i'm kasia madera in london. the headlines: it looks like a fourth term in office for angela merkel, but her party is punished by german voters. translation: let's not heat about the bush. of course we'd hoped for a better result. but let's not forget, we've just had a very challenging four years. for the first time, the right—wing nationalist afd wins seats in parliament. it becomes germany's third party. i'm rico hizon in singapore. also in the programme: defying donald trump, american football players kneel in protest against racism and police violence. and elmo takes a vacation from sesame street tojoin me right here in the studio. good morning.

it is 1:00am in london, 8:00am in singapore, and 2:00am in berlin, where the german election has redrawn the country's political landscape, and the effects are likely to be felt right around the world. chancellor angela merkel will serve a fourth term in office. her christian democrats are the biggest party. but her authority has been weakened, and the right—wing afd, strongly anti—immigrant, have won seats for the first time. there were some elements of this election result that were widely predicted. angela merkel continuing as chancellor, the social democrats getting a tough time at the ballot box, and the alternative for germany, the right—wing nationalists, getting a place in the bundestag. the bit that people didn't pick was that angela merkel and her cdu party would get such a difficult time from voters, a significant drop

from the last election. let's have a look at the latest projections that we've got, kasia. these are not official results, but they are projections, and we expect them to be very close to eventual outcome. the cdu/csu projected 33, that's down from 41 at the last election. the spd down to 21%, its worst performance in an election. and those four smaller parties have all outperformed four years ago, so they will be pleased with that. let's translate that into projections for the bundestag itself, and by far the biggest story here is that figure of 94 at the bottom. the alternative for germany had no representation in the bundestag before this election. now, they will have 94 members of parliament. let's see the latest report from the bbc‘s berlin correspondent jenny hill. it has been a frustrating night for angela merkel. a brave face, though, for the cameras, and for

the party faithful. mrs merkel has won the election for them, but it is not the victory that they had hoped for. support for her conservatives is lower than it has ever been under her leadership — a verdict perhaps on her decision to open germany's doors to a million refugees. translation: let's not beat about the bush. of course we'd hoped for a better result. but let's not forget we've just had a very challenging four years. that's why i'm happy to say we achieved the strategic goal of ourcampaign. we are the strongest party. mrs merkel casts herself as a symbol of stability — security in a shifting world. for many, a vote for angela merkel is a vote for the status quo. her campaign has focused on her familiarity, her experience,

and yet it seems that alone is no longer enough. because this is today's real success story. anti—islam, anti—immigrant, anti—euro — afd, the far—right, is now part of the establishment in europe. translation: we will hunt them down. we'll hunt mrs merkel down, and we'll take back our country and our people. it is a profound shift in postwar german politics. today, running together in berlin. but, in the heart of this country, there is division, discontent. translation: they are like the nazis under hitler. i was born in ‘39. i'm a war—child. i grew up in the ruins. and now we get this again. they're criminals. translation: it's difficult.

there aren't many alternatives to angela merket. translation: she doesn't do much on her own initiative. she reacts a lot to what others do, and that's a kind of stagnation. angela merkel must now find coalition partners, win back voters, persuade her country, perhaps some in her party, she is the right woman for the job. exhausted, bruised — the end a long campaign. mrs merkel‘s conservatives may be the winners, but it doesn't feel much like victory. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. and, if this election were a political card game, today was the day that the electorate gave the parties their hands. now, though, they have to start playing, they have to start negotiating, because asjenny was saying, a coalition needs to be constructive. the most likely appears to be the greens and the free democrats working with angela merkel

and the cdu, though we will see. and these negotiations are not going to be quick. they may well go into weeks, if not months. a little later on newsday, i'll be speaking to a very well—known commentator about what this reveals about germany and its people. some new breaking just in the last half—hour: the united states has included citizens from north korea and venezuela in a new travel ban. restrictions remain on five of the muslim—majority countries from its original list. sudan has been removed from the list, leaving eight nations with complete or partial blocks on travel to the united states. full travel bans have now been placed on nationals from north korea and chad, while the restrictions for venezuela are limited to officials from a long list of government agencies and their families. other countries included in the ban were iran, libya, syria, somalia, and yemen. in the last few minutes, president

trump has been tweeting. we will expect reaction, of course, and we will bring that to you. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the us treasury secretary says america will do everything it can to avoid nuclear war with north korea. in a television interview, steve mnuchin also talked about economic sanctions, and said president trump had authorised him to cut off financial institutions anywhere in the world that support north korea. i can assure you, the president's number one priority is the safety of the american people and our allies. the president doesn't want to be in a nuclear war, and we will do everything we can to make sure that doesn't occur. 0n the other hand, the president will protect the american people and our allies, and having a country like this have nuclear weapons, testing them, using them, sending rockets over our allies, that's unacceptable behaviour. also making news today: un agencies in bangladesh say there has been

a notable drop over the past two days in the number of rohingya refugees fleeing violence in myanmar. but a spokeswoman for the international 0rganisation for migration told the bbc it was too soon to say that the influx is over. more than 400,000 rohingya have fled to bangladesh since a crackdown by myanmar‘s military. filippo grandi is the unhcr chief, who has been to visit the rohingya refugees. what you sense when you talk to the people that have just arrived is this terrible trauma that they have, that they carry with them from myanmar, from what they have seen, from what they have gone through, killings, intimidation, rape, and loss of everything, often in burnt

villages. and the combination of trauma and deprivation is really overwhelming. the president of the regional government of iraqi kurdistan has vowed to press ahead with monday's referendum on independence, despite increasing international opposition. masoud barzani said it was only through independence that kurds could secure their safety, and promised to seek talks with iraq's government to carry out the result of the vote. and this extraordinary scene from the back of a moving train in perth has stunned australians. a man was filmed clinging on to the windscreen wiper with one hand, while the train moved at 110 km/h. local australian police detained a 23—year—old after the train arrived at the next station. you might think that donald trump has quite enough arguments going on, what with north korea

and other global tensions. now, the us president has become embroiled in a row with leading us sports stars. several have refused to stand during the national anthem, as a protest against racism in america. the president has called them unpatriotic, and wants them fired. jon donnison reports. # 0 say, can you see... you might think only a fool would pick a fight with these guys, but president trump is not shy of punching above his weight. today, though, at wembley, by refusing to stand for the star—spangled banner, dozens of players defied him. it came just days after president trump had this to say. wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, "get that son of a bitch off the field right now. 0ut, he's fired. he's fired!"

but, in today's later games across the us, the defiance spread. taking a knee, as it has become known, has been used mainly by african—american players, in protest at cases of police brutality towards america's black communities. and it is notjust american footballers who are clashing with the president. steph curry is one of the world's best basketball players. as part of the nba championship team, it is tradition that his golden state warriors should visit the white house. i don't want to go, that's really it. the things that he's said, and the things that he hasn't said, in the right times, that we won't stand for it. but the president was not best pleased. 0n social media, he said going to the white house was a great honour, and that steph curry‘s hesitation meant the invitation was withdrawn. today, as american football came to the uk, the controversy

came with it. this morning, president trump was up at dawn to take to twitter, to urge fans not to turn up at matches if the players continued to disrespect the flag and the country. but here at wembley, for today's nfl match, the fans have clearly ignored him. it's not criminal. it's their right, and i think it's symbolic of... it's very similar to what martin luther king did. a peaceful protest of things that are going wrong. once again, donald trump doesn't seem to mind who he upsets. by stirring up controversy on issues such as nationalism, patriotism and race, he is playing to his base. and, from many of them, he still gets a standing ovation. jon donnison, bbc news. you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme:

goodness knows we need it. elmo from sesame street drops in to share the laughter with the newsday team. also on the programme: a warning from bali this volcano could be ready to blow for the first time in half a century. ben johnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all the athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been strengthened, presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service

which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world. and so the british government has no option but to continue this action, and even after any adverse judgement in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. welcome back everyone welcome —— welcome back everyone. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. our top stories: after the german election, angela merkel is set to serve a fourth term in office but her party has lost support to the right—wing nationalist afd. many american football stars have

again kneeled during their national anthem, protesting against racism in the us. president trump has called them unpatriotic. now, let's take a look at some of the front pages from the international newspapers. the online edition of the south china morning post poses the question "what if the worst comes to the worst with north korea 7 " it says china must be ready for war but should also come up with back up plans to deal with north korea's nuclear arsenal and the influx of refugees. singapore's straits times reports on what it says is the first recruitment video by so—called islamic state featuring a singaporean fighter. it says the security services have been keeping tabs on the man who identifies himself as "abu uqayl from singapore". and finally, you can't miss the giant robot on the front page of the japan times. let's bring this up, now. there it is. the 20 meter statue is a tribute

to the hugely popular gundam japanese science fiction franchise, and was unveiled by the singer tielle on tokyo's waterfront on sunday. fantastic fa ntastic stuff. fantastic stuff. you up—to—date with all the papers. —— you are. more than 35,000 people have fled their homes on the indonesian island of bali amid fears that a volcano could erupt for the first time in more than 50 years. the evacuations come after two days of heightened seismic activity. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. it looks relatively peaceful, but it seems mount agung may be waking up. increased seismic activity has sent tremors through the area, a warning that this will can no may soon erupt for the first time in more than 50 yea rs. translation: this morning, we observed sulphuric smoke spewing from the crater, and we have never

seen this before. this smoke spewed from the crater about 200 metres high. to protect the public, and exclusion zone has been put in place, and thousands are being told to leave their homes. they are given food and shelter. legend has been taken. the food and shelter. legend has been ta ken. the last food and shelter. legend has been taken. the last time it erupted, more than 1000 people were killed. 0thers gather at local temples, hoping for divine intervention. see this village, said this man. i hope god will protect and say this village from the gokhan inler. 0fficials village from the gokhan inler. officials have urged people to remain calm. —— from the volcano. but there is no telling if and when the eruption will come. tim allman, bbc news. let's return to the german elections, that will redraw the political landscape now that a far right, anti—immigrant party has won seats in the bundestag for the first time. ros is in berlin gauging reaction. first of all, what are the core

reasons that have driven this rise in right—wing nationalism? reasons that have driven this rise in right-wing nationalism? the first reason is the refugee wave that started in 2015 and continued in 2016, and brought about almost1 million refugees into germany. especially from muslim countries. and i think the second reason is an anti—muslim sentiment that is very strong. the feeling that the composure of germany will change and the population will change. there is a big fear of this change in certain parts of the population. how relevant do you think is germany's history is to this result, particularly the fact that it was once divided into two countries? well, ithink, you know, the history of the second world war and the old regime,

it still plays a role. but the separation of germany into east and west germany, the communist government plays a major role. i think the afd, they have mainly gained in the east. the federal state has gained more than 30%. i think that in east germany, you don't have many foreigners or germans with foreign origin living and you don't see many refugees. there are thousands of stray dogs in pakistan — many view them as a public health risk, whilst others hold cultural beliefs about all dogs being unclean. but fishermen working off the coast of the country's biggest city karachi have adopted a group of stray dogs living on an uninhabited island where there's barely any water or food. for the first time sesame street's elmo is in singapore as part of a campaign to spread kindness. it's called share the laughter

and there was plenty of that when elmojoined me here in the studio hi, elmo! oh my gosh! this is a moment, elmo, that i have been waiting for since i was a kid! wow, really? well, elmo is really happy to be here with mr rico. how are you, and what brings you here to asia? i am here in asia to spread kindness! because it is very important! you know, that is what we need in the world today, kindness. we need love, we need laughter, happiness. look at the news we delivered today, there is not a lot of it. well, elmo is here to tell everybody that it is very important to be kind to one another. absolutely, and of course there has to be peace in the world. tell me, elmo — i mean, you are just three years old. can i touch you again?

it is really you! it is really you. do you discuss the news with your parents? well, you know, sometimes, sometimes elmo watches the news with elmo's mummy and daddy. yeah? sometimes i am sure it gets too serious and not funny, and no laughter and kindness happening in the news today? yes. elmo doesn't really understand what! what about your friends? some of my favourite characters on sesame street, like what i have on this coffee mug, 0scar the grouch. here is a very good friend, but he's very grouchy. we also tried to bring in big bird and snuffalupagus in, but they wouldn't fit in. too big — they are waiting outside right now. what about your friends, big bird, mr snuffalupagus and the count?

we like to have fun on sesame street, and learn and play. yeah, you know, cookie monster is in the movie business now! he's in the movie businesss, and you are as well! you have such a big community in sesame street, who has visited you in sesame street over the past two years? elmo has met some really cool people. we talk to the first lady, mrs michelle 0bama. she was really wonderful. we had emily blunt and michael buble. .. can you add me to the list of celebrities who will eventually visit to sesame street? look at me, elmo, i am wearing a tie dedicated to you. it is red. it is red, and even my socks are red. is it difficult being red?

no. elmo's proud of being red! you love being red? yeah, baby! you are in the movie business, but i know you love to sing. could you do a song for our a50 million viewers right now? yes, i am going to do a special version of my elmo song. la la la la, la la la la, rico's song! that's rico's song! wonderful! that is amazing. we have about 45 seconds left before we end this exclusive interview with my furry friend, so you would probably like to greet our millions of fans around the world, and tell them about happiness and laughter in this world? for sure!

elmo want everybody to spread love, and be sure to use the hash tag, #sharethelaughter and tell elmo online! hi there. most of us will have enjoyed some fairly warm weather for late september over the weekend. the highest temperatures, in a few spots, up to 23 degrees celsius in the warm spots, about five degrees higher than it is at this stage of september. we have also had a weather front with us, for some that has brought outbreaks of rain. the rain has been getting a little bit more widespread. this weather front has wiggles of cloud all over it, parcels of rain working along the front. certainly not an even spread, some getting more than others. some dampness around to start today for much of scotland, england and wales, it will be a mild start. through monday, this weather front finding it difficult to move east because of this locking area of high pressure a cross scandinavia and europe. the weather front is weak and going nowhere fast. for the far west of wales

and parts of south—west england, some brighter spells worsening. many areas, rather cloudy to start the day. mild with the risk of some rain. northern ireland is different. a mix of sun and dense patches of fog. it could cause problems on the road. scotland damped to start the day. through the west, the weather front staying in the same area. rain fizzling out as it continues to weaken through the rest of the day. by the afternoon, most of us will have dry weather, perhaps brightening up across east anglia and south—east england. the best of the sunshine further west, especially in northern ireland after we get rid of the fog. here is the chart for tuesday. the front is still with us across england and wales. rarely any rain left on it at all. today, cloud thinning and breaking up. increasing amounts of sunshine coming through. in the sunshine, pretty warm for this time of year. highs 16—21 for most of us. some changes towards the middle part of the week. this weather front moves in from the west and will bring some heavy and persistent rain across ireland and northern ireland. could get around 30—a0 millimetres of rain. perhaps even more over the hills. coupled with that, some gale force gusts extending through irish sea coast.

to the east, bright, dry and relatively warm. temperatures peaking into the low 20s. for this week, generally more unsettled with more rain at times. quite windy, and those temperatures coming back down to normal. that's your weather. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: exit polls suggest chancellor angela merkel has been re—elected for a fourth term, and that her cdu party has won most votes in germany's federal election, but with a sharp fall in support. the alternative for germany party has made big gains, entering parliament for the first time. dozens of american football players have protested against racism during the playing of the us national anthem before games, as the row between sportsmen and president trump escalates. and we have had a special visitor into the newsday studio. elmo from sesame street joined rico in the studio. it is part of a global campaign to spread kindness. it is called share the laughter.

that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: a decision by the labour party leadership not to have any separate motions debated on the party's position on the european union's single market has prompted anger among some of its members.