concern about a country seen as crucial to stability in Afghanistan and to defeating al Qaeda. U.S. analysts say Pakistan is facing a major threat from Islamist militants at a time when the nuclear-armed nation and its new...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States will not permit Israel to attack Iran's nuclear program as long as American troops are stationed in Iraq, an Israeli television report quoting unnamed diplomatic sources said on Monday. An Israeli official accompanying Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on a visit to Moscow declined to comment on the report. Olmert flew to Moscow to press Russia not to sell advanced missiles and weapons technology to Iran and Syria

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama has ruled out hosting a U.S. military base to replace one in Ecuador which is being reclaimed by the Quito government, a senior Panamanian official said on Friday. Panama -- along with Peru and Colombia -- had been tipped as a possible site to replace the Manta air base in western Ecuador, a key strategic asset in Washington's campaign to stop Latin American cocaine from reaching the United States.