Israel has emerged as a zone of crisis in the past weeks, as a diplomatic flap involving U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s recent visit refused to die down.

As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived for talks in Moscow on March 18, NATO forces were conducting military exercises in neighboring Estonia. The exercises were among several issues adding tension to Clinton’s visit.

Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, warned the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in Washington that progress in Afghanistan will be difficult this year.

One of the chief problems faced by Greece and other “Club Med” states in the EU is illustrated in this chart, which shows the evolution of labor costs per unit of economic output.

As U.S. forces fight wars in two theaters, it is not surprising that U.S. military expenditures practically doubled between 1992 and 2008.

Two key economic indicators are showing improvements in the United States.

Deadly violence broke out for the second time this year in the area surrounding Jos -- a frequent flashpoint between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian populations.

The European Commission has announced plans to fund 43 projects strengthening energy infrastructure in Europe.

Ukraine’s parliament passed a measure March 9 that eases the task of forming majority coalitions. The move is needed to avert further gridlock in the notoriously fractious Rada, and will aid new President Viktor Yanukovich as he moves to name a prime minister and cabinet.

Violence between the Gulf-Sinaloa-La Familia Michoacana drug cartel alliance and Los Zetas, a spinoff of the Gulf cartel, has ticked upward in Nuevo Leon state as the organizations battle over valuable trafficking routes into the United States.