Germans vote in close election to decide Merkel successor

Germans vote in a national election on Sunday that looks too close to call, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) mounting a strong challenge to retiring Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

Merkel has been in power since 2005 but plans to step down after the election, making the vote an era-changing event to set the future course of Europe's largest economy.

A fractured electorate means that after the election...