Party takes control of parliamentMOSCOW — The Kremlin’s power-base party took an overwhelming victory in national parliament elections, winning three-quarters of the seats, the head of the Central Election Commission reported Monday.With 93 percent of the ballots from Sunday’s vote counted, the United Russia party was on track to get 343 of the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, CEC head Ella Pamfilova said. She said she did not expect the results to change significantly in the count of the remaining ballots.It’s an immense gain for the party that already held a majority in the previous parliament — soaring by more than 100 seats. The party now has enough to amend the constitution on its own.The three other parties that had been in the previous parliament and that largely cooperated with United Russia will also be in the new Duma, though all in reduced numbers. The Communists will have 42 — a sharp drop from 92 — the nationalist Liberal Democrats 39 and A Just Russia 23.

Brazil hosts its first Dog OlympicsRIO DE JANEIRO — Man’s best friends and their owners have embraced the Olympic spirit by taking part in Brazil’s first Dog Olympic Games.Dogs of all breeds, ages and sizes competed for medals in diving, jumping, swimming and running at Toto’s Park Club in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca.A 9-month-old beagle named Mima took home the gold medal in aquatic jumping. Mima’s owner, Aura Stella, said, “I didn’t even know she had all this talent.”Sunday’s event coincided with the final day of the Paralympic Games in Rio.

Elections in Berlin alter party makeupBERLIN — A three-way coalition of Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party seems likely in the Berlin state legislature, after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party endured a set-back in local elections in the German capital, official results showed today.While the Social Democrats (SPD) and Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU) emerged from the Berlin election as the two strongest parties, both lost support to parties further to the left and right, meaning they won’t be able to continue a coalition government.The SPD received 21.6 percent, dropping 6.7 points, while the CDU received 17.6 percent, down 5.7 points.The anti-capitalist Left Party, a descendant of the former East German communists, gained 3.9 points to 15.6 percent; the Green Party received 15.2 percent, down by 2.4 percentage points.