BANGKOK

Sister of fugitive ex-leader gets landslide election win

The U.S.-educated sister of Thailand’s fugitive former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, led his loyalists to a landslide election victory Sunday, a stunning rout of the military-backed government that last year crushed protests by his supporters with a bloody crackdown that left the capital in flames.

The results pave the way for businesswoman Yingluck Shinawatra, 44, widely considered to be her billionaire brother’s proxy, to become the nation’s first female prime minister — if the coup-prone Thai army accepts the results.

The Southeast Asian kingdom has been wracked by upheaval since 2006, when Thaksin was toppled in a military coup amid accusations of corruption and a rising popularity that some saw as a threat to the nation’s much-revered monarchy.

The coup touched off a schism between the country’s haves and have-nots — pitting the marginalized rural poor who hailed Thaksin’s populism against an elite establishment bent on defending the status quo that sees him as a corrupt autocrat.

KABUL, Afghanistan

Several U.S. lawmakers leery of troop withdrawal in 2012

Three U.S. senators visiting Kabul said Sunday they are worried that President Obama’s planned withdrawal of 33,000 American troops by September 2012 could undermine Afghan morale, embolden the insurgency and hamper efforts to defeat Taliban fighters.

John McCain, R-Ariz., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., said they are heartened by the progress of Afghan security forces, but worry that Obama’s withdrawal plan could deplete American military strength before dealing a decisive blow to the Taliban, especially in eastern Afghanistan. That part of the country is a haven for the Afghan and Pakistani wings of the Taliban, and al-Qaida affiliates.

“The planned drawdown is an unnecessary risk,” said McCain, who claimed that no military leader has spoken in favor of the timetable.

Lt. Gen. John R. Allen, a Marine general expected to carry out the president’s drawdown order, has said the schedule is a bit more aggressive than the military had anticipated. Allen has cautioned that successfully winding down the war will require new progress on a wide front, including more help from allies and less Afghan corruption.

QUEBEC CITY

Royal couple is popular, but some protests emerge

Prince William and Kate thrilled hundreds of adoring fans with an unscheduled walkabout Sunday in a city that was the site of the key British victory in the conquest of the French — a historical event not forgotten by French-speaking separatists protesting nearby.

The newlyweds were on the fourth day of a nine-day trip to Canada, part of their first official overseas trip since their April 29 wedding.

The visit hit a nerve among French-speaking separatists. Prince William and Kate had a private lunch at the Citadelle, a fortified residence where the British flag was raised at the end of the 1759 Battle of Quebec, when British forces defeated the French to seal the conquest of New France.

The royal couple encountered small but vocal protests for the second straight day during their visit to predominantly French-speaking Quebec, following protests in Montreal.

The demonstrators carried signs reading “Pay your own way” and “The monarchy, it’s over.”

Quebec separatists are angry that Canada still has ties to the monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is still the country’s head of state.

The jeers contrasted with the start of the royal couple’s Canadian trip in the largely English-speaking capital, Ottawa, where they were cheered by tens of thousands of people on Friday’s Canada Day holiday.

ONONDAGA, N.Y.

Biker protesting helmet law dies after hitting head

Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike’s handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.

State troopers told The Post-Standard of Syracuse that Philip A. Contos, 55, of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley-Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.

Troopers said Contos hit his brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike spun out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Contos likely would have survived if he had been wearing a helmet, troopers said. 

— From news service reports

 

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