Four sworn
Barack Obama achieved a remarkable feat last week: he managed to take the oath of office for a fourth time. Under the 22nd Amendment to the US constitution, which was passed in 1947, no president may be elected to office more than twice.
— In 2009 Obama took his oath a second time, in the White House, after chief justice John Roberts confused his lines, leading to suggestions that Joe Biden was president.
— The constitution demands that 20 January be inauguration day. As it fell on Sunday, Obama took an oath in private, followed by a re-run at the official ceremony on Monday.
— Only one other president has taken the oath four times: Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was inaugurated for a fourth time in 1945.
Best shot
Ahmed Dogan, the leader of Bulgaria’s ethnic Turkish party, survived an assassination attempt when his assailant’s gun failed to go off.
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