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Germany's right wing poised for major wins as centrist parties stumble

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Germany's right wing poised for major wins as centrist parties stumble

Germany’s right wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is expected to win its first election since the party was formed in 2013, as anti-mass immigration sentiment sends voters to the polls.

Exit polls on Sunday showed AfD securing a winning 33.5% share of the vote in Thuringia and 31.5% in Saxony. Meanwhile, the center-left Social Democratic Party – to which Chancellor Olaf Scholz belongs – brought in less than 8% of the vote in both states, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The election follows a wider trend of success for conservative groups across Europe in recent months. French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly quashed a conservative takeover of the French parliament earlier this year.

Analysts say the ultimate impact that AfD and other party politicians can have will be determined by how willing centrists are to work with them.

GERMAN RIGHT WING CANDIDATE STABBED IN LATEST ATTACK AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

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DRESDEN, GERMANY – AUGUST 29: A skinhead supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party waves a German flag while taunting leftist, anti-fascist protesters following the final AfD Saxony election rally prior to state elections on August 29, 2024, in Dresden, Germany. The AfD is currently leading in polls in both Saxony and Thuringia ahead of state elections scheduled for Sunday in both states. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

“The center-right will decide to what extent an AfD win would be a turning point: So far, they have been relatively consistent in excluding cooperation — more so than in other Western European countries,” Manès Weisskircher, a political scientist at the Dresden University of Technology, told the Journal.

The German elections this weekend come just days after a Syrian immigrant killed three people in a stabbing spree in Solingen, Germany. ISIS claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack shortly after.

Emergency services and police are deployed near the scene where three people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.  (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP)

Federal prosecutors in Germany identified the suspect as Issa Al H., omitting his family name because of German privacy laws.

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GERMAN TERROR ATTACK SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS A SYRIAN REFUGEE, CHANCELLOR VOWS TO IMPLEMENT STRICT IMMIGRATION

ISIS said the attacker targeted Christians “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”

Der Spiegel magazine, citing unidentified security sources, said that the suspect had moved to Germany late in 2022, and sought asylum.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is facing a surge in right-wing sentiment across Germany. (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)

Similar attacks by Muslim migrants across Europe have spurred anti-immigration sentiment. Even the left-leaning Scholz called for strengthening immigration laws and ramping up deportations in the wake of the attack.

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“We will have to do everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and are not allowed to stay in Germany are repatriated and deported,” Scholz said while visiting the sight where the stabbing happened.

“This was terrorism, terrorism against us all,” he said.

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report

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Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies

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Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies

Army deployed and some areas in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region put under curfew after deadly violence over Khamenei’s killing.

Pakistan has called in the military and imposed a three-day curfew in some areas following deadly protests over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States-Israeli attack on Saturday.

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At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country on Sunday, prompting authorities to tighten security around the US embassy and consulates.

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The curfew was imposed before dawn Monday in the districts of Gilgit, Skurdu, and Shigar in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where at least 12 protesters and one security officer were killed and dozens of others wounded during confrontations, according to an official statement.

Of those, seven were killed in Gilgit, a rescue official said, while six others died in Skardu, a doctor told AFP news agency on Monday.

Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday attacked the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the UN Development Programme in Skardu city.

Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials.

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UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalised.

“The safety and security of UN personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.

Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors, citing “deteriorating law and order conditions”.

In the southern port city of Karachi, the country’s commercial hub, 10 people were killed and more than 60 injured during a protest outside the US consulate.

Two additional protesters were killed in the capital, Islamabad, while heading towards the US embassy.

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Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at US diplomatic missions across the country, including around the US consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.

The US embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore cancelled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns.

The federal government warned that the situation could further deteriorate amid large-scale demonstrations condemning Khamenei’s killing on Saturday.

Tehran has responded with a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries.

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

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Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.
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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

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Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

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The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

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Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

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Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

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