Heads Of State

In his new documentary "South of the Border," Oliver Stone is shown warmly embracing Hugo Chávez, nibbling coca leaves with Evo Morales and gently teasing Cristina Elizabeth Fernández de Kirchner about how many pairs of shoes she owns. These amiable, off-the-cuff snapshots of the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina, respectively, contrast with the way these left-leaning leaders often are depicted in U.S. political and mass media circles. That's especially true of Chávez, the former military officer turned democratically elected socialist leader, who has become the ideological heir apparent to Fidel Castro and the bête noire of Bush administration foreign policy officials.

Many Pakistanis welcomed the election of President Obama as an opportunity for some fresh thinking about their troubled region. But the honeymoon hasn't lasted long. As Obama prepares to meet with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week in Washington, Pakistanis from different walks of life say they'd give the U.S. leader an earful if they, rather than their president, had a seat at the White House table.

If this story turned up on daytime TV, audiences would never believe it: The reformist president of France, on the rebound from his October divorce, is about take a new wife -- an Italian tire heiress and former supermodel who looks a lot like the ex, and who dated Eric Clapton, whom she dumped for Mick Jagger when he was still married to Jerry Hall, and who later married a long-haired French intellectual nearly 10 years her junior after living with his father, nearly 20 years her senior.

The president of France did not say he was going to get married to his new love. But he did not rule it out. What President Nicolas Sarkozy did confirm Tuesday was that his relationship with Carla Bruni, a former supermodel turned folk singer, was "serious," and that if they were to marry the news media would not be involved. "There are strong chances you will learn of it once it's done," Sarkozy told nearly 600 journalists during the annual New Year's news conference at the Elysee Palace.

He married her; he married her not. He married her; he married her not. He married her? France's rumor de jour is that First Bachelor Nicolas Sarkozy has done just what he said he'd do if he decided to marry his fetching former-supermodel girlfriend, Carla Bruni: He'd keep it a secret. "There are strong chances you will learn of it once it's done," Sarkozy told 600 reporters at a news conference a week ago after acknowledging that he'd gotten "serious" with his girlfriend of two months.

Acting President Vicente Gutterres declared a state of emergency today after attacks on the country's top leaders, a failed coup that left the president in "extremely serious" condition with gunshot wounds to the chest. In a televised address, Gutterres said the order would allow authorities to ban demonstrations and raid homes without securing judicial permission for the next two days.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro's decision to step down as head of state after nearly half a century could signal the passing of power to a new generation and fresh hope for the island nation through economic reforms. Tuesday's resignation letter, which includes candid disclosures about his flagging health, was an unequivocal indication that the 81-year-old revolutionary is choreographing his own succession and leaving on his own terms.

Fidel Castro's resignation as Cuba's president arrived on a long-awaited yet disappointing day for U.S. leaders who unsuccessfully worked for decades to help bring about his government's collapse. Almost from the time Castro seized power in 1959, U.S. leaders have shaped their policies around their confidence that the communist regime on Florida's doorstep soon would give way to a democratic and pro-U.S. government. Yet Castro has survived the assassination attempts, a tightening U.S.

Lee Myung-bak was sworn in as South Korea's 17th president today, calling for a renewed spirit of self-sacrifice and vowing to apply hardheaded pragmatism to governing a country where disparities in wealth have created "class conflict and animosity." "Economic revival is our most urgent task," Lee declared in his inaugural address, which swung between clarion calls to create a more compassionate society and a lecture on how South Korea can remain competitive in a globalizing economy.

Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned today from 17 months in exile, and police immediately took him into custody on corruption charges at an airport where thousands of supporters awaited his arrival. Thaksin, a 58-year-old billionaire ousted in September 2006, could face a maximum of 15 years in prison on corruption charges in two cases that date to his time in office. "I have to restore my reputation, which has been tarnished by the coup," he said.