Tom is caught between a rock and a hard place.

Every village shares this plight.

The ICTY is also in trouble. To be sure, Milosevic is on trial in The Hague for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Here, too, Egypt is at a disadvantage.

The ICTY is also in trouble.

So as you move vertically away from this surface, the heat falls off.

This leaves the US in a difficult position.

Despite reduced levels of production, it is still a major exporter of hydrocarbons the world's third largest oil exporter and largest exporter of natural gas.

Now Blair has no project, and all would be reformers are most likely downsizing their ambitions. Europe appears to be more stuck than ever.

Europe appears to be more stuck than ever.

China is fortunate to have the freedom to follow its own views.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now in a bind.

Maybe each of these shapes is on an equal footing with every other.

At first glance, European social democracy appears to be in crisis.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in a stronger but still uncertain position.

The Alliance may be up, but its outlook remains uncertain.

From this stance, Germany is in a much more difficult position than the USA.

NEW YORK The world economy is being battered by sharply higher energy prices.

With a nod to Wall Street, we can say that the Alliance is up, Europe is flat, and the United States is clearly down.

The current crisis of Islam might not be congenital, but Islam s predicament is acute.

As a landlocked Andean country, Bolivia suffers its own special distress. Its transport costs are among the highest in the world, reflecting mountainous terrain and international trade routes that must cross political boundaries and depend on foreign ports.

As a landlocked Andean country, Bolivia suffers its own special distress.

After all, it is much more difficult to make an argument for market economies when they are under siege.

BERLIN Ever since the global financial crisis erupted in September 2008, the European Union has been in turmoil.

The US economy is in trouble, and the problems it spins off are unlikely to stop at the US border.

As a technologically advanced and major automobile producing country, Germany is well placed to bring about such an initiative.

Much depends on Egypt, which is best placed to broker an agreement.

Japan, of course, is in even worse shape, with government debt totaling more than 200 of GDP.

Once a sprawling centre of religious activities, the area is in dire straits with priceless ancient sculptures lying around in ruins.

Exhausted, I fell asleep sitting upright, and when I woke up it was already night, or at least that s what I assumed with no sunlight or moonlight by which to measure time.

Confused and self absorbed, Europe is not in the best position to wield influence.

The IMF is well positioned to help its members overcome the financing gaps resulting from the crisis.

WASHINGTON, DC Ukraine s economy may no longer be in free fall, but it remains in dire straits.

It can t be said often enough Turkey is situated in a highly sensitive geopolitical location, particularly where Europe s security is concerned.

Thailand on the Precipice

We have our backs to the wall.

Tom's stranded.

I'm in a tough spot.

Tom is in a desperate situation.

In principle, the EU is better positioned than the US (and certainly than China) to take on this task. Europeans are well practiced in dealing with differences and shaping consensus among principally like minded states.

As for America, it is down in terms of both soft ideological power and hard military power.

Turkey is in a good position to guide other Muslim countries in a more liberal democratic direction.

In principle, the EU is better positioned than the US (and certainly than China) to take on this task.

Despite its failures, the UN is probably still the best placed organization to oversee such efforts.

Economic data reveal that the global economy is shakier than at any time in the past two years.