1. Merkel victory dimmed by rise of far right Angela Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor* in elections on Sunday, placing her in the front ranks of Germany’s postwar leaders, even as her victory was dimmed* by the entry of a far-right party into parliament for the first time in more than 60 years, according to preliminary results. The far-right party, Alternative for Germany, or AfD, got some 13 percent of the vote, a significant showing of voter anger over immigration and inequality as support for the two main parties sagged from four years ago. The results made clear that far-right populism — and anxieties over security and national identity — were far from dead in Europe. 2. Bali volcano evacuations swell to 50,000 Nearly 50,000 people have fled the Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, fearing an imminent* eruption as dozens of tremors* rattle the surrounding region, officials said on Monday. Waskita Sutadewa, spokesman for the disaster mitigation* agency in Bali, said people have scattered to all corners of the island and some have crossed to the neighboring island of Lombok. Indonesian authorities raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level on Friday following a dramatic increase in seismic* activity. 3. Abe plans for snap election Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he would dissolve* parliament’s lower house for a snap election, seeking a mandate* to rebalance the social security system. Abe, in power for five years, had been expected to call the election for next month to take advantage of improved support and disarray in the opposition camp. 4. Macron’s party suffers setback in vote French President Emmanuel Macron’s new centrist political party suffered its first electoral setback in Senate elections on Sunday in which the right-wing Republicans party strengthened its dominance in the upper chamber* of parliament. The outcome, which is not expected to significantly impact Macron’s ability to push through his economic reform agenda, came after months of falling approval ratings for the 39-year-old head of state. 5. More than 200 killed in Mexican quake At least 217 people were dead after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked central Mexico on September 19, hitting on the 32nd anniversary of the biggest earthquake to ever strike the country’s capital. More than half of the fatalities were in Mexico City, the country’s civil defense agency said. The earthquake caused extensive damage to Mexico City, leveling at least 44 buildings, including homes, schools and office buildings, according to President Enrique Pena Nieto. Among the dead were at least 22 people, including students and at least two adults, from a collapsed primary school in the south of the city. 6. Noxious substance injures 6 in London London police were investigating after six people were injured by a “noxious* substance” thrown during a fight at a shopping center. Saturday’s incident at Stratford Shopping Center was not being treated as terrorism-related, London’s Metropolitan Police said. “What initially may have been perceived as a number of random attacks has, on closer inspection, been found to be one incident involving two groups of males,” Chief Superintendent Ade Adelekan said.(SD-Agencies) | 