Germany news: Merz to cancel UN trip over party infighting

Germany's chancellor has nixxed his trip over doubts about his leadership after party losses to the AfD in state elections. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Pistorius is in Washington for talks with his US counterpart.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cancelled a planned trip the the UN General Assembly amid growing doubt about his leadership after party losses to the far-right AfD in state elections.

Police have found a large depot of firearms and ammunition in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is to hold talks with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, in Washington.

A Berlin woman is facing charges of supporting the 'Islamic State' terror group.

Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Tuesday, September 15, 2026:

Brandenburg BSW state lawmaker quits the leftist party, becoming the 6th to do so in 10 months.

The left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) contingent of lawmakers in Brandenburg continues to shrink. Oliver Skopec announced on Tuesday he was quitting the party, becoming the 6th of what was once 15 BSW parliamentarians to do so since November last year.

Skopec, a 41-year-old businessman said he wanted to retain his place in the state parliament and operate as an independent, at least at first. He linked his decision to quit with the BSW's character as what he termed a party of protest. "For me personally, that is not enough," he said.

German actor Ralf Richter has died at the age of 69, his children Aline and Maxwell Richter said in a joint statement on Facebook on Tuesday. Richter was known to have been living with heart problems.

Police on Tuesday detained two men — an Eritrean and a German — accused of using violence at two German community festivals. The German Federal Prosecutors Office in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe accuse the two of membership in Brigade N'Hamedu Germany, a domestic terror organization bent on overthrowing Eritrea's authoritarian government.

A dispute over Germany's classified defense plan intensified Tuesday as the far-right AfD rejected calls to strip Saxony-Anhalt of the document. Germany's operational plan, or OPLAN, contains key defense measures and planned NATO movements across Europe in the event of a Russia attack.

The World Athletics Championships will be held in Munich in 2031, the third time Germany will host the event. World Athletics, the governing body of the championship, made the announcement in Budapest on Tuesday.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is set to arrive in Geneva on Tuesday to campaign for a seat for Germany on the UN Human Rights Council.

Embattled German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has received public backing from two senior conservative allies, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) and Bavarian state premier Markus Söder (CSU), ahead of a key party meeting in Berlin on Sunday.

The leadership of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is to hold a crisis meeting in Berlin on election night amid mounting speculation over the chancellor's political future.