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Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Thousands of people joined a march for "democracy" in eastern Germany on Saturday, a day ahead of a regional election expected to result in a historic win for the far right.

The march in Magdeburg, capital of the Saxony-Anhalt region, drew demonstrators holding up placards proclaiming "more love, less hate", "a better life without Nazis", and "the potato is also of foreign origin".

The march was organized by a coalition of groups dubbed "Saxony-Anhalt: Open to the World".

The far right, anti-migrant, pro-Russian and pro-Donald Trump Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is leading in the polls for the Saxony-Anhalt election, and is expected to top the vote in the small state of 2.1 million inhabitants.

It would be the first regional election win for the AfD, marking an unprecedented breakthrough for the far right in Germany in the postwar era.

However, the party is not assured of managing an absolute majority that would allow it to govern alone.

So far, all other parties have ruled out governing with the AfD, with the exception of the pro-Russian left-wing party BSW, whose members are divided on the issue.

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Wedding Party Fire in Kinshasa Leaves at Least 22 Dead

A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Wedding Party Fire in Kinshasa Leaves at Least 22 Dead

A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)

At least 22 people were killed in a fire at a wedding party in Congo 's capital, Kinshasa, the regional mayor said Saturday.

Several other people were injured in the fire that started overnight Friday and continued into early Saturday morning in a building in Lingwala in northern Kinshasa.

The mayor of Lingwala, Norbert Mushinga, told the Congolese Press Agency that the provisional toll is 22. He noted the toll could rise further.

The exact cause of the fire is unconfirmed.

“It is a tragedy,” Jacquemin Shabani, Congo's deputy prime minister and interior minister, said. The minister visited the site Saturday morning

Deadly fires are common in densely populated areas of Kinshasa where urban development is not complemented with provisions such as fire services. The fires are common during the dry season and several have occurred this year, according to local media.

World

States Reach Agreement at Autonomous Weapons Talks in Geneva

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 27, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 27, 2026. (Reuters)
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States Reach Agreement at Autonomous Weapons Talks in Geneva

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 27, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 27, 2026. (Reuters)

The 128 ‌states party to a framework that regulates or bans weapons considered as indiscriminate, or causing too many injuries, agreed on a document on Saturday that could pave the way to international rules on autonomous weapons.

Agreement to the non-binding text marks a significant step after more than a decade of talks on how to regulate weapons systems that can identify and engage ‌targets with ‌varying degrees of autonomy, sometimes called "killer ‌robots".

However, ⁠one rights group ⁠said the text definition of an autonomous weapon and the measures to reduce their possible harmful effects on civilians appeared to have been watered down.

"It's a real shame that all the work done by states ⁠on the text over the past three ‌years has been ‌substantially diluted in the last hours," Nicole van Rooijen, ‌executive director at Stop Killer Robots, told Reuters.

The ‌member states of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons had been meeting this week in the Swiss city of Geneva and reached consensus overnight.

The ‌agreement comes as alarm grows over the use of lethal autonomous weapons ⁠systems in ⁠conflicts, including those in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East. The document, reached by consensus, is non-binding but could open the door to formal treaty negotiations.

Talks went late into the night to overcome differences over language amid opposition from states such as the United States and Russia.

The US and Russia favor national guidelines over international legally binding rules. Washington sought flexibility in the non-binding text, including in areas related to exercising human judgment.

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Nepali Woman Rescued Alive from Buried Home 10 Days After Flood

Damaged and sludge-ridden houses line the Trishuli riverbank in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
Damaged and sludge-ridden houses line the Trishuli riverbank in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Nepali Woman Rescued Alive from Buried Home 10 Days After Flood

Damaged and sludge-ridden houses line the Trishuli riverbank in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
Damaged and sludge-ridden houses line the Trishuli riverbank in the aftermath of flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal's Nuwakot district on September 5, 2026. (AFP)

Rescuers pulled a Nepali woman alive on Saturday from her home buried under thick mud and debris when the region was struck by massive flooding 10 days ago.

Emergency personnel said earlier they had rescued a Chinese man found alive inside a tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal's Rasuwa district.

Members of Nepal's Armed Police Force cheered as the mud-caked 64-year-old woman, Chandrika Shrestha, was pulled from her buried home in Nuwakot district.

"A police team found her as they were clearing the area. She has been airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment," police deputy superintendent Iqbal Hawari told AFP.

A video released by Nepal's Armed Police Force showed only a part of her house visible, with the lower floors completely submerged by thick sludge.

Emergency response teams have been working relentlessly to find survivors since a tsunami-like wall of water and mud swept through the China-Nepal border following a glacial and rock collapse on August 26.

So far, 1,344 bodies have been recovered in Nepal, according to the national disaster agency, with about 5,000 people missing.

In China, state media said 31 people had been killed and 531 were missing.

That takes the overall death toll to 1,375 people, with more than 5,500 missing.