Today was a perfect mommy-son day that ended with us watching the sun glisten over the harbor, snuggled on a bench, reading the last few chapters of an A-to-Z Mystery book. When we finished we strolled along the boardwalk hand-in-hand, unpacking our theories about the book's suspects, when he saw...

Twenty boisterous 5-year-olds ran rampant, popping balloons and bantering about trains and superheroes. A few were coloring, playing with Legos, or tearing into the candy bowl, trying to stay out of the sightline of the adults. But instead of engaging in the birthday festivities, my kid was sitting in a...

Peace negotiations began this week between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known as FARC), a guerrilla group that has waged a half-century long offensive against the government. The talks in Oslo, Norway are being billed as Colombia's best chance for peace in decades.

Indeed, a...

The countries of Central Asia are in the midst of a deep crisis. Often overshadowed in international circles by their war-torn neighbor to the south, Afghanistan, most of the Central Asian "Stans" -- Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan -- are experiencing a slow, painful decline, with their own governments...

Positioned at the midpoint between narcotics producers in South America and U.S. consumers, Guatemala has become a major hub for overland drug trafficking. Violence and corruption, byproducts of the drug trade, pose a major challenge to Guatemala's nascent democratic institutions, and call into question the government's capacity to protect its...

The leadership of Republika Srpska (RS), the smaller of the two entities that make up the Balkan country of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), pushed relations with the state government in Sarajevo to the brink this spring with a proposed referendum that many saw as a first step toward declaring independence...

Clashes between the Turkish government and the Kurdish insurgent group PKK have killed more than 150 people since Turkey's mid-June elections, and this new cycle of tension and violence shows signs of spiraling out of control. For many, the current climate recalls the worst stages of the Kurdish insurgency in...

Clashes this summer along Myanmar's northern and eastern borders between the country's army and Kachin rebels shattered a 17-year ceasefire in one of the world's longest-running civil wars. They were the worst clashes since 2009, leaving 20 dead and thousands displaced.

The fighting was the culmination of months of...

Despite South Sudan's secession from the north, the saga is far from over.

South Sudan's declaration of independence from "North" Sudan closes another chapter in the decades-long civil war between the two regions, and many hope with it will come lasting peace. But tensions remain as key issues between...

In Haiti, more than 650,000 earthquake victims are still waiting for permanent housing after a year and a half in emergency camps, where they are now vulnerable to criminal violence and the summer storm season. The resettlement crisis is task number one for Haiti's new president, Michel Martelly.

Conditions...

A week after President Obama announced the beginning of the end of America's military mission in Afghanistan, insurgents attacked Kabul's historic Intercontinental Hotel, killing 11 people. This latest attack illustrates the growing power of the insurgency despite some progress on the ground, according to Crisis Group's newest report...

Somalia may be at a turning point for the better.

For years, a stalemate prevailed between the internationally-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and al-Shabab, the Islamist insurgent group and al-Qaeda ally. The TFG was a federal government in name only, battling al-Shabab for control of the capital, Mogadishu. Lacking...

With South Sudan little more than a month away from independence, the northern Sudanese army has occupied Abyei, a disputed territory that sits on the north-south border, forcing thousands of residents to flee, increasing antagonism between North and South, and risking renewed conflict.

The local dispute in Abyei involves two...

The Arab Spring sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East began in Tunisia, setting off a wave of political unheaval that has transformed the region. Soon after President Ben Ali fled Tunis, mass protests in Egypt toppled the administration of Hosni Mubarak, while Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Syria fell...

Inspired by their peers in Tunisia and Egypt, young Bahrainis flooded the streets of their capital, Manama, on February 14, demanding greater political openness, constitutional reform, and in some cases, outright regime removal. Clashes with security forces soon followed, but within a week protesters had occupied Manama's Pearl Square, which...

Last month, Yemen's embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was dealt a critical blow when one of his top generals and confidants, Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, defected to the protest movement that has gripped the country since January. Initiated by Yemeni youth and civil society groups, protestors have been joined by formal...

The wave of popular protests that has already toppled regimes in Egypt and Tunisia has also rocked Yemen, where large street demonstrations threaten the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Peaceful at first, Yemen's protests have recently grown more violent. Protesters have clashed with the army and plainclothes supporters...

The West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire is again on the brink of civil war. Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to relinquish power after losing to rival Alassane Ouattara in last November's presidential runoff. Armed supporters of both men have clashed in Abidjan, the largest city, and in the...

In 2005, leaders representing North and South Sudan signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended decades of civil war in which millions died. This month, as part of the CPA, Southern Sudanese went to the polls in a week long ballot to vote on whether to remain part of Sudan....

This week's deadly clashes along the Israeli Lebanon border have pierced an uneasy calm that has prevailed in the region since the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbollah, and prompted Middle East watchers to worry aloud whether this is the trigger point...