New Haitian president Martelly urges unity

MICHEL “Sweet Micky” Martelly, a pop star known for his bad-boy antics on stage, became earthquake-devastated Haiti’s new president and urged his countrymen to set aside their divisions and raise the nation from rubble.

Martelly, 50, was all business as he was inaugurated on the lawn of the collapsed National Palace in Port-au-Prince before a crowd of thousands.

He told his compatriots to respect laws, pay their taxes, and pitch in to ensure that a more independent Haiti moved forward after a massive earthquake last year flattened the capital and outer areas, killing more than 300,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands more living in tents.