German vote nearly even for Merkel's bloc, Social Democrats
CTV
Germany's centre-left Social Democrats were locked in a very close race Sunday with outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's bloc in the country's parliamentary election, a vote that will determine who succeeds the long-time leader after 16 years in power, exit polls showed. Officials from both parties said they hope to lead the next government.
An exit poll for ARD public television put voters' support at 25% each for the Social Democrats -- for whom outgoing Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz is running for chancellor -- and Merkel's centre-right bloc under would-be successor state governor Armin Laschet.
Another exit poll for ZDF public television put the Social Democrats ahead by 26% to 24%. Both put the environmentalist Greens in third place with about 15% support.
The electoral system typically produces coalition governments but post-Second World War Germany has never previously seen a winning party take less than 31% of the vote -- or the Union bloc score less than that.
Given the exit poll predictions, putting together the next coalition government for Europe's biggest economy could be a lengthy and complicated process. Merkel will remain as a caretaker leader until a new government is in place.
With their Los Angeles-area homes still smoldering, families return to search the ruins for memories
Since the flames erupted in and around Los Angeles, scores of residents have returned to their still smoldering neighborhoods even as the threat of new fires persisted and the nation's second-largest city remained unsettled.
Flames were already attacking the campus of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center when the cantor, Ruth Berman Harris, and three companions rushed in to rescue its sacred Torah scrolls.
Investigators are considering an array of possible ignition sources for the huge fires that have killed at least 10 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says Canadian military personnel, their equipment and another 250 firefighters stand "ready to support our American neighbours" as wildfires devastate parts of Southern California.
Firefighters battled early Thursday to control major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and caused thousands of people to frantically flee their homes.
A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles' most iconic spots as firefighters battled to get under control three other major blazes that killed five people, put 130,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to inland Pasadena.
An American citizen convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill who said he was seeking asylum in Canada has been arrested as a "fugitive from U.S. justice," according to authorities.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that the principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country, however powerful, and suggested that expansionist comments by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump are meeting with "incomprehension" among European leaders.
The world's largest island is now 'central to the geopolitical, geoeconomic competition in many ways,' partly because of climate change, said Ohio University security and environment professor Geoff Dabelko.
A wildfire whipped up by extreme winds swept through a Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity residences Tuesday, burning homes and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, died Tuesday. He was 96.
The U.S. has transferred 11 Yemeni men to Oman after holding them for more than two decades without charge at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
New York’s new toll for drivers entering the center of Manhattan debuted Sunday, meaning many people will pay US$9 to access its busiest part in peak hours.
It was not the start to 2025 that Keir Starmer wanted or expected: in the early hours of New Year’s Day, Elon Musk lobbed a series of angry posts and allegations towards the British prime minister, engulfing his government in a very public fight.
President Joe Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom to names in politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science.
Prince William expressed his shock and sadness Saturday at the news of the death of his former nanny's stepson in the New Year's truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people.
A lit bundle of mortar-style aerials tipped over and shot into crates of unlit fireworks in Honolulu on New Year's Eve, causing a rapid-fire series of blasts that killed three women and injured more than 20 people, including children
A senior British politician pushed back Friday on Elon Musk's criticism of the government's handling of a historic child grooming scandal.