This report considers the transition in government meant to stabilize Afghanistan. Moreover, the report discusses the new constitution and the benefits of it, such as women participating in politics. The report also discusses the NATO led troops in the region.

Sub-Saharan Africa ("Africa" hereafter) has been more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. Experts attribute the severity of Africa's AIDS epidemic to the region's poverty, women's relative lack of empowerment, high rates of male worker migration, and other factors. Health systems there are ill-equipped; AIDS' severe social and economic consequences are depriving Africa of skilled workers and teachers, and reducing life expectancy by decades in some countries. This report explains the AIDS crisis and surrounding issues in detail, as well as U.S. and international efforts to provide general and economic aid. Relevant U.S. legislation is also outlined.

This report discusses the AIDS issues in Africa and the Bush administration call to double U.S. international funding for AIDS.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 24.5 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 11% of the world's population but more than 64% of the worldwide total of infected people. This report discusses this issue in detail, including the cause of the African AIDS epidemic, the social and economic consequences, response and treatment, and U.S. policy.

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Data mining is emerging as one of the key features of many homeland security initiatives. Often used as a means for detecting fraud, assessing risk, and product retailing, data mining involves the use of data analysis tools to discover previously unknown, valid patterns and relationships in large data sets. This report discusses the data mining uses (i.e. Terrorism Information Awareness (TIA) Program) and issues (i.e. data quality, interoperability, privacy), as well as the limitations of data mining.

On July 20, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its version of the FY2007 defense appropriations bill, H.R. 5631. Floor action is expected to begin on August 1. The Senate bill provides $453.5 billion defense programs, including $50 billion in appropriations for overseas operations. The total is $9.1 billion less than the Administration requested. Earlier, on June 20, the House passed its version of the bill. It provides $416.3 billion for defense programs, $4.1 billion below the request. The amounts in the House and Senate bills are not directly comparable, since some programs in the Senate bill are covered in the House in the Military Quality of Life/Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, H.R. 5385.

This report shows the state allocations fo DHS and HHS homeland security assistance programs, as reported by their department documents or press releases. It also shows per capita amounts for each program, as calculated by CRS, using 2002 census estimates.

A U.S.-Pakistan relationship marked by periods of both cooperation and discord was transformed by the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States into the enlistment of Pakistan as a key ally in U.S.-led counterterrorism efforts. This report outlines key aspects of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, as well as of Pakistan's economic conditions, political environment, handling of ongoing separatist violence, and nuclear nonproliferation.

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Sudan has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for four decades. An estimated 2 million people have died over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. The ongoing crisis in Darfur in western Sudan has led to a major humanitarian disaster, with an estimated 1.9 million people displaced and more than 213,000 people forced into neighboring Chad. This report outlines the Darfur crisis as well as the current political climate of Sudan overall, as well as international efforts to send economic aid and peacekeeping forces to Sudan.

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An array of bilateral issues continue to affect relations between the United States and Syria: the course of Arab-Israeli talks; questions of arms proliferation; Syrian connections with terrorist activity; Syria's role in Lebanon; and Syria's opposition to the U.S. occupation in Iraq. A variety of U.S. legislative provisions and executive directives prohibit direct aid to Syria and restrict bilateral trade relations between the two countries, due largely to Syria's designation by the U.S. State Department as a sponsor of international terrorism. This report outlines in detail U.S.-Syrian relations, including discussion of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the outbreak of Hezballah-related violence, and related legislation.

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