For Chinese officials, Trump perhaps better the devil they don’t know

In 2010, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton provoked outrage in Beijing when she pushed the South China Sea to the top of the regional and U.S. security agendas. Now as an international court prepares to hand down a ruling that threatens China's sweeping claims in the vital waterway, Beijing is watching Clinton's presidential run with trepidation.

US: South China Sea tribunal ruling presents choice for Asia

An international tribunal ruling next week on a challenge to China's expansive claims in the South China Sea could determine whether the region is ruled by law or "raw calculations of power," US officials said Thursday. But the officials testifying at a congressional hearing declined to say whether any move by China to militarize more disputed land features would prompt a US military response.

Mexican man loses appeal on death row

A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal from a Mexican man on death row in Texas for the slayings of his wife and two children at their Rio Grande Valley home more than 24 years ago. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that said Robert Moreno Ramos, 62, can't file another appeal claiming he wasn't told he could get legal help from the Mexican government under an international treaty when he was arrested for the 1992 killings.

On the Agenda But Off Guest List, China Eyes G-7 Summit in Japan

World leaders meet in Japan this week for talks that will encompass the slowing Chinese economy and China's reclamation of land in the disputed South China Sea -- without any representatives from Asia's largest economy at the table. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will host U.S. President Barack Obama and other Group of Seven leaders from Thursday at a secluded resort on Kashiko Island, 300 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.