What happens in Greece will be influenced by the outcome of the current tension between France and Germany.

BBC: Greece election: Temporary relief for eurozone

That UK-Ecuador dispute is the focal point of the current tension, with both nations appearing firm in their positions.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Some would say that the current tension is just the latest flare-up in a standoff that has been unresolved for 60 years.

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While the group normally focuses on making economic decisions, this meeting will be keenly watched given the current high tension.

BBC: South Korea pledges strong response against North

How the current climate of tension will affect the U.S. role globally and, more immediately, its relations with Malaysia at the Vancouver APEC meeting, remains to be seen.

CNN: A Strained Friendship

Another really good example of the tension in tax policy is the current excitement about hedge fund managers getting capital gains treatment on their carried interest.

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Mr da Silva could, of course, have avoided all of this tension if he and other candidates had followed the advice of Pedro Malan, the current finance minister, who proposed a pre-campaign agreement on basic economic policies that would be maintained to prevent the type of attack that the real has suffered.

ECONOMIST: UNenforceable