GERMANY - Leaders of the hard-Right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) said they had “made history” after its largest-ever election victory. Final results in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt showed the party won with 43.8 per cent of the vote, with the Christian Democrats (CDU), led by Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, trailing on 17.2 per cent. Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD state leader in Saxony-Anhalt, said: “We have achieved exactly what we set out to achieve. We have made history in this country. Things cannot continue like this. We need a fundamental political change in this country.” The party achieved more than double the votes than five years ago, however it has fallen three seats short of an absolute majority, with 29 seats in an 83-seat parliament.

GERMANY - Tonight Germany stands on the brink of its biggest political crisis since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Not since 1945 has a nationalist party of the hard-Right won power at state level in the Federal Republic. Now the Alternative for Germany (AfD) may be about to take over in Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany. While the AfD is predicted to fall just three seats short of an absolute majority, it will be extremely difficult for the other parties, which range from far-Left to centre-Right, to maintain their “firewall” against the nationalists.

UK - A major free speech row erupted last night after it was revealed that more than 60,000 people have been arrested over the past five years for 'communications offences' – some as trivial as viewing disparaging TikTok videos. The astonishing figure has been described as 'Orwellian', and having a 'chilling effect' in stifling opinions online. The statistics – to be published in a hard-hitting report this week – also highlight the chaotic implementation of rules on 'malicious' messaging, with some police forces making 14 times more arrests under the powers than others. The report, by campaign group Big Brother Watch, discloses that at least 62,199 people in the UK have been arrested for such offences over the past half-decade, with 18,510 being charged and 12,292 convicted. The report cites the case of West Midlands Police visiting the home of a vulnerable teenage girl to accuse her over a TikTok post containing a teacher's image with negative comments. They demanded that the girl hand over all her devices and either attend a voluntary interview or face arrest – even though she had not created, shared or commented on the video.

UK - Trump is pulling the rug out from under us on the Falklands. It's time Britain grew up, there is no special relationship. So much for all that glad-handing and smiling at the White House. From threatening us over tariffs to pulling the rug out from under us on the Falkland Islands, we have finally found out what American friendship really adds up to. The truth is, the Americans don't care about us and they won't come to our rescue. It is time Britain finally grew up, ditched the delusion of the 'special relationship', and shook off the American dream once and for all.

EGYPT - Xi Jinping’s state visit to Egypt, which began on September 1, was his first in a decade and coincided with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Xi called on Middle Eastern states to become masters of their own destiny, resist outside interference, and discuss a new regional security architecture. Beijing and Cairo agreed to deepen cooperation on security and counterterrorism, develop projects with data centers, semiconductors, and critical minerals, and expand the use of national currencies in bilateral trade. The relationship is moving beyond conventional trade and infrastructure into sectors that will shape economic sovereignty for decades. The agenda fell within China’s familiar formula – development, state sovereignty, and fairer global governance. Beijing increasingly presents itself as a voice for the global majority and the Global South, where many countries associate today’s instability with Western hegemony, US sanctions, and decades of attempts to reorder other regions by force.

UK - Britain must prepare for the threat of food shortages, ministers have been warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said disruption to Britain’s food system was “becoming more likely and potentially more severe” because of extreme weather events, cyberattacks and disease outbreaks. It said the Government needed to do more to prepare for these potential “catastrophic events” that could cause severe disruption to the nation’s food supplies. The NAO called for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to urgently work with businesses and households to draw up emergency plans that could be used in the event of shortages. The warning came after wildfires and drought devastated crops across Europe this summer. The London-based Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said that British farmers were facing the worst harvest on record after the extreme weather.

UK - The Environment Secretary has advised the British public to stockpile food before the biggest El Niño on record. Dame Angela Eagle said people in the UK should store supplies in case of emergencies caused by the natural weather phenomenon, which is predicted to strengthen in the coming months. Forecasters have warned that the weather pattern, which can increase the risk of drought and flooding across the world, needs to be taken seriously in Britain. Dame Angela said this year’s El Niño would lead to wetter winters and more extreme storms in the UK, which has already experienced one of the driest summers on record. In the coming months, the Cabinet Office will launch a campaign on preparing for emergencies. El Niño is a natural cycle that is not caused by climate change, but can be intensified by warmer ocean temperatures.

UK - Global hunger poses a direct threat to Britain’s national security, and tackling it should be a government priority, a new report from the London School of Economics has warned. It says hunger is a major driver of mass migration, extreme violence and war – events that threaten significant repercussions for Britain and Europe’s national security. “Hunger prevention is an important part of national security policy, not an optional act of charity,” Stuart Gordon, professor of International Development at LSE and author of the report, told The Telegraph. Recent hunger crises in places like Sudan, Afghanistan and across North Africa have contributed significantly to rising numbers of people moving to the West.

GERMANY - Volkswagen has confirmed plans to cut up to 50,000 jobs as it battles competition from China. The German carmaker said that the restructuring would be in addition to 50,000 reductions that it has already made since 2024 and could lead to plant closures. It is racing to cut costs as it grapples with fierce competition from Chinese rivals such as BYD and slowing demand in Europe. It has also struggled under US tariffs and Volkswagen vehicle sales fell by 8.4 percent in the first half of the year, while its operating profit dropped by 11.6 percent.

UK - Lloyd’s of London has warned it will suffer losses of £1.4 billion as a result of the war between the US and Iran. The insurance market, which dates back to the 1680s, said it expected to pay out the sum to policyholders after fighting in the Middle East triggered major claims. Iranian strikes on Dubai and Qatar have caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructure since the start of the conflict. A recent strike on a petrochemicals plant owned by Sabic, the Saudi Arabian chemicals company, is expected to result in an $800 million (£600 million) insurance claim, according to the Financial Times.