BBC News Briefing

9 September, 2026

Sofia has long light-brown hair and is looking at the camera

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. The German chancellor has clashed with the AfD leader in the wake of the far-right party's best election result to date - read how it went. In Albania, a sprawling medical tourism industry seeks to compete with Turkey. And finally, a sinkhole appears at a celebrity's home.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

German chancellor heckled by AfD MPs

A composite image shows Friedrich Merz in a blue jacket and tie on the left and Alice Weidel dressed in white on the right

The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt has been labelled as "right-wing extremist" by German domestic intelligence. Credit: Getty Images/Reuters

AfD leader Alice Weidel has confronted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over his conservative party's election results in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. At 17.2%, the CDU placed second, but got less than half AfD's 43.8% share of the vote. The AfD still fell short of a majority. Weidel said voters had shown that Merz's government coalition was a failure and his time was up. Merz hit back, saying the AfD had harmed German interests by backing Russia. He also criticised the AfD's "remigration" policy as amounting to "ethnic cleansing" for skilled workers. Disruption by AfD MPs became so loud that the parliament's president threatened to expel people from the chamber.

What happened

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AT THE SCENE

Tirana, Albania

The country vying to be the new place for 'Turkey teeth'

Anthony Hook smiles to show off his new teeth. He is standing in a dentist's office. His sunglasses are placed on his head and he wears an olive polo shirt.

Anthony Hook travelled from the UK to Albania to get a new set of teeth.

Turkey has established itself as a destination for those seeking procedures, such as hair transplants or veneers, at a cheaper prince than they'd pay at home. But competition is now springing up in Albania, whose capital may as well adopt the slogan of "Tirana teeth".

Guy Delauney, business reporter

Anthony Hook made his first visit to Tirana to watch England's footballers play Albania last year – but then found himself intrigued by all the signs for dentists. That nudged him into doing something about his missing teeth. He thought he'd go to Albania rather than Turkey, because he was concerned by media coverage of dental or hair transplant work in Turkey that had gone wrong.

"I went onto the internet and looked into it properly. It took me two days to research it because I'm not one for jumping into anything," he said. Several return trips later, Anthony now has a mouthful of impressive implants – and, unsurprisingly, he is all smiles. "I'd come here once a month for a holiday if I could," he chuckles.

Keep reading

Foreign procedures: In 2022, my colleagues reported on whether cut-price reality TV teeth were really such a bargain.