NPR People: Michele Kelemen

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled Monday to address a convention of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby. Her speech comes with the U.S. and Israeli governments at loggerheads over Israeli plans to build new housing in disputed East Jerusalem.

When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn him that an Israeli housing project in East Jerusalem is harming U.S. interests, a pro-Israel lobby in Washington was quick to accuse Clinton of blowing things out of proportion. AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called on the Obama administration to tone down the rhetoric. The Obama administration did get support, though, from a new pro-Israel lobby, J Street, which says Israel has to take steps to improve relations. It is against this backdrop that AIPAC opens its annual policy conference, a meeting where both Clinton and Netanyahu are expected to speak.

U.S.-Israeli relations are in crisis following Israel's announcement of new housing for Jews to be built in East Jerusalem, on territory that Palestinians hope will be their future capital. With Israel's prime minister scheduled to be in Washington next week for talks, who will seek to mend fences first — and fast?

Taliban rule was a dark period for women in Afghanistan, and they want to make sure their fears are not forgotten as the new government in Kabul tries to find ways to make peace with the fighters.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou meets President Obama at the White House Tuesday. The prime minister is seeking international support for his efforts to deal with the debt crisis in Greece. Papandreou says he is not looking for financial handouts, instead he's expected to ask Washington for political support for his domestic austerity measures.

Daniel Yohannes, who left his home country of Ethiopia when he was 17 to make a new life in the United States, says he's happy to give back to his adopted country, by serving in the Obama administration. Yohannes runs a multibillion dollar aid program that started under the Bush administration to fight poverty and promote good governance.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Iran is still not complying with its international obligations, so the United States and its partners have no choice but to tighten financial sanctions. The U.S. is not only looking to the U.N. Security Council, where there is a lot of skepticism that sanctions could work, but is also preparing its own measures to try to isolate Iran from the international financial system.

A new U.N. nuclear agency report says Iran may be working on making a nuclear warhead. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency boosts U.S. calls for sanctions against Tehran. The Islamic republic insists its program is peaceful.

President Obama offered the Dalai Lama "strong support" for the preservation of his homeland's identity, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday. Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama Thursday was kept low key amid Chinese anger. Beijing regards the Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist.

Iran said Monday it will begin enriching uranium to a higher grade than it has in the past. The U.S. and its partners say they are left with few options than to try to tighten the financial screws over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons ambitions.

At a conference in London, the Afghan president laid out plans to lure Taliban fighters away from the insurgency. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and officials from other nations set a timetable to begin shifting security responsibilities to Afghanistan's government in late 2010 or early 2011.

The U.S. and its allies have agreed to pour in millions of dollars into Yemen but they say the government has to shape up first. That was the core of the message that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered to a meeting in London on Yemen. The group is trying to help stabilize Yemen, which is one of the poorest nations in the Arab world, and is struggling to contain al-Qaida.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to London this week to discuss with foreign officials two of Washington's top international priorities. Her first meeting focuses on Yemen, its civil war and its attempts to control al-Qaida. Another round of talks is devoted to tackling corruption and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Foreign ministers gathered Monday in Montreal, where they discussed international support for Haiti. They agreed aid will be needed for a long time and countries will have to carefully coordinate their efforts. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it's important to be "partners with Haiti, not patrons."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a daylong conference in Montreal on Monday was "the beginning of a conversation" about Haiti's future. The meeting of diplomats and aid organizations to discuss Haiti's long-term needs will be followed by an international donors conference in New York in March.