International actors are redoubling efforts to restore Afghanistan's agriculture sector and weaken the massive opium trade that helps fund the Taliban. But competing strategies and corruption could stall reforms.

A profile of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist terrorist group that seeks an independent state in areas in Sri Lanka inhabited by ethnic Tamils.

President Barack Obama says he will seek vigorous climate-change policy. Efforts to curb greenhouse gases pose considerable economic pitfalls, as well as opportunities.

Sri Lanka's government has scored a string of wins in its long-standing civil war with Tamil militants. But it faces the challenge of integrating its Tamil minority.

China's rapid economic development has been fueled in large part by a massive migration of rural workers to cities and industrial zones. Young, poorly educated, and highly mobile, these workers continue to face discrimination due to their rural origins and transitory status.

President Obama has made "strategic communications" an essential part of his move to boost the military and nation-building effort in Afghanistan. But experts say countering Taliban messaging will take technology, speed, and demonstrated success in providing security.

Relations between the Vatican and Israel are a complex combination of diplomacy mixed with interfaith discussion.

Amid a growing insurgency and escalating economic troubles in Pakistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States must "help Pakistan help Pakistanis." Experts say strengthening the country's private sector and boosting trade opportunities could underpin security.

As the world's largest democracy goes to the polls, this Backgrounder looks at the laws, major players, and issues, including economic reform, caste, and religion, that have shaped India's politics.

The U.S. State Department's annual global rating of human rights performance antagonizes friend and foe alike. Many rights activists embrace the reports while some express doubts about their influence on U.S. policy.

As the Obama administration finalizes its first defense budget, analysts say near-term growth will be followed by lean spending amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

A short summary of each of the G-20 member's objectives for the April summit in London.

A profile of the Group of 20 major and emerging world economies.

A profile of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

A brief look at how the U.S. government plans to use taxpayer funds and other incentives to cleanse the balance sheets of banks and revitalize credit markets.

The contentious border between Pakistan and Afghanistan remains a site of major conflict, and houses some of the world’s most dangerous militants.

As U.S. lawmakers debate a cap-and-trade policy to combat climate change, experts say coal will continue to be a major part of the world's energy mix, which will likely complicate efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

April's G-20 summit has been billed as a forum for producing a "global New Deal." Experts say policymakers should focus on stopping financial turmoil before tackling long-term regulatory reforms.

Beset by increased terror attacks and political infighting, Pakistan's viability as a state is a matter of increasing concern. Experts call for reforming weak civil institutions, resolving ethnic disputes, and checking the power of the military.

France's move to rejoin NATO's integrated military command structure reflects a shift in French strategic thinking about new reliance on allies and diminished projection of unilateral power abroad.