BRUSSELS — After a 20-month stalemate, direct Middle East peace talks are about to resume this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meeting in Washington at the invitation of the Obama administration.

Turkey’s politicians usually take a break from their routine in August and enjoy a vacation. But in a departure from tradition, they are on the campaign trail these days, speaking at several rallies a day under the harsh summer sun.

WASHINGTON --As a member of the U.S. Congress, I spent most of my 22 years as a vocal deficit hawk—warning against the danger of unchecked deficits and most particularly against mounting costs of entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare adding to a mounting debt load for future generations.

1999, 2010: these dates mark history in the Balkans. Eleven years ago, NATO waged an air war against Serbia over the treatment of Serbia’s southernmost province.