This constitutional mechanism has been strained by recent events.

Turkey s links with Israel, for example, have been strained by Israeli investment in Kurdistan.

Nowhere has this phenomenon been stronger than in Turkey, where those military escapades have strained the two countries strategic alliance almost to the breaking point.

In some countries, debt servicing has strained valuable resources that could otherwise be channelled to development.

Brotherly tempers started to get strained.

Nevertheless, the rapid pace of urbanization has strained the capacity of Governments to provide adequate services to urban dwellers and the number of persons living in slums has been rising, amounting to about 900 million today.

And, for nearly a decade, China has been urged to undertake reforms to redress these economic patterns, which have undermined the welfare of ordinary Chinese and strained the global trading system.

This has been officially admitted, so why reopen the ghastly business now, at a time when rescinding the apology would make Japan s already strained relations with China and South Korea many times worse?

During his reign, relations with the British became increasingly strained.

In fact, in many countries, the government s capacity is already strained.

Instead, relations have been strained by the continuing refusal of Australia s Labour Party government to sell uranium to energy starved India for its civilian nuclear program.

We are aware that your heart is strained by what they say .

We are aware that your heart is strained by what they say .

During the reporting period, the political situation in the country remained strained.

The Turkish led flotilla which attempted to break the blockade of Gaza has strained Turkish Israeli relations, while gaining Turkey much respect in the Arab world.

Despite the signing of the treaty, relations between the two countries remained strained.

DAKAR The world economic downturn and financial market tremors have strained budgets across Africa.

The recent violence in Khartoum and Juba undoubtedly strained intercommunal relations in those two cities.

As a result, the existing law is here on strained terms with an established practice.

There is little doubt that the series of attacks on African individuals have disgraced India in front of the international community and has strained its ties with African countries.

President Barack Obama recently journeyed to Moscow in order to reset strained United States Russian ties.

The idea that the world s largest economies are merely facing a short term panic looks increasingly strained.

There was patent gloating about the German defeat everywhere, only thinly disguised behind strained expressions of solidarity.

Such mass migration will severely hurt already strained social relations in some countries and lead to unpredictable consequences.

With all the attention devoted to strained transatlantic relations, it is easy to overlook how often our preoccupations overlap.

Malawi maintained close relations with South Africa throughout the Apartheid era, which strained Malawi's relationships with other African countries.

The Appeals Chamber is bound to be strained as trials are completed by both the ICTR and the ICTY.

Relations with the United States were strained in mid 2006 when Iraq criticized Israeli attacks on Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

However, the date coincided with a University of Texas American football team home game, which would have strained Austin's tourism infrastructure.

It should be noted by way of context that political relations between the two countries were seriously strained at that time.

Those efforts have sometimes been strained by a lack of adequate international financing for relief efforts, at other times by adverse weather or Darfur's weak infrastructure, and often by security failures resulting from armed groups' lack of commitment to the ceasefire.

Until such changes occur, many challenges will fall through the cracks that exist between a strained Pax Americana and a rebalancing world.

The US Turkish partnership, badly strained by the war in Iraq, was reinvigorated by President Barack Obama s visit to Turkey in June.

A giant crane strained to lift a 12 foot high slab, yanking it back and forth like some dinosaur gnawing its prey.

Strained political relations among most of Asia s sub regions make a region wide security structure or more effective resource cooperation difficult to achieve.

The quality of mercy is not strained that is, constrained, or obligatory she tells Shylock, but rather something that falls freely, like rain.

She spoke of the strained relations between the Cayman Islands and the administering Power and of the ever increasing disparity of their interests.

Since there has been no rise in inventories, there has been no speculation.

In fact, it has been found within every population that has been studied.

At the Phi Phi Hill Resort, I was tucked into the corner furthest away from the television, but I strained to listen for information.

But today, the European Union is stymied by having squandered the chance to build stronger institutions when times were better and tempers less strained.

His attack on the legislation, which continued unremittingly throughout May and into June and July, further strained his already tense relationship with the government.

But Russia s pressure on Georgia has been even heavier and has scarcely been noticed.

This shrinking of the world has been as sudden as it has been profound.

Today, Côte d'Ivoire, which has been listed among the emerging countries of Africa, has been brought to its knees, but has not yet been felled.