Heads Of State

Thailand's parliament chose the sharp-tongued and combative Samak Sundaravej, a close ally of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as the country's new prime minister today. The vote for Samak, who heads the People Power Party, is considered a key step to restoring democracy in Thailand after the 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin. Samak's party, a new group backed by Thaksin, won the largest number of seats in elections last month. The PPP heads a coalition of six parties that holds two-thirds of the 480 seats in parliament's lower house.

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.

President Bush said Friday that Fidel Castro's "supposed retirement" meant only that Cuba was replacing "one dictator with another" and that the U.S. would not relax its strict opposition to the regime. Bush's remarks were his most extensive on the change taking place in Cuba, with Raul Castro's elevation to the presidency in place of his ailing older brother.

A few yards from the four-room house where President Chen Shui-bian grew up, a life-size cutout leans against a wall. Tourists used to arrive in droves and have their photo taken with the "president," earning neighbors a steady income. These days the visitors are largely gone, the prop weather-worn and seemingly forgotten. "We haven't had any real business in years," said Chen, a 60-year-old retiree and distant relative with silver teeth and a pink shirt, who declined to give her first name.

Kenyan lawmakers unanimously approved a power-sharing deal, bringing together two men whose dispute over the presidency unleashed weeks of deadly violence. President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga both claimed victory in the Dec. 27 presidential election, which observers said was so flawed by rigging that it was impossible to say who had won. Under the deal, Odinga will fill the newly created post of prime minister. The dispute over the election tapped into a well of resentment over land and wealth that resurfaces regularly at election time in Kenya, but this year's bloodshed was the most brutal and sustained by far. More than 1,000 people died in the unrest.

She smiles like a queen from almost every street corner here. Billboards congratulate her on her recent 52nd birthday, declaring her admirers' wish that she live for "thousands of years." Her name is Mayawati, and she has a penchant for diamonds, helicopters and power, all of which are at her disposal as the leader of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and home to the Taj Mahal. Elected chief minister in May, she reigns over a population more than half that of the United States.