The U.S. State Department continues to list Cuba as a state sponsor of terror, though most experts say the country no longer poses a threat to U.S. national security.

The provisional Irish Republican Army, or IRA, is an outgrowth of an older group known as the Irish Republican Army, which fought an insurgency that successfully challenged British rule in the whole of Ireland in the early years of the twentieth century.

Iran's nuclear program is believed to have steadily progressed, despite sharply increased concerns over its intentions and sanctions over its lack of transparency.

The Obama administration says its 2009 stimulus package saved jobs and boosted growth, but Republicans and some economists worry it dampened consumer and business spending and added to long-term debt.

Debating global warming policy has moved to the top of agendas worldwide, but some skeptics still question whether action is necessary or possible.

Outsourcing remains a contentious political issue as lawmakers, analysts, and business leaders debate its effect on U.S. job creation and the role of corporate tax policy in shipping jobs overseas, explains this Backgrounder.

Peru has avoided the development problems seen in other extraction-dependent economies, but experts say the country faces governance hurdles, especially on the environment.

Buoyed by high oil prices, Russia finds itself embroiled in a number of disputes with foreign firms looking to tap its underdeveloped oil fields and with its neighbors that grew used to subsidized gas.

Financial pressures have weakened al-Qaeda's tactical abilities, but analysts say affiliated networks are finding new ways to raise and spend money, complicating efforts to squeeze a savvy foe.

A profile of the Pakistani militant group India blames for some of the most severe terror attacks it has suffered in recent years, including the Mumbai assault of November 2008.

Interest in nuclear power is increasing, but securing adequate uranium supplies for nuclear fuel faces challenges ranging from a flagging mining sector to fears of nuclear weapons proliferation.

Loss of forests is a major contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions. Plans to devise a policy tool for using trees for carbon dioxide sequestration are now under way.

The UN conference on climate change that begins December 7 in Copenhagen is supposed to produce new targets for emissions reductions, but experts say major countries are at odds on the ultimate goal of a new framework. This backgrounder looks at some of their positions.

Despite concerns over Iran's nuclear program, the Obama administration has assessed that Tehran is years from a developing a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon. But past Iranian secrecy and testing bombast have led some experts to remain skeptical of Tehran's capabilities and ambitions.

In the aftermath of the June 2009 presidential election, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has become major to the regime's power projection. Some analysts have seen the guard's hand in a creeping militarization of Iran's domestic policy.

Pakistan's poor public education system has been exploited by extremist groups and slowed the country's development. Analysts say education reform is an essential element in stabilizing the country.

Myanmar has undergone significant political change since the 2007 Saffron revolution leading to a boom in international investment, but it still faces considerable economic and human rights hurdles.

Leaders attending the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh will seek to forge agreements to buoy a global economic recovery and repair financial imbalances that contributed to the recession.

The United States has pursued missile defense technologies for six decades, with mixed results. Changes under the Obama administration, including adjustments to planned defenses in Europe, could portend a new direction.