GERMANY - The fairytale castle in the centre of Schwerin was completed in 1857. The same year, Germany was rocked by a global financial crisis. During the economic turmoil, peasants were prevented from emigrating from the city and the surrounding region, which is now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The region is once again in upheaval as the epicentre of a political earthquake that threatens to topple Germany’s chancellor amid a modern cost-of-living crisis. “People used to view populism like a cold or the sniffles affecting European party democracy,” said Daniel Fiss, a rising star in the hard-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a lakeside park with a view of the castle, a Unesco World Heritage site. The AfD election campaign manager told The Telegraph: “We have to face the question. Is populism perhaps becoming the new normal?”

GERMANY - Nationwide support for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance has collapsed to a historic low following a series of defeats in regional elections, a new poll suggests. The bloc’s popular backing stood at just 18%, its worst in German postwar history, according to a survey conducted by the INSA polling institution on behalf of Bild. The poll put the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) at 30%, the highest since the party was established in 2013. It remains the most popular party in Germany by a wide margin, the poll suggests. The CDU/CSU’s junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats and the Greens are polling at 14% each, with the Left Party at 10%.

UK - Donald Trump has said that a 'specific threat' prompted the United States to withdraw its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford following an alleged foiled terror plot. The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that aircraft which were being stationed at the Gloucestershire base had been 'redeployed to their home stations in the US'. It came after the arrests of six individuals over the past week in connection with a suspected terror plot targeting the base.

UK - If just the threat of an attack can lead to the withdrawal of a key strategic US military asset, it emboldens our enemies. Since the end of the Second World War, the close alliance between the UK and America has had its tangible manifestation in the presence of US bases in this country. The “special relationship” was never more obvious than in places like RAF Fairford, where the USAF kept a squadron of 12 B-1 bombers. They have now all been moved back across the Atlantic to home stations in the US following the apparent terror plot that led to the arrest of five men, since released on bail. Andy Burnham has said there were “strong indications” of Iranian involvement in the episode and a British-Iranian was arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. He has also been released on bail. Iran has said any base used to attack its territory constitutes “a legitimate target”.

MIDDLE EAST - The meeting comes a day after Iranian FM Esmail Baghaei said he hoped a “rumor” that Pakistan had deployed troops to Saudi Arabia was untrue, warning that intervention would complicate the situation. Officials from Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are set to meet in Riyadh on Monday to discuss how the three countries’ new Mecca Joint Defense Agreement should respond to escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, according to statements from the pact’s signatories. “As for the defense pact, the intention was, and God willing still is, that this pact not be used in a way that goes against the interests and general concerns of the Muslim ummah (collective).”

SPAIN - Pedro Sánchez is the undisputed leader of the European Left. But his time is running out. The Spanish prime minister rolled the dice on a snap election that risks bringing the hard-Right Vox into national government for the first time. The poll-leading centre-Right Partido Popular (PP) will need Vox as coalition partners if it is to take power, which will mean the most Right-wing Spanish government since Franco. It’s a nightmare scenario for Mr Sánchez, who prides himself on his progressive policies.

USA - Even by the eccentric norms of Silicon Valley, Anthropic is a very strange company indeed. One of its seven founders has been camping out at the Vatican, hoping to persuade the Pope that its software is conscious. It wants to put in place protections for the “welfare” of chatbots, a step towards legal personhood. Anthropic is also a noisy promoter of the idea that the End is Nigh, brought about by a killer superintelligent AI. It’s like the Heaven’s Gate UFO cult went into business. And when the going gets weird, to misquote Hunter S Thompson, the weird IPO. While arch-rival OpenAI, from which Anthropic broke away, has postponed its public flotation, Anthropic is racing towards one, in what could be the biggest share offer in history. Parts of its prospectus leaked last week. The question here is not whether people find AI useful, or even whether Anthropic has created some real business, which it has. The problem is whether it is a business that’s worth $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion), Anthropic’s modest valuation of itself, and whether it will go broke trying to get there.

POLAND - Russia is preparing to wage war against countries supporting Ukraine by launching missile strikes into their territory, Poland's Prime Minister revealed last night. Donald Tusk issued a chilling warning after the country was forced to close its airspace, scramble fighter jets and close airports due to the Kremlin's latest assault. Addressing Poland's parliament, Mr Tusk said Western intelligence agencies have confirmed Vladimir Putin's preparations for a wider conflict.

UK - A gang of children as young as five have been filmed storming a corner shop in balaclavas to steal while their smiling parents wait outside. Extraordinary footage captured by Dorset shopkeeper Erdogan Yigitoglu, 52, shows the primary school-aged criminals helping themselves to goods worth up to £120. The children have been filmed being 'trained' to steal piles of chocolate bars, disposable barbecues and a range of other items from his shop in Bournemouth. Mr Yigitoglu has spent years sharing CCTV footage of shoplifters online in a bid to deter crime, including young children concealing their identities while stealing. But the most shocking discovery, he says, was seeing the masked youngsters return to waiting adults after their raids. On one occasion, he claimed he watched a mother smile and pat her child on the head in apparent congratulations after a successful haul. 'My biggest wish is that children are taught the difference between right and wrong and are given the guidance they need to grow up as responsible members of the community.'

GERMANY - One third of US troops could be pulled from Europe under plans being considered by the Pentagon. The option to withdraw about 25,000 personnel, mainly affecting Germany as well as Italy and Spain, is among four drawn up during a six-month review announced in June, NBC News reported. Another option goes even further and would involve 40,000 troops leaving, along with planes, ships and weapons that have formed part of NATO’s deterrence against Russia for decades, according to sources who spoke to the network. The withdrawal would follow an initial reduction of 5,000 troops that is under way in Germany and which was announced in May in response to criticism by Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, of the US military operation in Iran.