Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including Germany’s AfD party heading for a record victory in Saxony-Anhalt state, Israeli airstrikes killing at least seven people in southern Lebanon, and the US saying it sees progress toward a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine conflict.
Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is projected to win Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt with a record 44% of the vote, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union is set to slump to a historic low of 17.4%, according to projections with nearly 97% of the ballots counted.
The remaining votes are not expected to change the outcome. The AfD would more than double its 20.8% result from 2021 and post its strongest showing in any German state election. Projections show the party falling short of a majority in the 83-seat parliament in Magdeburg and unable to govern alone. With all other major parties ruling out a coalition with the AfD, the result pointed to political uncertainty and long talks on forming a government.
“We have achieved exactly what we set out to achieve. We have made history in this country,” AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund told public television.
At least seven people were killed and more than 20 injured in Israeli airstrikes on several areas of southern Lebanon, Lebanese official sources said, as Israel continued daily violations of a US-brokered framework agreement.
In the latest attacks, Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shbib and an accompanying cameraman whose name was not disclosed were injured in an Israeli strike targeting the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The Health Ministry’s Emergency Operations Center said two people were killed and two injured in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, while eight people, including a woman and a girl, were injured in Nabatieh’s Al-Rahibat neighborhood.
In Arab Salim, two women were killed and six people, including two girls, were injured, while four women were wounded in Kfar Remman, the ministry said.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington sees progress toward a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine conflict and hopes to revive trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US.
Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv alongside another US envoy, Jared Kushner, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Witkoff said the US team had brought ideas discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to Kyiv for further consideration.
“We think we made a lot of progress in Moscow. We heard new ideas,” he said.
Witkoff said the next step could include a trilateral meeting, adding the US believed cooperation between the parties was critical and that such a meeting would be announced soon.
US President Donald Trump criticized the alleged exchange-rate gap between the Canadian and US dollars, calling the "imbalance" unacceptable.
"Canada's (currency) Dollar imbalance with the US is unacceptable," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. "It has been that way for years - but no longer!"
He did not elaborate on what he meant by the remark.
The Canadian dollar has historically been weaker than its US counterpart for most of the past 15 years. The long-term average stands at about $1 to 1.24 Canadian dollars. Since 2015, the currency has mostly traded between 1.20 Canadian dollars and 1.45 Canadian dollars against the greenback. It only reached or exceeded parity during part of the 2007-2012 commodity boom, when the Canadian dollar was stronger than the US dollar.
The US dollar currently trades at around 1.38 Canadian dollars, meaning one Canadian dollar is worth roughly 72 US cents.
Iran’s Economy Ministry has established an “economic war headquarters” to coordinate and accelerate responses to economic problems arising from wartime conditions, Deputy Economy Minister Morteza Zamanian said.
Zamanian told Tasnim news agency that the body would initially focus on issues falling within the ministry’s responsibilities and authorities.
He said it would seek to quickly address war-related problems affecting businesses, trade, financing and other areas of the economy.
Türkiye retained their European women's volleyball title after defeating reigning world and Olympic champions Italy 3-2 in a five-set CEV EuroVolley Women final in Istanbul.
Italy started strongly, with the opening set tied at 6-6 before taking an 11-8 lead and forcing Türkiye to call a timeout.
Türkiye closed out the deciding set 15-10 to complete the 3-2 victory and claim back-to-back European titles.
Melissa Vargas and Paola Egonu were the joint top scorers of the final with 28 points each.
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