
AI-generated summary
The AfD won the elections to the regional parliament of Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8 percent of the vote, significantly ahead of the ruling CDU, which gained 17.2 percent.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the increasingly popular opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) enjoys Russian support. Bloomberg reports this.
"Merz, without providing concrete evidence of alleged support from Moscow, made the claim on Thursday in a speech in which he portrayed Russia as a destabilizing force in Germany and a threat to democracy in Europe's largest economy," the report said.
The AfD won the elections to the regional parliament of Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8 percent of the vote. The ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party gained 17.2 percent.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Russian government will officially deny Merz's accusations of supporting the AfD
Very likely · Within days
AfD will demand evidence or apology from Merz for statement of support for Russia
Likely · Within weeks

If Britain decides to rejoin the European Union, as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has proposed, it would require additional spending of 5 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) a year, according to Bloomberg, citing former officials from Keir Starmer's Labor administration. The country will lose the budget cut it received under Margaret Thatcher and will be forced to cancel all post-Brexit trade agreements.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that Russia strives for peace, not a truce, emphasizing that President Vladimir Putin previously expressed this position at the Valdai Forum.

Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexander Dubinsky, who is in a pre-trial detention center on suspicion of treason, said on Telegram that the meetings of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky with European officials are “petty fraerring” and demonstrate that Europe controls Zelensky through average clerks, sending a signal to Moscow.

The Tomsk Duma unanimously decided to introduce a tourist tax from January 1, 2027. The tax rate will gradually increase: 2% in 2027, 3% in 2028, 4% in 2029 and 5% from 2030. According to forecasts, the tax could bring about 23 million rubles to the city budget in the first year of operation. The tax will be paid by public accommodation facilities, and not by tourists directly. Benefits are provided to residents of the Tomsk region, children with accompanying adults and full-time students under 23 years of age.

The head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, said that the delay in reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a problem for all countries, emphasizing that most G20 countries agree with the need to resolve international trade issues within the WTO.

The head of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, said in Milwaukee that the WTO's tools should be developed with the times, speeding up procedures, revising obligations and eliminating inequalities between the founding countries and new members, in contrast to the skepticism of US Trade Representative Jamison Greer, who believes that the organization is not fulfilling its mandate.