Political GuyentistGermany
September 8Six stories · About 3 minutes

AfD doubles
its vote.
Still short.

The far-right party took 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt, its best state result ever. It won 39 of 83 seats, three short of a majority.

Germany Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt’s parliament83 seats
39 won42 for a majority
AfD Other parties Schematic seating

Three seats short. Every other party refuses to govern with AfD.

AfD’s share of the vote
2021
21.5%
2026
43.8%

Schools. Policing.
Not migration law.

Schools and policing are state powers. Migration and deportation law are set in Berlin and Brussels.

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Keep scrolling. You set the pace.
A large cargo ship and a small motorboat carrying several people travel across choppy turquoise water.
Strait of Hormuz

Iran plans a
restricted zone.

Washington says the strait is open and under U.S. control. Iran says it will create a restricted zone.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, between Iran and Oman, with the UAE to the southwest.
Coastlines: Natural Earth · North up

Where would Iran’s zone be?No coordinates or start date have been announced.

How much traffic was getting through?
Normal volume100%

Reference level

Reported Aug. 27≈5%

Al Jazeera · 2026

95% below normal.

Each mark is 1% of normal traffic, not one ship. This is the August 27 comparison cited in the September 8 reporting.

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U.S.–Canada trade

Tariffs now run
both ways.

Canada’s retaliation took effect just after midnight on September 8. It covers roughly $20 billion of U.S. goods.

Canadian and American flags fly beside a truck crossing a cable-stayed border bridge.Photograph: ABC News
One border.
Two sets of duties.
Goods covered by tariffs
U.S. goods → Canada~$20B

Canada’s duties: 15%, 25%, or 50% · Sept. 8

Canadian goods → U.S.$27.6B

U.S. duties on Canadian goods · Aug. 25

Same scale in $ billions. Each full block represents $1B of goods, not a shipment or tax revenue.

Bombardier’s Wichita plant3,500American employees

Trump also threatened to block the Canadian planemaker’s U.S. sales unless it builds in America. It already does. No legal mechanism for the threat has been announced.

Kushner, Witkoff, and a seated speaker appear onstage before an ornate blue-and-cream building.Photograph: Axios
Ukraine negotiations

Ukraine talks:
No date announced.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff reports progress on scheduling negotiations. Russia’s territorial demands remain unchanged.

Date
Not disclosed
Venue
Not disclosed
Format
Not disclosed
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Southern LebanonKfar Rumman
September 7

12 people killed
in Israeli strikes.

Lebanese authorities say two strikes on the village killed eleven people in a residential building, including two children, and a paramedic in a vehicle.

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U.S. election monitoring

DOJ adds
voter-fraud work.

The Civil Rights Division wants roughly 1,000 monitors for the midterms. Fraud has not previously been part of its monitoring mandate.

The recruitment target
~1,000monitors sought

Each dot represents 10 proposed monitors.

Existing roleCivil rightsNew workVoter fraud
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Several wheeled voting booths and electronic voting machines stand inside a wood-paneled polling place.Photograph: NBC News
You’re up to speed · September 8, 2026

Three things
to watch.

  • GermanyCan a government form without AfD?
  • HormuzWhere will Iran put its promised zone?
  • CanadaWill the two governments return to talks?