1. Egypt declares state of emergency

    Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency in Egypt following twin church bombings that killed dozens of people in two cities on Sunday.

    Sisi announced the “state of emergency for three months” in a defiant* speech at the presidential palace after a meeting of the national defense council.

    The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the church bombings in the Nile Delta cities of Alexandria and Tanta in which at least 44 people were killed.

    2. Malaysia seizes rhino horns

    Malaysian authorities have seized about US$3.1 million worth of rhinoceros* horns flown in from Mozambique via Qatar, the latest seizure in Asia of products from endangered species to feed demand for traditional remedies*, officials said on Monday.

    Customs officials at Kuala Lumpur International Airport found the more than 51 kg of horns on Friday, after a tip-off*, packed in wooden crates* in a cargo warehouse, airport customs director Hamzah Sundang told a news conference.

    3. Philippine court upholds verdict

    The Philippine Court of Appeals has upheld a guilty verdict on a U.S. Marine for killing a transgender* woman nearly three years ago, a case that stirred debate over the U.S. military presence in its former colony.

    A lower court had found Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton guilty of killing Jennifer Laude in a hotel in Olongapo, outside a former U.S. navy base northwest of the capital, in 2014.

    He was jailed for between six and 10 years on a Philippine military base. Pemberton had admitted choking* but not killing Laude. He had been charged with murder but was convicted of the lesser offence of homicide*, which does not require malicious* intent.

    4. Ahn rises in S. Korea election

    South Korea’s presidential election on Monday appeared set to become a battle between two liberals as maverick* politician Ahn Cheol-soo extended his remarkable challenge to front-runner* Moon Jae-in over a week.

    In a Realmeter survey released on the day, Ahn of the centrist People’s Party doubled his approval rating to close his gap with Moon of the liberal Democratic Party to just over 5 percentage points.

    Some other surveys placed Ahn ahead of Moon in a hypothetical* matchup.

    5. 6 dead in Poland building collapse

    A pre-World War II apartment house collapsed on Saturday in southwestern Poland, leaving six people dead and four injured, authorities said.

    Scores of firefighters with dogs continued to search the rubble of the building in the town of Swiebodzice, to make sure no one remained trapped.

    According to Daniel Mucha, regional spokesman for the firefighters, the two upper floors of the three-floor building might have collapsed due to a gas explosion. A team of construction experts were to investigate the cause.

    6. Stephen Bannon removed from NSC

    White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon was removed from his controversial seat in the National Security Council (NSC), U.S. media reported on April 5.

    U.S. President Donald Trump made the adjustment in a National Security Presidential Memorandum that outlined the members and their respective duties in the NSC, which did not include Bannon’s role.

    National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was left in charge of setting meeting agendas and overseeing Tom Bossert, the homeland security advisor. (SD-Agencies)