Far-right AfD makes historic gains in German local elections.

Germany's far-right party, the AfD, has won its first district election victory in Sonneberg, Thuringia, with Robert Sesselmann taking 52.8% of the vote. The victory comes as the party surges to record highs in opinion polls, with recent surveys putting support for the AfD at 18-20%. The party is hoping to score major breakthroughs in next year's regional elections in Thuringia, Brandenburg, and Saxony. The AfD has benefited from growing discontent with the government's climate plans and high immigration, and its success has been described as an "alarm bell for all democratic forces" by Thuringia's interior minister.