AfD campaign event ahead of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election on September 18, 2026. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The far-right AfD took first place in state elections in northeastern Germany, delivering the worst result for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's mainstream conservative party since 1949.
Iran and the US exchanged new threats, with President Donald Trump warning Iran would fail economically or face its leadership being wiped out if it didn't make a deal, and the Iranian military saying it would retaliate harshly.
Denmark, Greenland and the United States are set to sign a deal on Greenland's security, an agreement Denmark says will put Arctic security under NATO's watch rather than leaving it solely to Washington and Copenhagen.
The Trump administration has prepared sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court and plans to announce them soon, two sources familiar with the matter said, a move that would step up its attack on the global tribunal that prosecutes war crimes and genocide worldwide.
World leaders gather in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, bracing for President Trump's return to the rostrum for a second year running, with talks centering on the widening conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and the risks of AI.
Business & Markets
A humanoid robot by Unitree Robotics competes at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
AI giant Anthropic is building a wet biology lab to tackle rare diseases. Jeffrey Dastin tells the Reuters World News podcast that Anthropic is pushing into this area to maintain its influence over global AI safety policy, even as it navigates trust and data-privacy concerns from its new pharmaceutical partners.
German auto workers staged nationwide protests, less than three days after a shock profit warning by Europe's biggest auto maker, Volkswagen, highlighted the sector's unprecedented challenges from high costs and fierce Asian rivals.
Europe faces a fourth-quarter jet fuel deficit, even as it turns to far-flung suppliers including South Korea, which is set to boost its jet exports to Europe to a four-year high in September, according to analysts and shipping data.
Trump and Xi walk together as they tour the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
In the four months since the leaders of the two global superpowers last met, Xi Jinping has overseen a surge in China's trade with the world while Donald Trump has struggled with falling approval ratings at home.
That shift in fortunes has tempered expectations for their summit in Washington this week, analysts say, with Xi in no rush to make concessions and Trump constrained by a costly war with Iran that has hurt both his popularity and Americans' wallets.
