NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Myanmar's parliament has elected Htin Kyaw as Myanmar's new president, a watershed moment that ushers the longtime opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi into government.

The 70-year-old Htin Kyaw, a longtime confidant of Suu Kyi, will take office April 1 to become Myanmar's first democratically elected leader after more than half a century of military rule.

Htin Kyaw's secured 360 votes from among 652 ballots cast in the bicameral parliament, winning a strong majority. The vote count was read aloud and announced by a parliament official.

The military's nominee, Myint Swe, won 213 votes and will become the first vice president. Htin Kyaw's running mate from the National League for Democracy party, Henry Van Tio, won 79 votes and will take the post of second vice president.

Suu Kyi led her National League for Democracy party to a sweeping victory in Nov. 8 elections, a reflection of the widespread public support she earned during her decades-long struggle for democracy in Myanmar which was ruled for half a century by a military junta.

The Nobel laureate and longtime political prisoner is the party's unquestionable leader but is blocked from becoming president because of a constitutional clause that excludes anyone with a foreign spouse or children. Suu Kyi's two sons are British, as was her late husband. The clause is widely seen as having been written by the military with Suu Kyi in mind.

To assume the top post in her place, the NLD nominated Suu Kyi's trusted friend and adviser Htin Kyaw, the son of a national poet and the son-in-law of a founding member of the country's pro-democracy movement.

Myanmar's electoral system requires that the president be chosen from candidates put forward by each of the two houses of parliament, and a third nominee from the military, which retains a quarter of the legislative seats.

Myint Swe is seen as a close ally of former junta leader Than Shwe and remains on a U.S. State Department blacklist that bars American companies from doing business with several tycoons and senior military figures connected with the former junta.

Story: Esther Htusan / Associated Press

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Myanmar's parliament elects a new president on Tuesday to head the country's first democratically elected government, but it won't be Aung San Suu Kyi, the face of the nation's decades-long struggle against military rule. Here's why:

What Prevented Suu Kyi?

The military has been in power in Myanmar since 1962. Faced with unrelenting international pressure and a democracy campaign led by Suu Kyi, the junta began to pave the way toward a civilian government in 2011. Suu Kyi's nonviolent campaign won her the Nobel Peace Prize. But such was the antipathy of some generals toward Suu Kyi that they inserted a clause in the constitution to stymie her. The clause forbids anyone with a foreign spouse or child from becoming president. Suu Kyi's two sons are British, as was her late husband.

Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press

What Did Suu Kyi Do?

Her National League for Democracy party won the Nov. 8 parliamentary elections by a landslide. At that point, she had still hoped to convince the generals to allow the constitutional clause to be scrapped. The military, which controls a quarter of the seats in parliament, refused to relent during several rounds of negotiations with her. So the NLD had to nominate someone else as its candidate for president, who is chosen by members of parliament.

Who Did She Choose?

Foreseeing such an eventuality, Suu Kyi told the media before and after the election that she would be the real power in the government, and whoever becomes president would do her bidding. While her statement may sound undemocratic, she could argue that she was only reflecting the will of the people who voted for the party because of her. So she chose a trusted friend she has known for more than 60 years, a confidant who has been by her side for decades and an astute adviser all these years: Htin Kyaw, a 70-year-old former computer programmer and bureaucrat.

What Are The Pitfalls?

Experts say that Suu Kyi's position on being the real power will ensure that Htin Kyaw will be seen as a seat warmer, and therefore an easy target for military leaders keen to reassert control. It gives him little clout in making policy decisions, even among his own colleagues. Experts also warn that it is possible that foreign leaders and governments will bypass him and go directly to Suu Kyi, making him less relevant.

Story: Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia — Malaysian authorities have decided against charging two Australian journalists who attempted to interview the Malaysian prime minister over corruption allegations and will instead deport them, police said Tuesday.

The decision came after the Australian government intervened and suggested the detention was part of a Malaysian crackdown on press freedom.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. television reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu had been told to appear in a Sarawak state court on Tuesday morning charged with obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties when they questioned Prime Minister Najib Razak as he entered a mosque in the state capital Kuching on Saturday.

The state broadcaster reported that two hours after a press release was issued Monday confirming the charge, the lawyer for the two was told they would not be charged.

ABC said no explanation was given for the change.

The pair can leave Malaysia after visiting a police station to complete paperwork, ABC said.

Sarawak police said in a statement that they were told by prosecutors Tuesday that no charges would be filed.

The pair will be deported, the statement said without giving further details

On Monday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the case would be raised at the "highest levels within the Malaysian government."

She said there were concerns about "a crackdown on freedom of speech."

Sarawak police said the pair were detained after they "crossed the security line and aggressively tried to approach" Najib, accusations that the ABC denied.

Najib is engulfed in a scandal over USD$681 million deposited into his bank accounts in early 2013. Critics accuse him of corruption and say the money came from an indebted state investment fund which he founded in 2009.

In January, Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali decided not to prosecute the prime minister, saying the money was a "personal donation" from the Saudi royal family.

Besser and Eroglu, on assignment for an investigative current affairs program, had asked Najib as he entered a mosque why the money had been deposited into his accounts, the ABC reported.

Najib did not respond and his security detail surrounded the two.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. television reporter Linton Besser, right, and camera operator Louie Eroglu, center, prepare to leave at the Kuching International Airport in Sarawak, Malaysia, Tuesday, March 15, 2016.  Photo: Associated Press

Story: Rod McGuirk and Eileen Ng / Associated Press

WASHINGTON — To: The next president of the United States.

From: U.S. intelligence officials.

Welcome to the White House. Now read our take on global political landscape and trends for the next five years and beyond. Bottom line: Get ready for a rocky road.

Their forecast calls for a slowing global economy dragged down by sluggish growth in China, and political volatility across the world, spurred by disillusionment with the status quo. Insecurity will deepen rifts among social classes and religious groups. Extremists will consolidate into large-scale networks across Africa, the Arab world and parts of Asia.

Competition among the U.S, China and Russia will heat up, raising the risk of future confrontations. Climate change is a problem now. And technological advances will force governments and their citizens to wrestle with securing data, privacy, intellectual property and jobs lost to high-tech innovations.

The National Intelligence Council, part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, serves as a bridge between intelligence agencies and policymakers. Its global trends report is compiled every four years so it can be handed to an incoming president or the incumbent. A summary of a draft of its latest findings was to be released Monday at a conference in Austin, Texas.

These trends follow 20 years of unprecedented reductions in poverty and increased access to education and information, which have empowered citizens around the world.

Suzanne Fry, director of the council's Strategic Future Group, and about 10 of her colleagues visited 30 countries since September 2014 to talk about the future with an estimated 1,800 people from all walks of life.

"Really for the first time in human history, people as individuals, really, really matter," Fry said in an interview.

She recalled Mohammed Bouazizi, a fruit seller who killed himself in 2010 to protest police actions in Tunisia. His death sparked an uprising that led to the ouster of Tunisia's dictator and inspired Arab Spring protests against authoritarian rule across the region.

In America, public discontent is evidenced by the rise of two presidential candidates — Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders — whose anti-establishment messages appeal to anger among the general electorate, Fry said.

"They're channeling something that we're observing in a lot of countries, not just the United States, which is this real dissatisfaction with the existing social bargains or compacts in societies," Fry said.

The report suggests that this type of populism being seen in industrial nations will percolate in the developing world as those affected by a slow-to-zero rise in wages and a hollowing out of the middle class start questioning the effectiveness of traditional policies.

The council's final report is expected to be released between Election Day, Nov. 1, and the inauguration of the next president, on Jan. 20, 2017. The aim is to provide information about emerging trends to guide decisions that could alter the way the world is expected to evolve during the next 20 years.

A significant trend cited in the report is a slowdown of China's economy, which has reduced demand for commodities, especially in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Also on the economic front, the report highlights a concern about increased concentration of wealth among a small number of people.

"We have seen lots of poverty reduction in recent years and people flowing into the middle class, but how do you keep this movie going? It's not clear that the political and economic reforms can keep it going," Fry said. "We've got brand new entrances to the middle class in the developing world. Their expectations are enormous and they are about to be crushed."

The report predicts increased competition and a "desire for status" by emerging and fading powers. This will play out as transnational terrorism, conducted by groups such as the Islamic State, al-Qaida and Boko Haram, and sectarian violence continue to threaten stability in the Middle East, Asia and parts of Africa.

"Multiple power centers are possible if regional aggression and flouting of international norms go unchecked," the report says.

Story: Deb Riechmann / Associated Press