The party, which opposes immigration and favors closer ties with Russia, has a double-digit polling lead in Saxony-Anhalt, a former East German region where many people have felt economically and socially left behind since reunification in 1989. That poses a big dilemma for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right CDU party, which is polling second in Saxony-Anhalt: it has ruled out a coalition with the AfD, which German intelligence has classified as an “extremist” party. But it’s also rejected cooperation with the far-left Left party, which is currently polling third. To prevent the AfD from forming Germany’s first far-right local government since World War II, Merz may have to make some bitter compromises. And this weekend is just the start of his woes. The AfD, which has surged in national popularity and is now the second-largest party in the Bundestag, is set to make gains in two other upcoming elections in the former East this month as well.
Two of Nigel Farage’s aides have stepped down after undercover journalists caught them on camera appearing to arrange clandestine foreign political donations to his far-right party, Reform UK. Another video shows Farage himself thanking the journalists, who posed as an American businessman and his British son, for their support. British law requires disclosure of all political donations and bans contributions from foreign sources. This is not the first time that Farage has come under fire for undisclosed donations. Earlier this summer, he triggered a by-election after an investigation was launched into an undisclosed £5 million ($6.7 million) personal gift from a crypto billionaire. At the party’s annual conference today, Farage said he had “not done anything wrong” and that the new report had been “entrapment.” This latest report could affect his previously high chances of becoming Britain’s next prime minister, with his favorability rating falling to 23% in August.
The US military is disabling advertising trackers on military-issued phones and computers following reports that commercially available location data was used to locate and attack American troops in the Middle East. The Air Force, Army, Navy, and US Special Operations Command have all taken steps to limit the tracking technology known as mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs), which advertisers use to track usage locations and other useful advertising data across users’ devices. It’s not the military’s first run-in with the risks of location tracking. In 2018, the Pentagon restricted the use of GPS on mobile devices in war zones and sensitive locations after US intelligence analysts noted that GPS data from the popular running app Strava inadvertently revealed the locations and layouts of military installations worldwide.
Could China give Europe a shortcut in the AI race?
Europe has struggled to build models that compete with American and Chinese rivals. But Chinese models that companies can download, customize, and run themselves could offer another way forward—with more control over data and security.
With the midterms just weeks away, Democrats are hoping for a blue wave, while Republicans are fighting to hold onto Congress. Amy Walter and Liam Donovan join Ian Bremmer to break down the races, the issues driving voters, and what the results could mean for Trump's presidency.
With the midterms just weeks away, Democrats are eyeing control of Congress as Republicans struggle with the political fallout from the Iran war, rising prices, and Trump's unpopularity. Amy Walter and Liam Donovan join Ian Bremmer to break down what could happen in November and what it means for the future of both parties.
Since returning to power in 2025, the Trump administration has drastically changed the answer to this question, pursuing an ‘America First’ philosophy that is dramatically more transactional: the US will give you money, but you must give the US something valuable in return.