GERMANY: Anti-war politician Sahra Wagenknecht said she would not be intimidated after having red liquid hurled at her at a campaign event in the central state of Thuringia.

With state assembly elections taking place tomorrow, Ms Wagenknecht’s BSW is polling in third place, with 18.4 per cent, behind the far-right AfD and the Christian Democrats but ahead of all three of Germany’s ruling coalition parties.

JAPAN: The Defence Ministry wants a record-breaking 8.5 trillion yen (£44 billion) military budget for 2025.

It will mark the third year of a five-year military build-up aimed at doubling military spending, which would make Japan the third-biggest spender after the United States and China.

The country hosts 50,000 US troops and is part of Washington’s network of military bases encircling China.

POLAND: The government has issued guidelines to doctors affirming that one specialist’s opinion is enough to permit a woman to have an abortion and that physicians performing such procedures cannot be prosecuted.

The previous Law & Justice administration placed strict restrictions on abortion, but current Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s bid to relegalise it for foetuses up to eight weeks was defeated in parliament. He said that “if we can’t open wide doors, we can open small gates” to allow abortions.

VENEZUELA: The government said far-right saboteurs were behind blackouts that hit the country again today.

Attacks on transmission towers have caused blackouts all week.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has pledged a “forceful” response and warned that continued attempts to undermine the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro were futile.