MYANMAR PRESIDENT SWORN-IN
Htin Kyaw has been sworn in as Myanmar's first elected civilian president in more than 50 years. In his first address as president, the 69-year-old, a close aide to Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, promised "national reconciliation" and a new Constitution guaranteeing a federal democracy and "the lifting up of people's lives." The Myanmar Times reports that Suu Kyi, who said she would rule from the sidelines since she's barred from being president herself, will be in charge of foreign affairs, the president's office, education, and energy and electric power.
DILMA ISOLATED AS COALITION PARTNER LEAVES
The threat of impeachment is moving dangerously close for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff after her Workers' Party coalition partner, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), decided to abandon the government yesterday afternoon. According to Folha de S. Paulo, it only took the party three minutes to reach the decision, after 13 years of partnership under Lula and Dilma. The newspaper writes that even former leader Lula, who has been eyeing a controversial comeback, believes the defeat of his protege to be "imminent." For a Latin American perspective on the woes of the leftist government, Andres Hoyos writes in Bogota daily El Espectador that the days of lining one's pockets may be over.
LAHORE DEATH TOLL RISES TO 74
The death toll of Easter Sunday's suicide explosion in Lahore, Pakistan, rose to 74 after two more victims, aged 17 and 18, succumbed to their injuries, Dawn reports this morning. The authorities launched a wave of arrests after the brutal killings, but with the release of 5,005 of the 5,221 suspects detained, the newspaper says the government "appears to be groping in the dark." The remaining 216 have been retained for further interrogation.
HIJACKASS AND "SELFIE"
Photo: Ben Innes
"It has to be the best selfie ever," Ben Innes, a British passenger who was on the EgyptAir flight hijacked yesterday, told The Sun about his picture with the hijacker. The 26-year-old health and safety worker explained he wanted to take a closer look at the fake explosives belt Mustafa, the hijacker, was wearing. But Innes, whose picture features on the front page of several British newspapers this morning, is being sharply criticized: He doesn't seem to know what a selfie is.
ON THIS DAY
Reagan, Alaska, the Queen Mother and "Slowhand" — all in today's 57-second shot of history.
ERDOGAN TRIES TO SILENCE GERMAN SATIRE
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's apparent lack of humor or respect for freedom of speech has landed with a thud in Germany. The Turkish president summoned the German ambassador in Ankara over a song about him in a German satirical TV show. The Turkish government reportedly demanded that the clip never be broadcast again. There has been no official reaction from German government officials. Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, politics editor Oliver Georgi slams Berlin's "fatal silence" and believes that those who have criticized the German-brokered EU-Turkey deal in the migrant crisis "see their worst fears becoming reality," namely that Germany is being "blackmailed" by the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan.
WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO
With half of the world's food tossed out, how can we be less wasteful? For starters, looking for smart new ways to earn money by decreasing waste, Lien Hoang writes for KBR. "A team of Malaysian researchers has been trying to find a use for chicken skin, which contains high levels of elastin — similar to collagen — and can be turned into such beauty products as anti-aging lotions and cosmetics. It can even be used to make health drinks."
Read the full article, A Profit-Minded Quest For Reducing Food Waste.
$130,000
The Archdiocese of New York is hoping to raise funds by selling the car used by Pope Francis during his visit to the Big Apple in September. The highest bid so far for the Fiat 500 Lounge stands at $130,000, well above its list price. And in case you were wondering: Yes, it features the BeatsAudio Premium Sound System.
TRUMP STANDS BY CAMPAIGN MANAGER
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump defended his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski after he was charged with battery for allegedly grabbing a reporter who had approached Trump. "I would have loved to have fired him, but I stick up for people when they are unjustly accused," Trump said. Meanwhile, the real estate mogul dropped his promise to back the Republican nominee if he fails to win, saying he has been "treated very unfairly." The Washington Post notes that his opponents feel just the same.
MY GRAND-PERE'S WORLD
UNICORNS WERE REAL
Unicorns really did exist, a long, long time ago, scientists found. We just didn't think they looked like that.
