This Week's Look Ahead

• Tuesday, Jan. 16:
Cape Town, South Africa – Conference on grooming African women for leadership in politics, business, medicine, and other fields.

• Wednesday, Jan. 17:
Islamabad, Pakistan – Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, chairman of a Muslim separatist alliance in Indian-controlled Kashmir, holds talks with Pakistani officials on Kashmir dispute.
Strasbourg, France – German Chancellor Angela Merkel presents plans for her six-month presidency of European Union.

• Thursday, Jan. 18:
Rio de Janeiro – South America's Mercosur trade bloc summit. Venezuela is urging that Bolivia become a member.

• Saturday, Jan. 20:
Nairobi, Kenya – World Social Forum, gathering of antiglobalization militants and other activists, opens. It is a counter to World Economic Forum, gathering of business and political elite Jan. 24 in Davos, Switzerland.

– The Associated Press, Reuters