"Fareed Zakaria GPS" this Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET. Second-term presidencies come with a unique set of challenges. How have past American presidents handled them? Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Jon Meacham and Robert Caro look back, and offer advice to President Barack Obama. "Even in this era, where the president of the United [...]

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As the M23 crisis has unfolded in the eastern Congo, the US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has emerged as a holdout within American foreign policy, a sort of minority report to the prevailing criticism of Rwanda and the M23.

The first indication of this emerged in June, when Rice delayed the publication of UN Group of Experts' interim report, insisting that Rwanda be given a chance to see the report first and respond. While these UN investigations are supposed to give the accused the opportunity to respond and explain--the Group says it was refused meetings by the Rwandan government, which Kigali denies--they rarely allow them to see the entire report before publication. In any case, the Group finally did brief a Rwandan delegation in New York in June in New York ...

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On Monday, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Burma. It was just the latest in a series of hurdles Burma has crossed over the last fifteen months on its journey from a pariah state to a darling of investors, NGOs, and aid organizations: this week the U.S. government announced $170 million in aid for the country over the next two years. In the latest installment of Foreign Policy's collaboration with Bloggingheads, I interviewed Min Zin, an exiled Burmese journalist now at University of California, Berkley and FP contributor, to discuss how the Chinese lost Burma, what the lifting of censorship means for local journalists, and how to deal with the fact that Burma's fearsome military still runs most of the country.

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This week it was suggested that the growing numbers of city dwellers keeping chickens were spreading disease and harming birds. But is it just bad blood on the part of big food producers?

Billy, seven, brings me a book. "Have you seen this?" It is a well-worn copy of Keeping Chickens, with colour photos and illustrations on every page, several of them featuring attractive children shot against beautiful blue skies. On the table in the open-plan living space of his north London family home, the book falls open on a chapter headed "What to consider".

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This week's "Photo of the Week" comes to us from the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, and shows U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney serving a Thanksgiving feast to children at the Duang Pratheep Foundation in Bangkok.

This type of outreach exemplifies the spirit that President Barack Obama described during his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, in which he said, "As we reflect on our proud heritage, let us also give thanks to those who honor it by giving back. This Thanksgiving, thousands of our men and women in uniform will sit down for a meal far from their loved ones and the comforts of home. We honor their service and sacrifice. We also show our appreciation to Americans who are serving in their communities, ensuring their neighbors have... more »

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It's Friday, and time to announce another two winners of the Questions To Which The Answer Is No competition. Tom Wein spotted the above, in the finest traditions of local journalism, the Get Reading local website report of the President's re-election, which it linked to his 1996 visit to Wokingham. Kezia, Barack Obama's father's first wife, [...]

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Asians must not misconstrue Barack Obama's recent visit. Although the US is certainly undertaking a strategic "pivot" to Asia, America alone cannot construct a viable security structure for the region.

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Critics fear the new south-east Asian declaration of human rights sanctions the Cambodian government's maltreatment of dissenters and undermines international standards

Human rights groups in Cambodia fear a new south-east Asian declaration of human rights could conversely offer the government in Phnom Penh a figleaf to clamp down on dissent. Cambodia signed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) human rights declaration on Sunday, two days before the arrival of the US president, Barack Obama, on his tour of the region.

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Two pieces of good news have recently broken through the world's prevailing gloom: the reelection of Barack Obama and French President François Hollande's embrace of energetic and courageous proposals to boost the competitiveness of French industry. And yet international cooperation to protect global public goods remains weak.

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After clearing significant hurdles over the past year -- including repeated repeal votes in Congress, a Supreme Court challenge, and a presidential election -- the future of President Obama's landmark health reform law is finally secure. Now that it's here to stay, Americans can expect to reap significant benefits as the Affordable Care Act continues [...]

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