Merkel appointed Chancellor for third term

Germany’s Parliament has elected Chancellor Angela Merkel to a third term as the leader of Europe’s biggest economic power, nearly three months after an awkward election result forced her to put together a new governing coalition.

Politicians elected Mrs Merkel as Chancellor by 462 votes to 150 with nine abstentions. She now heads a “grand coalition” of Germany’s biggest parties - her conservative Union bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats.