The far-right Alternative for Germany has won a sweeping victory in a German state election. Analysts called the “extraordinary” result potentially the most consequential German state-election outcome of the postwar era, adding pressure on the federal government.

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The far-right Alternative for Germany won Saxony-Anhalt’s regional election, according to preliminary results, and is expected to take 39 of 42 seats needed for a majority in the state parliament. Reactions ranged from congratulations by right-wing figures to warnings from French and other officials that rising nationalism and xenophobia threaten European unity.

AfDSaxony-Anhaltstate electionEuropean politics

Exit polls showed the far-right Alternative for Germany surged to first place in Sunday’s Saxony-Anhalt state election, bringing it within reach of state-level power for the first time since World War Two. The report examines who the AfD are and what their plans could mean for voters.

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AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla said the party would pressure Berlin to restore relations with Russia and change its sanctions policy after its decisive victory in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election. The AfD also plans talks with all parties to form a state government and expects Ulrich Siegmund to become minister-president.

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A press review examines the far right’s victory in a German state election and what it could mean for the future of Germany and Europe.

German electionfar rightEuropean politics

The far-right Alternative for Germany won 43.8% in preliminary results in Saxony-Anhalt but is projected to hold 39 of the 83 seats, three short of a majority. It is seeking support from other parties or individual lawmakers to form a government, while most German parties continue to reject cooperation.

GermanyAfDSaxony-Anhaltstate election

Israeli air strikes began hitting southern Lebanon at dawn on Sunday, killing at least 10 people. Local media said Nabatieh, Arab Salim, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kfar Roummane were among the places struck. Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports from the area.

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Lebanon’s Health Ministry says overnight Israeli strikes in the south killed at least 10 people, including two children. Israel’s military had warned that it was targeting a “Hezbollah terrorist facility.” Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has meanwhile fallen to its lowest level since May after US and Iranian strikes on tankers.

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Israeli strikes on a town in southern Lebanon early Monday killed at least 11 people, including two children and two medics, Lebanon’s state news agency reported.

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Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israel’s air force carried out two strikes early Monday on a village in southern Lebanon. At least nine people, including women and children, were killed and 13 were wounded.

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Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people, including two infants. Firefighters worked at a strike site in Kfar Roummane.

Israelsouthern Lebanonairstrikes

Israeli air strikes on Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people, including two children, Lebanese state media reported. Nine died when a three-storey home was destroyed and two paramedics were killed in a separate strike on a car. President Joseph Aoun called the renewed attacks a “dangerous escalation” threatening the US-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah.

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Liquid Network was effectively halted after an abnormal peg-out moved nearly $320 million in Bitcoin from its federation reserve. The holders, identifying themselves as whitehats, say they will return most of the funds only after the underlying Elements software bug is fixed and every affected node is patched.

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Liquid Network, a settlement layer used by exchanges, halted all transactions after a security exploit drained $320 million worth of bitcoin. The hackers said they were the “good guys.”

BitcoincybersecurityLiquid Network

Russia and North Korea have opened their first road bridge across the Tumen River, linking Khasan with Tumangang. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the crossing would boost trade and wider cooperation. Ukrainian human rights groups warned it could become a discreet military logistics route between the two countries.

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North Korea and Russia have opened their first road bridge linking the two countries. The bridge over the Tumen River marks a deepening of their strategic ties.

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A new road bridge over the Tumen River linking Russia and North Korea has opened to traffic. Prime Ministers Mikhail Mishustin and Pak Thae Song joined the opening ceremony remotely. Just over one kilometer long, it is the countries’ first road connection; previously, their only overland link was the railway Friendship Bridge.

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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Prime Minister Pak Thae Song opened a road bridge across the Tumannaya River on the countries’ border by video link. The nearly 5-kilometer crossing is intended to increase transport volumes, reduce costs and expand trade and economic cooperation.

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British finance minister John Healey faces pressure to raise billions of pounds in tax at his first budget, helping offset higher borrowing costs and fund Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s plans to expand social care and increase defence spending.

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Britain’s new finance minister, John Healey, must soon determine the right balance for a budget that could define Andy Burnham’s premiership. Healey, a former trade unionist, has supported light-touch rules for banks.

UK politicsbudgetJohn Healey

Jamaica’s government will petition King Charles III to refer questions about the legality of slavery and Britain’s possible duty to provide reparations to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Culture Minister Olivia Grange is leading the delegation, which will also discuss returning colonial-era artefacts with British Museum officials.

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A Jamaican delegation says it will petition King Charles III for legal guidance on slavery reparations. The questions will ask whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful under English and international law, and whether the UK has a legal duty to remedy slavery’s harm.

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German startup Isar Aerospace has become the first company to successfully carry out a private orbital space launch. The programme also highlights a major electoral victory for Germany’s far-right AfD, partly propelled by the country’s structural economic crisis and fiscal policies.

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Thousands of mourners gathered at a Belgrade church on Monday to view Ratko Mladic’s body. Mladic died in The Hague on August 27 while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The European Union strongly condemned the event, prompting enlargement commissioner Marta Kos to cancel an upcoming visit to Serbia.

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