View an interactive map of Japan's SDF deployments around the world.

See the villages and towns in Darfur where major conflicts take place.

Find out how drugs and money move through the Americas with this series of maps.

While production in these countries has been declining over the last three decades--due to ageing mines and rising production costs--an influx of foreign investment has fueled a twentieth century gold rush in the developing world.

Unlike Abu Dhabi, Dubai boasts no vast oil reserves or territory. The emirate's plans to diversify its economy and fashion itself into a global center for trade and tourism led to an unprecedented construction boom in the area.

Once a region predominantly inhabited by nomadic Bedouin tribes, the country has become a global hub for trade and tourism.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a loose federation of seven states formed in 1971, following independence from Britain, each with its own ruler. Local Sheikhs retain considerable power over their own regions, including control over oil and gas reserves.

Globally, the Shia account for an estimated 10 or 15 percent of the Muslim population, but in the Middle East their numbers are much higher: they dominate the population of Iran, compose a majority in Iraq, and are significant minorities in other nations.

Explore the laws governing air space for international travel.