Secretary Rice and U.S. public diplomacy chief Karen Hughes travel to South America this week for the inauguration of Chile's first woman president, Michelle Bachelet. The trip could signal a new focus on South America, at a time when a growing number of leftist governments in the region pose questions for U.S. policies there.

As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes prepare for their trip to South America, CFR Senior Fellow Julia Sweig says the United States must reevaluate its policies in South America. If Washington takes a broader view of the challenges South America faces, real progress could be made.

Nigeria’s political temperature continues to rise as moves to alter the constitution to extend presidential term limits stir protests across the country. The country is already beset by sectarian violence and ongoing clashes with militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Backgrounder: Ongoing sectarian troubles and corruption threaten Nigeria's future security.

A string of attacks in Baghdad renew fears of sectarian civil war a week after the bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra. The continuing violence has forced a debate in Washington over U.S. troop levels in Iraq and threatens to delay the formation of a new Iraqi national-unity government.

After a surge in sectarian violence following last week’s attack on the Shiite Golden Mosque in Samarra threatened to derail the political process, top Sunni Arab leaders say they will rejoin talks.

Millions of Sudanese continue to live in fear of violence because of the unsettled conflict in western Darfur. Also, a one-year-old peace deal ending a long civil war between Sudan’s mainly Muslim north and the animist and Christian south has still not produced a national unity government as planned. The International Crisis Group’s John Prendergast tells cfr.org international pressure is needed for real change in Sudan.

The three-year conflict in Darfur continues as the United Nations prepares to send a peacekeeping mission to replace the ineffectual African Union (AU) presence in Sudan. Human rights advocates say the Darfur situation highlights the international community's inability to protect civilians when their governments are unable or unwilling to help.

Sectarian violence in the wake of this week’s attack on the Shiite Golden Mosque in Samarra have raised fears that an Iraqi civil war is imminent. Civil war would destroy the chances of the newly elected central government and create even more instability across the region.

As Uganda votes in its first multi-party elections in twenty-five years, President Yoweri Museveni rejects allegations he is abusing power and intimidating his opposition. His critics warn such power politics may undo much of the progress Museveni made since coming to power twenty years ago.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's decision to run for a third term in the February 23 presidential election—which he is expected to win—the imprisonment of his main political rival, and the festering conflict between government forces and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda, have aroused international concern.

The deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus has now crept well into Europe—infecting birds in Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and Denmark—and now also threatens Africa. Experts are at a loss over how to best tackle what could be an imminent global pandemic.

Stephen Harper's Conservative Party has dethroned Canada's Liberal Party after thirteen years at the helm in Ottawa. But it won't be an easy ride for Prime Minister Harper, who didn't win enough votes for a majority in parliament. Harper will face a divided House of Commons as he pushes through his promised reforms—including improved Canadian-U.S. relations.

Sudan's bid to chair this year's African Union Summit has brought fierce criticism from opponents who say Khartoum's human rights record would damage the organization's efforts at reform. Sudan continues to fight a bloody civil war and the government faces accusations of human rights abuse in its Darfur region.

Where’s Kim Jong-Il? The whereabouts of the reclusive North Korean leader prompted intense speculation this week, and reports placed him from Shanghai to Manchuria to Siberia. He turned up finally in Beijing.

With UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan due to step down at the end of 2006, the next year will be a time of reflection for the world body and its attempts at reform.