But the trip comes at a time of spiraling violence and record casualties.

Yousuf said expulsion of foreign troops was the only solution for Afghanistan's spiraling violence.

Police said they acted properly to curtail the spiraling violence.

The spiraling violence worries foreign investors and makes some tourists nervous about visiting Mexico.

The army has been instructed to return fire in an attempt to halt the spiraling violence.

Worries about spiraling violence as anti-government protests intensify in Hong Kong have also soured investor sentiment.

The problem in Iraq is perhaps more intractable -the daily toll of bombings, sectarian clashes and spiraling violence.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani earlier urged parliament to considering withdrawing its support for Abdul Mahdi's government to stem spiraling violence.

Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt the polls and the United Nations says spiraling violence threatens to keep many Afghans from voting.

Spiraling violence in Mexico, where President Felipe Calderon is battling increasingly bold drug cartels, has increased calls for tighter controls on the border.

Yet Calderon could pay a high political price for the spiraling violence as opposition parties, especially the PRI, are expected to sweep Sunday's elections.

Roughly half of the country lives in poverty, which is blamed for fuelling the spiraling violence that has rattled tourists and investors under Calderon's watch.