Our reports open with remarkable changes occurring in governments such as China, Italy, Israel and in Rome–the inauguration of a new pope. We continue with reporting on President Obama’s first international trip since his re-election, this time to the State of Israel. The dark specter of chemical weapons is now making news in Syria as civil war grows more intractable in that country. We report on the tiny island nation of Cyprus heading into financial ruin and even threatening its role within the European Union, and we conclude with commentary on the abysmal failure of the war in Iraq.