Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Australian House speaker Dick in Beijing on the 21st. Han said Xi’s July meeting with Prime Minister Albanese set the direction for closer ties and that China is willing, guided by leaders’ consensus, to deepen strategic communication, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, coordinate multilaterally, and properly manage differences to build a more mature, stable and productive China–Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. Dick said the visit unde

Sept. 20 — Preliminary exit polls in German local elections show the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leading the Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern state vote with about 37% versus the center‑left SPD on 35.5%. The CDU, led by Merz, is projected at 5.5%, narrowly clearing the threshold for state parliament and posting its worst state result since 1949. Other major parties have ruled out cooperation with the AfD, making it unlikely to form the regional government. The AfD has now become the largest party in two states in two weeks. In Berlin, projections put the CDU at 20%, The Left at 24.5% (leading), the AfD at 16% with seat gains and the SPD at 12%. On Sept. 6 in Saxony‑Anhalt, the CDU fell to about 17% while the AfD won roughly 44%.

At AI Day, Baidu (09888.HK) said the Kuku AI agent on its Baidu Wenku cloud drive has exceeded 40 mln global monthly active users for AI office use. The overseas edition, launched last year as Oreate AI and since renamed Kooko, has surpassed 10 mln overseas users within a year.