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• Romney, a longtime friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to play up his critique of President Barack Obama's posture toward the Jewish state and his handling of Iran's suspected nuclear weapons ambitions.
• Israeli political scientist Abraham Diskin says Romney can expect an "enthusiastic" reception, both because of his solid record of pro-Israel comments -- and because he's not Obama.
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- China has heightened tensions in the South China Sea with its new, remote island city and planned military garrison in a contested area viewed as a potential flashpoint for conflict in the Asia-Pacific.
• How might the United States respond?
• Criticize Beijing too strongly and the Obama administration will strain its relationship with the emerging superpower. Let it pass and undermine two years of intense diplomacy that has promoted the U.S. standing among Southeast Asian nations that are intimidated by China's rise.
• A key plank of the administration's engagement in the Asia-Pacific since 2010 has been its declaration of a U.S. national interest in the maintenance of peace and stability in the South China Sea, where China and five of its neighbors -- most notably the Philippines and Vietnam -- have competing territorial claims.
• But tensions have only escalated. China's raising of the flag this week at Sansha

municipality, on tiny Yongxing island, 220 miles (350 kilometers) from its southernmost province of Hainan, come as claimants jockey for influence in the resource-rich region.
• ___

• LONDON (AP) -- Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you:
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• HUGE AUDIENCE
• Who says the collective television event is dead?
• The BBC says 27 million people watched its coverage of the Olympic opening

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