Against this backdrop, the US government shutdown looks a little different.

Against this backdrop, Israel and the Palestinian territories are relatively stable places.

This is the backdrop of the challenges we as an organization face.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of increasing experimentation with drugs.

President Urusemal We gather this year against the backdrop of many recent natural disasters.

It is against this backdrop that the latest contest between India and China must be assessed.

Against this backdrop, the full, immediate and unconditional implementation of article VI of the Treaty is fundamental.

Against this backdrop, institutional investors self insured quite rationally against a eurozone breakup by withdrawing behind safer borders.

Against this backdrop, the time has come to reconsider the basic sources of happiness in our economic life.

Against such a backdrop we can wait no longer.

A constant backdrop has been the situation in Iraq.

It is against this bitter backdrop that a new Afghan president will be elected and the withdrawal of forces carried out.

Against that backdrop, I have two questions for the Minister.

Without prejudice to the results of the investigation, it is obvious that this atmosphere provided the backdrop for the assassination of Mr. Hariri.

Without prejudice to the results of the investigation, it is obvious that this atmosphere provided the backdrop for the assassination of Mr. Hariri.

Against that backdrop, I should like to focus here on three issues.

Against this backdrop and with a view to bring the refugee and the egyptian communities together, the idea of a film festival took birth.

Against this backdrop, the issue of promoting longer term development in countries emerging from conflict, particularly in Africa, needs to be given serious consideration.

These developments, albeit positive, should be considered against the backdrop of lesser accomplishments.

Against that backdrop, the least developed countries are prepared to make their contribution.

Against the backdrop of Russia's completely ambiguous policy in the Caucasus, this will give Rogozin an opportunity to remain at the top of public opinion polls.

Against this backdrop, physical infrastructure in Africa is in need of rehabilitation, upgrading and expansion in order to compensate for many years of neglect and poor maintenance.

It is against this backdrop that I find welcome this weekend s announcement by a group of major economies acknowledging their shared responsibility for the orderly resolution of global imbalances while sustaining robust growth.

Given this backdrop of repression and punctuated democracy, the failure of Islamists in Egypt and Turkey tells us less about Islam s compatibility with democracy than we might think.

Solomon Islands is making this statement against the backdrop of its experience with the Security Council and as a beneficiary of the regional assistance mission to Solomon Islands.

It is against this backdrop that we, as world leaders, are meeting here to find the best strategy for enhancing domestic capacity to address issues such as good governance.

For Obama, Africa so far chiefly remains a backdrop against which he defines his American identity.

In December 2003 she released a novel, Ticket to Paradise , based on the backdrop of 9 11.

Against a backdrop of generally tighter migration regulation during the reporting period, more encouraging developments were noted.

Morales election in Bolivia where indigenous groups are estimated to comprise around 55 of the population and mixed race people account for another 30 should be viewed against this historical backdrop.

In this respect, the news that the US and Russia have agreed on a follow up treaty to START that will substantially cut both countries nuclear arsenals provides a good backdrop.

Statements on the radio by the chair of the Independent Electoral Commission to the effect that they could not be held before October 2005 appear to confirm these fears, and have led to violent protests against a backdrop of political scheming.

Against this backdrop, the World Coal Association (WCA) is meeting this week, also in Warsaw in fact, just across the river from where negotiators are trying to forge the building blocks of a global climate agreement by 2015.

Against the backdrop of rapid globalization, the individual risks and costs of moving internationally will continue to fall.

This has happened before.

This has happened before.

But instead we see a landscape of widespread poverty set against a backdrop of endemic corruption and official mismanagement.

Restorative justice generally operates against the backdrop and as a complement to a capable, fair and efficient justice system.

It is against this backdrop that African leaders will arrive in Cannes for the France Africa summit, an event that in many respects will be a stage for Chirac to bid them farewell.

It is against this backdrop of repeated violations by Ethiopia of the Algiers Peace Agreement and deplorable abdication of responsibility by the Security Council that resolution 1640 (2005) must be seen and gauged.

Against this backdrop of programmatic unity, the difference of opinion among leading Democrats concerning Wall Street both the specifics of the 2010 Dodd Frank financial reforms and more broadly stands out in bold relief.

This would be a difficult challenge under any circumstances and is all the more daunting against the backdrop of the Arab Spring s destabilization of the economic systems across the Middle East and North Africa.

Our debates are unfolding against a backdrop of escalating oil prices, whose worst fallout we may have yet to see.

I've heard this song before.

Rising regional tensions also provided the backdrop to US President Barack Obama s trip to Southeast Asia shortly after his re election.