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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) looked set to fend off the far right in a state election in Brandenburg on Sunday after trailing behind the Alternative for Germany (AfD) throughout the campaign, exit polls indicated.

The SPD, which has governed the state surrounding the capital Berlin since reunification in 1990, scored 31.8% of the vote, ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany on 29.2%, in a last-minute comeback, according to the exit poll by broadcaster ZDF.

The success for the SPD could give Scholz a slight reprieve from party discussions about his suitability to be once more be its chancellor candidate for the federal election scheduled for next September given his unpopularity with voters.

It is unlikely, however, to give him or his party a major boost given the popular, incumbent SPD premier Dietmar Woidke had distanced himself from Scholz during the campaign and criticized the federal government’s policies.

“Dietmar Woidke and his Brandenburg SPD have made a furious comeback in recent weeks,” said SPD party general secretary Kevin Kuehnert.

“For us in the federal SPD, this evening, if things go well, the problems that lie ahead of us will not have gotten any bigger. But they have not gotten any smaller either,” he said.

Three-quarters of those who voted for the SPD did not do so out of conviction but rather to fend off the AfD, according to the exit poll published by broadcaster ARD. Turnout rose to 73% from 61% five years ago, according to ZDF.

The SPD is polling just 15% at national level, down from the 25.7% it scored in the 2021 federal election. That is behind the AfD on around 20% and opposition conservatives on 32%.

All three parties in Scholz’s ideologically heterogeneous coalition combined are currently polling at around 30%, less than the conservatives alone.

The coalition has come under fire for its constant bickering and for its handling of immigration. In the formerly Communist-run East, many voters are also critical of its delivery of weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion.

No time for complacency

The vote in Brandenburg comes three weeks after the Russia-friendly AfD became the first far-right party to top a state election in Germany since World War Two, in Thuringia. It also performed strongly in neighboring Saxony, coming hot on the heels of the conservatives in second place.

Woidke warned against complacency, noting the AfD was still gaining momentum. The ZDF poll suggested it had gained 5.7 percentage points since the last Brandenburg election in 2019.

AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla noted the AfD had made strong gains among young voters – a trend that was reflected for far-right parties across Europe in the EU elections in June.

The new leftist Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht was on track to come in third place, on 12% according to the poll, ahead of the conservatives on 11.6%, underscoring the ongoing upheavals in Germany’s political landscape making predictions tricky.

The Greens, one of the junior partners in Scholz’s coalition at a federal level, came in on 4.7%, just below the 5% threshold to automatically make it into state parliament.

The result achieved by the other junior coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP), was too insignificant to be reflected in the poll.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Sri Lankans elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as their new president on Sunday, putting faith in his pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following the South Asian nation’s worst financial crisis in decades.

Dissanayake, 55, who does not possess political lineage like some of his rivals in the presidential election, led from start to finish during the counting of votes, knocking out incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

“We believe that we can turn this country around, we can build a stable government … and move forward. For me this is not a position, it is a responsibility,” Dissanayake told reporters after his victory which was confirmed after a second tally of votes.

The election was a referendum on Wickremesinghe, who led the heavily indebted nation’s fragile economic recovery from an economic meltdown but the austerity measures that were key to this recovery angered voters. He finished third with 17% of the votes.

“Mr. President, here I handover to you with much love, the dear child called Sri Lanka, whom we both love very dearly,” Wickremesinghe, 75, said in a statement conceding defeat.

Dissanayake polled 5.6 million or 42.3% of the votes, a massive boost to the 3% he managed in the last presidential election in 2019. Premadasa was second at 32.8%.

It was the first time in the Indian Ocean island’s history that the presidential race was decided by a second tally of votes after the top two candidates failed to win the mandatory 50% of votes to be declared winner.

Under the electoral system, voters cast three preferential votes for their chosen candidates. If no candidate wins 50% in the first count, a second tally determines the winner between the top two candidates, using the preferential votes cast.

About 75% of the 17 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the election commission.

This was the country’s first election since its economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving it unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas. Protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.

Dissanayake presented himself as the candidate of change for those reeling under austerity measures linked to a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout, promising to dissolve parliament within 45 days of taking office for a fresh mandate for his policies in general elections.

“The election result clearly shows the uprising that we witnessed in 2022 is not over,” said Pradeep Peiris, a political scientist at the University of Colombo.

“People have voted in line with those aspirations to have different political practices and political institutions. AKD (as Dissanayake is popularly known) reflects these aspirations and people have rallied around him.”

Dissanayake has worried investors with a manifesto pledging to slash taxes, which could impact IMF fiscal targets, and a $25 billion debt rework. But during campaigning, he took a more conciliatory approach, saying all changes would be undertaken in consultation with the IMF and that he was committed to ensuring repayment of debt.

Grinding poverty for millions

Buttressed by the IMF deal, Sri Lanka’s economy has managed a tentative recovery. It is expected to grow this year for the first time in three years and inflation has moderated to 0.5% from a crisis peak of 70%.

But the continued high cost of living was a critical issue for many voters as millions remain mired in poverty and many pinned hopes of a better future on the next leader.

Dissanayake ran as a candidate for the National People’s Power alliance, which includes his Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna party.

Although JVP has just three seats in parliament, Dissanayake’s promises of tough anti-corruption measures and more policies to support the poor boosted his popularity.

He will have to ensure Sri Lanka sticks with the IMF program until 2027 to get its economy on a stable growth path, reassure markets, repay debt, attract investors and help a quarter of its people out of poverty.

“Root cause for the downfall of this country is bad management. We have a strong feeling if we have a good manager to rule this country… we can be successful in future,” said Janak Dias, 55, a real estate businessmen.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky toured a Pennsylvania ammunition plant on Sunday as he began a key visit to the United States in which he is expected to present his blueprint to defeat Russia to President Joe Biden and other allies.

Zelensky will fully outline his “victory plan” – which includes Kyiv’s long-stated request to use long-range missiles on targets inside Russia – to Biden for the first time during the visit before sharing it with both presidential candidates, US lawmakers and international partners, he said.

“This fall will determine the future of this war,” Zelensky posted on X from his plane before landing in the US. “Together with our partners, we can strengthen our positions as needed for our victory – a shared victory for a truly just peace.”

Zelensky kicked off his visit at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Biden’s hometown, where he thanked workers for providing Ukraine with munitions and said the facility would ramp up production of 155mm artillery shells crucial for Kyiv’s war effort.

“It is in places like this where you can truly feel that the democratic world can prevail,” he said. “Thanks to people like these – in Ukraine, in America, and in all partner countries – who work tirelessly to ensure that life is protected.”

Zelensky has been pushing Ukraine’s allies to ease restrictions on weapons and although there have been signs of the US shifting its stance, he said Friday they have yet to be given permission.

“We do have long-range weapons. But let’s just say not the amount we need,” Zelensky told reporters, adding that “neither the US nor the United Kingdom gave us permission to use these weapons on the territory of Russia.”

He has blamed the allies’ hesitation to authorize such use on escalation fears, but said he was hopeful his arguments would be heard during his visit.

Zelensky is expected to travel to New York, where he will speak at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday and meet with leaders of the Global South, the G7, Europe and international organizations.

He will then travel to Washington for talks with Biden and Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I want to see what she thinks about this victory plan,” he said of Harris on Friday.

“As I told you, the plan includes not only what is needed from Biden today. But it also includes the fact that we will have a different situation after November. That is, there will be a new president in the United States. And we need to talk to each of the candidates about their perception of this.”

Harris has expressed her support for Ukraine and NATO allies, indicating she would continue Biden’s policies of backing Ukraine, if she is elected president.

Zelensky also plans to meet with Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, who in a recent debate refused to say if he wanted Ukraine to win the war.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Elon Musk has vowed to get “anyone who wants to be a space traveller” to Mars – but not if Kamala Harris becomes US president.

On Sunday night, Musk told his X followers that in just two years, he will send five spaceships to Mars.

“Eventually,” he added, “there will be thousands of Starships going to Mars and it will [be] a glorious sight to see!”

However, the vocal Donald Trump supporter said another Democratic presidency “would destroy the Mars programme and doom humanity” by drowning it in red tape.

Musk also said earlier in the month: “We will never reach Mars if Kamala wins.”

It’s a claim repeated by Republican candidate Mr Trump.

On Saturday, he vowed to reach Mars during his presidency if his supporters get him to the White House.

“I’ll talk to Elon,” he said at a rally. “Elon, get those rocket ships going.”

SpaceX is known for its high-risk high-reward attitude to space exploration, and is now NASA’s main mode of transport for getting astronauts to the International Space Station.

The company has consistently innovated in space; just two weeks ago, it helped an American billionaire become the first person to take part in a risky private spacewalk.

But despite the leaps made by SpaceX in the two last decades, Musk says he is frustrated by how “stifling” bureaucracy and restrictions are in the US.

“One of my biggest concerns right now is that the Starship programme is being smothered by a mountain of government bureaucracy that grows every year.”

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If Musk’s unmanned Starships can arrive safely on Mars in two years, he says he will send crewed missions by 2028.

He has previously said he would like to see a self-sustaining colony on Mars in just 20 years.

So would Donald Trump make that a reality?

While he was in office, Mr Trump had an outsized impact on US space activity, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His government created the space security team Space Force and pushed NASA to reach the moon again by 2024 – although that has since been delayed to 2025.

However, vice president Harris is a space advocate herself, having been chair of the National Space Council since 2021.

In her time, she has been praised for pushing 37 countries to sign up to the Artemis Accords, a peace agreement that says outer space “shall be the province of all mankind”.

“I believe that she’s a space aficionado,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson at an event on space policy held by Politico in Washington.

This post appeared first on sky.com

The maker of the popular party game Cards Against Humanity is suing SpaceX for $15m over claims Elon Musk’s company trespassed and damaged a plot of its land.

A lawsuit filed in Texas alleges SpaceX treated a plot of land owned by Cards Against Humanity as essentially its own for at least the past six months.

The company purchased a plot of land in Cameron County in 2017 as part of a stunt to prevent then president Donald Trump from building a border wall in the area between the US and Mexico.

It was purchased after 150,000 subscribers paid $15 to their Cards Against Humanity Saves America campaign.

The lawsuit said Cards Against Humanity – referred to as CAH in legal filings – “acquired the Property for the sole purpose of ensuring that it would stay that way” and added: “SpaceX’s abuse of this Property has not only destroyed its natural condition, but has also caused even greater harm to CAH by virtue of the damage it has caused to CAH’s relationship with its paying supporters.”

In a statement through their Saves America campaign, Cards Against Humanity said SpaceX “f***ed” the land and alleged Mr Musk “figured he could just dump his shit all over our gorgeous plot of land without asking”.

The Chicago-based company then claimed “SpaceX gave us a 12-hour ultimatum to accept a lowball offer for less than half our land’s value” after they noticed the alleged trespass on their land. They said they declined the offer before filing the suit.

On a website – titled elonowesyou100dollars – the card company said it was seeking $15m in damages and offered the original subscribers to the Save America campaign $100 should they win the claim.

They also referenced a Reuters news agency report into SpaceX’s rapid development in the south Texas areas where it operates, in which some locals criticised the company for unfair and unchecked property and government dealings.

SpaceX started operating in Texas in 2003. In recent months, Mr Musk has stated he would move more of his businesses to the state.

Neither SpaceX nor Mr Musk have commented publicly on the matter. Sky News has contacted SpaceX for comment.

This post appeared first on sky.com

Millions of people can book their flu and COVID vaccines from today, which officials hope will ease pressure on the health service ahead of the winter months.

It comes amid concerns from NHS England over a so-called “tripledemic” of flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Bookings open at 9am on Monday and can be made through the NHS website, app or by calling 119.

Who can get the free jabs?

Adults aged 65 and over, long-term care home patients and people in clinical risk groups are all eligible for the vaccines as well as frontline social care workers and people providing care for elderly or disabled people.

Pregnant women are also eligible to get the flu jab, as well as toddlers and children up to year 11. Children from six months to 18 in clinical risk groups are also invited to get the vaccine.

For the first time, the NHS is also offering an RSV vaccine this autumn.

It is available to women from the 28th week of pregnancy to protect their newborns, as well as older people aged 75 to 79.

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Vaccines to help people ‘stay out of hospital’

“We know that these vaccinations help more people keep well and stay out of hospital during the winter months, which is especially important at a time when the NHS is expected to be under a lot of pressure,” said Michelle Kane, director for vaccinations at NHS England.

Older people and young children are much more likely to have to go to hospital with the flu, according to the UK Health Security Agency, which urged people to book their jabs.

“If you are pregnant or have a certain long-term condition you should be offered the vaccines – if unsure, please speak with a trusted nurse or doctor,” said Dr Julie Yates, deputy director for immunisation programmes at the agency.

This post appeared first on sky.com

A new map made with AI has been launched to help shed light on life in under-mapped parts of the world.

This week, the UN and Google launched the first map to show high-resolution building footprints and heights in Africa and across the global South, covering every year from 2016 to 2023.

Those parts of the world were often only mapped with low-quality images that made it hard to see how settlements changed over time or how people lived.

However, the team used AI to extract building footprints and heights from low-resolution satellite images that were already being taken every five days.

“Not knowing where buildings are is a big problem for lots of practical reasons,” said Google researcher John Quinn. “If you’re creating services or vaccination campaigns or rescuing people after an emergency, this is an issue.”

“We want people in the global South making policy decisions to have the same tools available as the global North,” said Abdoulaye Diack, who was a programme manager on the project.

The AI model has been trained to spot what different types of buildings look like, and because it analyses satellite images that are taken regularly, it can spot how even temporary settlements like refugee camps change.

There are limitations however, and as yet, it can’t identify improvised shelters or tents.

It’s also limited by weather, as the AI needs clear skies to accurately identify buildings.

That can mean it is less reliable in some areas, or during periods of rainy or cloudy weather.

One of the problems accurate mapping can help solve is around population sizes. In war-torn countries, censuses can be rare, meaning it is hard to know how many people live there.

In Somalia for example, the last census was in 1979.

Now WorldPop, a research company based at the University of Southampton, is using the dataset to more accurately calculate how many people live in different countries around the world.

“Understanding where people live is vital for making sure that resources are distributed fairly and that no one is left behind in delivering services like healthcare,” said Professor Andrew Tatem, director of the WorldPop team.

This post appeared first on sky.com

The former top security head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) warned on Thursday that U.S. bases in the Middle East could become overwhelmed by Iranian missile fire. 

Retired Gen. Kenneth ‘Frank’ McKenzie, now a Hertog senior fellow with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), is sounding the alarm in a report this week that argued U.S. bases in the Arabian Gulf have become vulnerable to Iranian assault with Tehran’s developments in its weapons capabilities. 

‘Our basing strategy is outdated and poorly positioned to meet the central threat in the region: Iran,’ McKenzie said. ‘By developing a flexible western basing network for America’s air assets, we will complicate Iran’s ability to target our forces and raise the cost of aggression.’

In a call with reporters this week, McKenzie explained that some of the U.S.’s top bases in countries like Qatar, UAE and Bahrain – located near Iran and which once served as a deterrent against malign actors – now sit as weak points in the U.S.’s force posture in the region.  

As technology and missile development have modernized, base placement needs to be rethought, he argued, noting that Iran is loaded with short-range missile capabilities, while its medium- to long-range abilities are lacking.

‘They have spent vast amounts of money and resources in building very capable ballistic missile capabilities – theater range ballistic missiles, land attack cruise missiles and drones,’ McKenzie said. ‘Those three capabilities are relatively new capabilities at scale in the region, and they pose new threats. 

‘They can throw more weapons into the fight than we can defend, even with highly capable systems like patriot and other systems that exist,’ he added. 

The retired general, who sat as CENTCOM commander for three years between March 2019 and April 2022 before retiring from the Marine Corps after 42 years of service, argued the U.S. needs to start seriously working with regional allies like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Egypt to relocate bases farther away from Iran. 

He said bases should also be identified ‘as far to the west as possible where [the U.S.] can deploy aircraft, maintenance capabilities, refueling capabilities, and weapons,’ but which are out of reach of Iran.

When pressed by Fox News Digital over the willingness of these Middle Eastern nations to allow for the relocation of bases, McKenzie said his proposal has already been addressed with partnering countries in the region.

‘This is something that we talked about while I was the CENTCOM commander at the middle to middle level, there’s interest in it,’ he said. ‘Here’s the thing to remember, let’s just pick one country as an example, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – improvements to these bases in the west of the country benefit the Saudis more than anyone else. 

‘These are going to be dual-use bases,’ McKenzie explained. ‘We’re basing there under certain conditions to actually assist in the defense of Saudi Arabia, and it actually increases their own self-defense capabilities.’

The former CENTCOM commander also pointed out that the direct security threat that Iran poses not only comes from Tehran, it also comes from its use of terrorist groups to fight its proxy wars in the Middle East. 

‘Deterrence is only obtained by a credible demonstration of will and the capability to fight and win if needed,’ McKenzie argued in his report. ‘Deterrence must be continuous; in the Middle East, it can have a very short half-life unless it is refreshed systematically.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Our divided nation is dividing families. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s family – even his wife – are appalled at his support of former President Trump, and Tim Walz’s brother, Jeff Walz, has declared that his brother’s progressive ideology is the reason he hasn’t talked to him in eight years. 

The emotional loss of family and friends damages our mental health; the divisiveness among colleagues can poison the workplace.

This is not new. In the Civil War, it was not uncommon for a brother to fight his own brother. Our Founding Fathers often viciously disagreed. But they created institutional checks and balances to compensate for what they could not modify personally: our inability to hear opposing perspectives without becoming defensive. 

With my background as a Ph.D. in political science who has also conducted couples’ communication workshops for the past 30 years, the search for a solution intrigued me. 

I saw that historically speaking, when we heard criticism, we feared a potential enemy. Therefore, building defenses was functional for survival. But for love, it’s just dysfunctional.

To transform civil war to civil dialogue with loved ones and friends, we need to develop behaviors that alter our natural biological propensity for defensiveness. Until these behaviors are practiced repeatedly, few people can practice them for more than an hour, but that is long enough to leave our friend or family member feeling heard.

With feedback from workshop participants reporting what did and didn’t work in their real lives, I developed a ‘Caring and Sharing Practice.’ Since it is easier to hear criticism after we’ve been appreciated, the process begins with the first person who will be expressing her or his perspectives (or ‘criticism’) sharing two appreciations of the other at five levels of specificity.

For example, Tim Walz’s brother or RFK Jr.’s sister might recall not just how curious their brother was, but share a specific childhood story. They could highlight their respect for how their brother consistently asked follow-up questions and had the courage to speak up about his beliefs without fearing rejection.

The next step begins with the understanding that ‘every virtue taken to its extreme becomes a vice.’ Prior to Walz’s and RFK Jr.’s sibling expressing their aversion to their brother’s perspective, they would search for the original virtue that motivates their brother.

Jeff, as a critic of ‘progressive feminism’ would search for the sister or daughter whose life is more fulfilled by opportunities feminism helped create; Tim Walz, as a ‘progressive feminist,’ might search for the virtue of Jeff emphasizing the importance of dad and faith to both children and their mother.

Prior to the core practice, I ask political opponents what they have in common. The answer? They all care. No one is apathetic. Caring enough to be actively involved is crucial to the sustaining of democracy.

Now the key ‘Caring and Sharing Practice’ begins: since it’s biologically natural to become defensive when receiving criticism, I ask the person receiving the feedback to first alter their natural state. They meditate using six specific mindsets.  

For example, I call one mindset ‘The Love Guarantee.’ Walz and RFK Jr.’s siblings might say, ‘The more I provide a safe environment for my brother’s perspectives, the more he will feel loved by me, and in turn, the more love he will feel for me.’ 

The listener then signals when they feel completely receptive and secure. If they ‘lose it’ they say ‘Hold’ and resume the conversation only after they’ve found a mindset or two that recenters them.

Once Walz and RFK Jr.’s siblings have heard their brother, they share what they heard; then ask if they distorted anything. They keep working at it until Walz and RFK Jr feel nothing is distorted. 

Then they ask if they missed anything, and finally, ask if they wish to add anything. Once Walz and RFK Jr. feel completely heard, they reverse the process for their siblings.

At the completion of the process, each sibling shares two more appreciations at five levels of specificity.

None of this requires anyone to change their mind. Only to leave someone they care for feeling understood and seen in the way they understand and see themselves.

Elections are now. Families are forever.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrated her nearly 50-year marriage to former President Bill Clinton despite ‘dark periods’ throughout their relationship. 

‘I’ve said this for many years, nobody really knows what happens in a marriage except the two people in it. And every marriage I’m aware of has ups and downs – not public, hopefully for everyone else – and you have to make the decisions that are right for you. And I would never tell anybody else, ‘stay in a marriage, leave a marriage,’ whatever the easy answer is. And you know, for me and for us, I think it’s fair to say we are so grateful that at this stage of our life, we have our grandchildren. We have our time together,’ Clinton told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday morning. 

Clinton recently published her new memoir, ‘Something Lost, Something Gained,’ which included excerpts on how ‘both my marriage and Bill’s presidency were imperiled’ at the end of the 1990s. Bill Clinton’s presidency was rocked by a sex scandal in 1998, with the 42nd president admitting to having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky later that year. 

Hillary Clinton did not cite Monica Lewinsky by name in her memoir or during her interview that aired Sunday, only referring to ‘dark periods’ that threatened her marriage or ‘a very unfortunate’ incident.

‘I write about how we start the morning playing spelling bee in bed. And, you know, Bill is like such a great player. He gets to Queen Bee almost immediately it feels like. We just have a good time. We have a good time sharing this life that we’ve lived together for now nearly 50 years of marriage. That’s what is right for us, and that’s really my, my message,’ Clinton shared of her marriage during the interview. 

The couple married on Oct. 11, 1975, meaning they will celebrate their 50th anniversary next year. 

Bill Clinton was ultimately impeached over his affair with Lewinsky, charging him with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. 

Hillary Clinton said that during ‘one of the darkest periods’ of the impeachment, she felt ‘deeply hurt’ by the scandal, while ‘on the other hand,’ she saw the incident as a ‘political ploy’ to force her husband out of office. 

‘I had to almost have a binary view of the world that I was living in my reality,’ she reflected of how she was feeling during the impeachment. ‘My reality, on the one hand, I was deeply hurt, deeply confused, really upset, angry. And on the other hand, I knew that this was a political ploy to try to drive, you know, Bill out of office, and I thought he’d been a really good president, and I resented that as an American citizen, that these hypocrites, who, you know, had all kinds of their own stories about, you know, marriage and everything else, were going after him because of a very unfortunate, you know, incident in his life. 

‘So on the one hand, I’m trying to make a decision about my life, my marriage, my future, my child, my family, which only I could make. On the other hand, I saw the hypocrisy and cruelty of what those Republican, you know, members of Congress were doing, and that that is a reality that people on the outside could never have understood. 

‘And you know, obviously I got tons of unsolicited advice from all sorts of observers, but my friends – and I have a whole chapter in there about how incredibly grateful I am to my friends – friends of a lifetime, friends you know, that have stood with me, have supported me, who, during that dark period showed up at the White House to be with me,’ she said. 

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