Germany's Angela Merkel hangs on to power but bleeds support to surging far right
Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office on Sunday (Sept 24) but will have to build an uneasy coalition to form a government after her conservatives haemorrhaged support in the face of a surge by the far-right.
The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) stunned the establishment by winning 13.1 per cent of the vote, projected results showed, a result that will bring a far-right party into parliament for the first time in more than half a century.
Merkel's conservative bloc emerged as the largest parliamentary party but, with just 33.2 per cent of the vote, saw its support slump to the lowest since 1949 - the first time national elections were held in post-war Germany.
Big winner in German elections not Chancellor Merkel, but far-right, anti-immigrant movement
Exit polls and early counting from Germany's general elections indicate that although Chancellor Angela Merkel is virtually guaranteed to remain in office, both her ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the main opposition Socialists (SPD) have sustained spectacular losses.
The real winner of the ballots is a far-right, anti-immigrant new political movement, which is now destined to transform Germany's political scene. The vote represents an upset of monumental proportions, one with wide implications for the rest of Europe.
Early projections indicate that Chancellor Merkel's CDU attracted 33.1 per cent of the vote, considerably less than the 41.5 per cent the CDU won in the last general elections back in 2013, compared to only 20.4 per cent for the left-leaning SPD, the main opposition party appears, and surprising 13.2 per cent for the far-right Alternative for Germany (or AfD as it is known by its German-language acronym).
Mass grave of 28 Hindu men, women and children found in Myanmar: Army
Myanmar's army said Sunday (Sept 24) it had discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 28 Hindus, including women and children, in violence-wracked Rakhine state, blaming the killings on Muslim Rohingya militants.
Thousands of Hindus have fled villages where they once lived alongside Muslims, alleging that they were targeted by militants whose August 25 raids plunged Rakhine into communal violence.
The announcement could not be independently verified in an region where access has been tightly controlled by Myanmar's army.
Police have thwarted seven terror attacks since March, London mayor Sadiq Khan reveals
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said police had thwarted seven attacks by militants since March this year, describing the increase in the number as a shift rather than a spike.
Speaking at the annual conference of his opposition Labour Party, Khan also said the police needed more spending to help them counter such attacks and that Internet companies must do more to crackdown on extremist content.
"Between March this year and now, there have been four attacks but seven have been thwarted," he told a Guardian Live event, without giving details.
Players kneel, coaches link arms in solidarity at Wembley over Donald Trump's criticism
As US President Donald Trump called for owners American football teams to suspend or fire players who protested the national anthem, players and coaches answered defiantly Sunday morning, with most members of the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars either standing with their arms locked in solidarity or taking a knee on the field.
Ravens Coach John Harbaugh joined his players, locking arms, and Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-American billionaire and businessman, joined his players before the game's kickoff in London's Wembley Stadium. Ravens Hall of Famer Ray Lewis also took a knee during the anthem.
The show of defiance comes hours after Trump on Sunday morning (Sept 24) renewed his demand that NFL (National Football League) owners fire or suspend players who kneel during the national anthem in protest, again urging that fans should boycott the sport to force change.
