Experts predict that if civil war erupts in Iraq, the spark may come from Kirkuk. Oil-rich and under de facto Kurdish control, the city has emerged as one of Iraq’s most hotly contested flashpoints.

A surge in pirate attacks off the Somali coast in recent years has prompted the deployment of an international coalition of navies. But experts say that military force alone cannot address the underl…

The election of pope to lead the world’s one billion Catholics stirs debate over the spiritual authority of the pontiff and the church’s role in the world.