Jakarta crash, Brazil, and Merkel to end CDU reign: Five stories to know about today

Bolsonaro supporters, Leicester City fans mourn and a Lion Air desk - Copyright REUTERS

Published on 29/10/2018 - 06:15•Updated 12:52

Euronews brings you the latest news and updates as it happens this morning.

189 feared dead after passenger jet crashes off Indonesia

Nearly 200 people are thought to have been killed after a passenger jet crashed off Indonesia, shortly after take-off from Jakarta.

A major search and rescue operation is underway in the Java Sea, where the location of the crash has been identified.

Reports say the Lion Air flight JT610 took off from the Indonesian capital at 6.20 a.m. local time on Monday morning.

Lion Air chief executive Edward Sirait told reporters the Boeing 737 Max 8 plan suffered a technical problem on a previous flight which was “resolved” and unique to that aircraft, but declined to specify the nature of the issue.

An Indonesian search and rescue agency official said they don’t expect to find survivors “based on body parts found so far”.

Bolsonaro wins presidential race in Brazil

Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro has swept to power in Brazil, winning a comfortable victory after the most divisive campaign in the country's recent history.

China and France were among the first nations to congratulate the former military officer, who secured 55% of the vote in the run-off election against left-wing hopeful Fernando Haddad of the Workers Party.

The 63-year-old seven-term congressman has vowed to crack down on crime in Brazil’s cities and farm belt by granting police more autonomy to shoot at criminals. He also wants to let more Brazilians buy weapons to fight crime.

Angela Merkel 'will not seek re-election as party chair'

The German Chancellor has reportedly told leaders of her Christian Democrats party (CDU) that she will not seek re-election as chair, a senior party source has told Reuters. Merkel has led the conservatives since 2000.

A leadership race has already begun ahead of the CDU’s party conference in Hamburg in December. CDU Secretary General Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced her candidacy after the news broke and BlackRock Germany head Friedrich Merz has also been touted as a contender.

The development comes hours after Germany’s ruling parties suffered significant losses at a regional election on Sunday.

Election results show support is plummeting for Germany’s ruling parties

Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition allies in Berlin has plunged, according to the results of a regional election held on Sunday, dealing a blow to the fragile national government.

Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) polled first in the western state of Hesse, but with just 28% of the vote, almost 10% less than its result at its last election in 2013.

The SPD won 20%, down from 30.7% in 2013, and pipped the Greens, on 19.5%, into third place.

The Greens have experienced an “astronomic rise”, according to Euronews’ Berlin correspondent Jessica Saltz. The party secured 19.5% of the vote in Hesse compared with 11.1% five years ago.

Part of it is protest voting, Saltz said, adding that environmental issues are becoming more important in Germany following the summer heatwaves and diesel emissions scandal.

Britain’s Brexit Budget to be unveiled today

British Chancellor Philip Hammond is to present the latest budget on Monday. Ahead of the announcement, Prime Minister Theresa May said the economic plan will stand regardless of whether or not there is a Brexit deal.

Preliminary reports suggest Hammond is to inject billions into road repairs and mental healthcare. He is also set to establish a digital sales tax targeting online retailers like Amazon. Business rates relief, tree planting and rural broadband are also on the agenda.