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Friedrich Merz has vowed to stay in office after the AfD's landslide in Saxony-Anhalt, which he said had shaken his Christian Democrats to their very foundations and was their worst defeat in decades.

Ukrainian officials say Donald Trump's envoys brought more effective peace proposals to Kyiv at the weekend, and Russia has ordered Germany's consulate in St Petersburg to close.

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Major Story

🇩🇪 Merz vows to stay in office after Saxony-Anhalt defeat

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the AfD's landslide victory in Saxony-Anhalt had shaken his party "to its very foundations", calling it the worst electoral defeat the Christian Democrats had suffered in decades.

The CDU took about 17% against nearly 44% for the AfD, and one exit poll showed only 9% of the state's voters approved of Merz's performance.

He conceded his own ratings had played a role and said he must reach people "more effectively", but insisted that "giving up is not an option for me".

Chancellor Merz said Moscow would cheer the result and accused Russia of supporting the AfD's campaign, promising not to budge "a single millimetre" from defending Europe's freedom against Russia.

Several commentators called for his replacement, with Der Spiegel editor-in-chief Dirk Kurbjuweit saying Germany needed "a clean slate" and that Merz was "evidently the wrong man for this office in these times".

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Other News

1️⃣ 🇺🇦🇺🇸 US envoys bring 'more effective' Ukraine peace proposals to Kyiv, official says: A senior Ukrainian presidential official told AFP that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had brought "more effective" proposals to Kyiv, saying it was "not the same as it was before" and that the two sides were still talking. Neither side announced a breakthrough, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated that only a leaders' meeting could settle territorial questions.

2️⃣ 🇷🇺🇩🇪 Russia shutters German consulate as diplomatic freeze deepens: Russia's foreign ministry ordered the German consulate in St Petersburg to cease operations by 18 September, retaliating for Berlin closing two Russian institutions over the Leipzig drone attack. It said Germany had "provoked a new round of escalation", and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Berlin of wanting "war again".

3️⃣ 🇪🇺 Kallas scraps new high-level European defense group in fresh blow to her leadership: EU High Representative Kaja Kallas cancelled the launch of a new high-level defence group after pressure from member states, with an EU official saying some capitals felt this was "not the right path to pursue at this moment". Politico reported the group was expected to be chaired by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

4️⃣ 🇬🇧🇪🇺 UK begins talks to rejoin EU security missions: The UK has begun formal talks on rejoining EU civilian security missions, which would let British officials take part for the first time since Brexit under a framework deal requiring separate agreements for each operation. The EU runs 13 crisis management missions, including training Somali coastguards and helping Ukrainian prosecutors investigate alleged war crimes.

5️⃣ 🇮🇷 IAEA warns over Iran nuclear access as Western powers push UN referral: IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the agency's board that Iran had provided no information on its declared nuclear material and that inspectors could not verify it on site, more than a year after the agency lost continuity of knowledge over stocks enriched to 60%. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned Tehran would take "necessary measures" if a referral proceeds.

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