youdao

By contrast the EU, apparently under pressure from France and Italy, which both have close ties to Tunisia, has kept quiet.

相比之下，欧盟一直保持沉默，很明显是受到来自与突尼斯关系密切的法国和意大利施加的压力。

youdao

You might chafe under restrictions and responsibilities that you have for others, and this feeling makes you want to rebel or be free of whatever ties you down.

你可能不满于受束缚，因对别人的责任而感到焦躁，这样，你产生逆反心理，想摆脱束缚。

youdao

"German-French ties under Mitterrand became a formative factor in the European unification process, " added German Finance Minister Theo Waigel.

CNN: Clinton praises Mitterand as 'man of vision'

Sino-American ties have been under increasing strain recently.

CNN: EMBASSY FIASCO

US-Japan ties were strained somewhat under the previous Japanese Democratic Party (DPJ) administration amid a row over the relocation of a US military base in Okinawa.

BBC: Obama and Shinzo Abe affirm US-Japan security alliance