Central and South America: While this part of the world doesn't really have much impact on the story it has gone through its share of turmoil too. Several nations have been through revolutions and counter revolutions. Dictatorships have fallen to democratic uprisings and democracies have fallen into dictatorships.
The most notable change is the Brazilian bio-tech boom. Researchers had been looking for medicinal plants in the rainforest for decades. In the mid twenty first century the plant that led to the creation of a whole new form of antibiotic medications was discovered. A find which marked the beginning of the reversal of the rise of antibiotic resistant diseases.
Of course this has led to a veritable gold rush of botanists looking for the next big discovery. A few other notable discoveries in recent years have continued to stoke the enthusiasm.