Jimmy Carter's suggestion that most opposition to Barack Obama and his policies was due to racism has sparked heated debate in the US.

Osama bin Laden has allegedly said in a new audiotape that President Obama's Afghanistan strategy is "hopeless" and has called on the US to end the Afghanistan war and break its alliance with Israel.

A Sri Lankan reporter has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for writing articles critical of the government's military operations.

A controversial new law decriminalising the possession of small amounts of heroin, marijuana, cocaine and other illicit substances has quietly slipped on to the statute books in Mexico.

You may not recognise her face, or her name. Yet Valerie Jarrett is arguably the most powerful person in the White House apart from the President.

The US economy is improving at a faster rate than anticipated but the IMF says recovery is likely to be gradual.