What the morning news shows covered today: one entry per story, every show's take.

The far-right AfD won 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, marking the CDU's worst defeat in decades and prompting Chancellor Friedrich Merz to declare a political "tectonic shift" requiring consequences. AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund called the result a wake-up call demanding a new political approach prioritizing national interests, though the party lacks an absolute majority and other parties maintain a firewall against governing with it. Merz faces growing internal pressure within the CDU due to poor poll ratings and unpopularity, with whispers about whether he can complete his term. His strategy of taking a harder line on immigration to cut into AfD support has not succeeded, as reforms have dragged out and remain unpopular, destabilizing his government ahead of national elections. The CDU has categorically denied working with the AfD, but internal unhappiness and limited coalition options leave the situation up in the air.

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Thousands attended the funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in Belgrade, where he is still revered as a national hero despite his conviction for genocide and the Srebrenica massacre. Serbia's EU accession process is now in doubt following the state and military honors given to Mladić, with one delegation to Brussels already cancelled and a €1.5 billion tranche of funding for democratic transition at risk. The EU is worried about Serbia's commitment to the rule of law and judicial independence, making the funeral a very problematic look for the country's membership bid. Public opinion in Serbia continued to revere Mladić despite the crimes, driven by a crisis of disbelief and denial of the international community's accounts, and Mladić takes his place in a strongly entrenched tradition of turning men of violence into cherished martyrs in the cause of the Serbian nation.

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President Zelensky says it is important to keep diplomacy going after talks with U.S. envoys, even as Kiev suffers more daily air raid alerts than at any time since the 2022 invasion. BBC Verify analysis shows alerts reaching up to 13 per day, driven by new, faster jet-powered drones that are harder to intercept, with Ukraine's air force shooting down only 60% of them. Constant air raid alerts are causing travel chaos and severely disrupting education in Kiev, as metro trains stop during alerts and students must repeatedly evacuate to shelters. The government is planning a new two-tier alert system to limit disruption, but the capital still lacks an effective defense against the relentless attacks.

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has warned of a dangerous escalation by Israel after airstrikes killed at least nine people, including women and children, in a residential building in southern Lebanon. Lebanese intelligence reports over 5,000 Israeli ceasefire violations, while Israel claims it is targeting Hezbollah and accuses the group of embedding military infrastructure in civilian neighborhoods. Aoun says the escalation goes beyond alleged military targets and is intended to disrupt people's lives.

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The British government is preparing to ban all products made in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, moving beyond its long-standing rhetorical position. The Israeli government has warned it will retaliate, viewing the move as hostile and pandering to Palestinian terrorism. Campaigners have pushed for the ban, but the government previously avoided it due to enforcement difficulties.

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The Australian government is drafting legislation to allow users to opt out of social media recommendation algorithms, aiming to reduce exposure to harmful content and create a digital duty of care. Opting out would provide a chronological feed of followed accounts rather than engagement-optimized content, though this could undermine platforms' business models and users might not choose to opt out if they find algorithms useful.

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