5: Why Would a World Leader Eat Canned Spaghetti on Pizza?

An investigation of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s dinner.

Donald Trump caused something of a global scandal when images emerged of him eating KFC with a knife and fork. But New Zealand is once again punching above its weight in the world-leaders-eating-terrible-food stakes, with the Prime Minister posting photos of an outrageous pineapple-spaghetti-pizza hybrid.

In a Facebook post, newly-minted Prime Minister Bill English proffered his pasta-coated creations, with the caption: “Cooked dinner for the family last night—like if you agree with spaghetti on pizza!”

English’s culinary prowess has now come under almost as much scrutiny as his decision not to hold an inquiry into allegations of war crimes by New Zealand troops in Afghanistan.

Vice News

4: REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP’S TIES TO BLACKWATER FOUNDER ERIK PRINCE

REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY, the most dogged opponent of Blackwater founder Erik Prince in the U.S. Congress, is blasting the Trump administration for using Prince as a shadow emissary for the White House. “He is the kind of unvetted, unscrupulous person that seems to fit very nicely, especially into the kinds of operations that they want done,” Schakowsky said in an exclusive interview for the Intercepted podcast. “This is exactly the kind of person who should be excluded from having anything to do with our government, covert or out in public.”

Schakowsky was responding to reporting by The Intercept and the Washington Post that Prince is serving as an unofficial adviser and emissary for Trump and his team. The Post reported on Monday that Prince and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, arranged a meeting in the Seychelles islands “to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump.” That followed an earlier meeting in December 2016 with Sheikh al-Nahyan, Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner, and retired Gen. Michael Flynn in New York.

The Intercept

3: Idlib hospitals overwhelmed after suspected gas attack

Hospitals across Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province are overwhelmed with casualties from a suspected chemical attack that has killed scores of people and wounded hundreds more, a local health official has told Al Jazeera.

The attack in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Khan Sheikhoun drew widespread international condemnation, with the UN saying it would investigate the bombing raid as a possible war crime.

Air raids targeted Khan Sheikhoun again on Wednesday morning, Hamid, a local official of the Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue group that operates in rebel-held areas, told Al Jazeera.

Aljazeera

2: Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon stripped of national security council role

Donald Trump’s political strategist Steve Bannon has lost his place on the national security council in a staff shakeup, documents show.

A presidential memorandum dated 4 April took Bannon, the former Breitbart News executive and chief White House link to the nationalist rightwing, off the country’s main body for foreign policy and national security decision-making. It also restores the traditional roles of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the director of national intelligence to the NSC.

While the revamp is likely to be seen as a victory for Trump’s second national security adviser, army lieutenant general HR McMaster, the substantive impact of the shakeup remains to be seen. A parallel security structure in the Eisenhower executive office building, known as the Strategic Initiatives Group, reports to Bannon, whose close relationship with Trump suggests continued influence in this administration.

The Guardian 

1: “The Assad Regime is a Moral Disgrace”: Noam Chomsky on Ongoing Syrian War

As worldwide outrage mounts over an alleged chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, which was reportedly carried out by the Assad government, we speak with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky about the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Democracy Now