Germany’s newly elected parliament to convene for first time

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s newly elected parliament is set to hold its first meeting. The 736-member lower house, or Bundestag, is expected to elect as its new speaker Baerbel Bas of the center-left Social Democrats, which emerged from last month’s election as the strongest party. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend Tuesday’s meeting although she is no longer a lawmaker. She will be sitting on the visitor stands of parliament. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will later formally dismiss  Merkel and her Cabinet, though they will be asked to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is in place. The three parties that hope to form Germany’s new government say they aim to have the country’s next chancellor in place in December,