Leftist leader Alexis Tsipras wins clear mandate
Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greek Leftist party Syriza, was voted back to power in a decisive victory on Sunday. In a near-repeat of January's general election, his party fell just shy of an outright majority but will form a coalition with his former partners, the small right-wing Independent Greeks party. Tsipras’s first task after forming a government will be to persuade European Union lenders that enough agreed steps have been made to ensure the next payment. The bailout programme is due for a review next month.

Violence continues in Nepal over new Constitution
Police in Nepal on Monday opened fire at activists protesting against the newly unveiled constitution, injuring three persons in Biratnagar, even as the prime minister invited the agitating groups for talks. Cadres of Joint Madhesi Front held demonstrations in several places, a day after president Ram Baran Yadav promulgated Nepal’s new constitution, which marked the country's transition into a fully secular and democratic republic.

Three blasts hit Nigerican city of Maiduguri
Three blasts struck a mosque and its surrounding area in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, a military spokesman said on Sunday. A hospital source said at least eight 54 people were killed and 90 wounded in the attacks. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions on the edge of the city centre but they bore the hallmarks of Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Iran hands IAEA samples from Parchin 
Environmental samples have been taken at Parchin, a sensitive military site in Iran, the head of the United Nations nuclear agency said on Monday, citing “significant progress” in its investigation of Tehran’s past nuclear activities. The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating whether Iran’s past nuclear activities were linked to developing atomic weapons, and is due to provide an assessment on the issue by the end of the year. The report is crucial to the implementation of an agreement between Iran and world powers under which restrictions will be placed on Tehran’s nuclear energy programme in exchange for a lifting of sanctions.

Thousands left homeless by Chile quake
Officials say more than 9,000 people are homeless after a powerful earthquake hit northern and central Chile last week, dramatically increasing previous estimates. The toll from the quake that struck on September 16 remains at 13, with four still missing. But the number of people left homeless has jumped drastically from 3,500, as officials scour remote towns in the Coquimbo region, more than 260 kilometres north of Santiago, where the quake epicentre was located. It registered 8.3 on the Richter scale.