German anti-immigrant party beats Chancellor Angela Merkel's party in her home state
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats fell to third place in a state election on Sunday behind the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, TV projections showed.
In a stinging defeat for Merkel in her home district one year ahead of federal elections, the upstart AfD won 21.4 per cent of the vote in their first election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern by campaigning hard against the chancellor's policies on refugees, according to a projection by ZDF TV.
"This isn't pretty for us," said Michael Grosse-Groehmer, one of Merkel's top deputies in parliament in Berlin in a ZDF TV interview. "Those who voted for the AfD were sending a message of protest."
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to re-establish all ties with Britain, says Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May for the first time Sunday, telling her Russia wants to re-establish ties in all areas, the Kremlin said.
The meeting, on the margins of a G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, was "good, constructive and open," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Mr Putin gave a clear and unequivocal indication that we are interested in completely re-establishing our relations and dialogue in all areas, including the most sensitive ones," he added.
ISIS ousted from last stretch of Syria-Turkey border: monitor
Turkish forces and Syrian rebels expelled ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) from the last areas of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"ISIS has lost its contact with the outside world after losing the remaining border villages," the Britain-based monitor said.
The Observatory said "rebels and Islamist factions backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes" had taken several villages on the border "after IS withdrew from them, ending ISIS's presence... on the border".
Giant pandas no longer 'endangered' in China, says conservation union
Decades of conservation work in China have paid off for the giant panda, whose status was changed Sunday from "endangered" to "vulnerable" due to a population rebound, officials said.
The improvement for the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) was announced as part of an update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the world's most comprehensive inventory of plants and animals.
The latest estimates show a population of 1,864 adult giant pandas. Although exact numbers are not available, adding cubs to the projection would mean about 2,060 pandas exist today, said the IUCN.
Football: England grab last-gasp win against 10-man Slovakia to give Big Sam winning start
Adam Lallana scored with the last kick of the match as England edged 10-man Slovakia 1-0 in Sam Allardyce's first game as manager in World Cup qualifying on Sunday.
Despite Slovakia having Martin Skrtel sent off in the 57th minute, Allardyce looked destined to become the first England manager since Bobby Robson in 1982 not to win his first game in charge.
But in the fifth minute of stoppage time at Trnava's City Arena, Lallana squeezed a shot between Slovakia goalkeeper Matus Kozacik's legs to get England up and running in Group F.
