1. Macron, Le Pen in battle to lead France

    Far-right populist* Marine Le Pen and centrist* Emmanuel Macron claimed victory in Sunday’s first-round vote of the French presidential election.

    Besting nine other candidates, the two will now face off in the second and final round on May 7. Celebrating his advancement, Macron addressed supporters in Paris in a speech that called for unity and reiterated* his support for the EU. He drew a sharp contrast with his opponent Le Pen, who has floated the idea of referendum — dubbed “Frexit” — on whether to leave or remain in the EU.

    2. Security steps up before ASEAN summit

    Members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force have been deployed to stand guard in front of armored* vehicles stationed near the venue of the coming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit at the convention center in Pasay City, metro Manila, the Philippines, on Monday.

    The government said at least 26,000 policemen would be deployed to ensure the security of world leaders in attendance of the ASEAN summit beginning on Friday.

    3. US: Pirates again prowl waters off Somalia

    Commercial ships must once again shore up* their defenses against forced boardings at sea, U.S. Defense Department officials said on Sunday, warning that Somali pirates are returning to waters off East Africa after five years of calm.

    Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that while he was not calling for a response yet from the U.S. Navy, a half-dozen pirate attacks on commercial ships off the coast of Somalia in the past eight weeks meant that civilian mariners and shipping companies must again be on high alert.

    American military commanders at the Pentagon’s sole semipermanent base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier in neighboring Djibouti, have been monitoring the attacks.

    4. Afghan minister resign over deadly attack

    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accepted the resignations of his defense minister and army chief of staff on Monday, after more than 140 soldiers were killed last week in the deadliest ever Taliban attack on a military base, the president’s office said.

    “Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect,” the presidential palace announced in a post on its Twitter account.

    5. Yonhap: N. Korea detains 3rd US citizen

    North Korea detained a U.S. citizen on Friday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, bringing the total number of Americans held by the isolated* country to three.

    The man, a Korean-American in his 50s identified only by his surname Kim, had been in North Korea for a month to discuss relief activities, Yonhap said. He was arrested at Pyongyang International Airport on his way out of the country.

    The man was a former professor at Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST), Yonhap said, citing unnamed sources. YUST, a university in neighboring China, has a sister university in Pyongyang.

    6. Suspect ‘bet on club’s shares falling’

    A 28-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attacking the Borussia Dortmund team bus had taken out a five-figure loan to bet on a drop in the club’s share price.

    Three explosions went off near the Borussia Dortmund team bus on April 11, as it was pulling out of the hotel where the players were staying.

    “The accused is suspected of having carried out the attack on the team bus,” prosecutors* said after the elite GSG 9 police unit arrested the suspect at dawn in Tuebingen, near the southwestern city of Stuttgart.(SD-Agencies)