BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has canceled a trip to the U.N. General Assembly next week as he faces mounting pressure at home during a string of difficult state elections.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they couldn’t publicly discuss a trip that hadn’t been announced officially, said Wednesday that Merz won't travel to New York as originally planned because “his presence is required in Berlin.” Merz had been expected to speak at the General Assembly next Wednesday.
There was no word on why his presence in Germany was required. But speculation has mounted that Merz's job is in danger following a stinging defeat of his center-right party by the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party in an election Sept. 6 in the eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt. That damaged the already unpopular chancellor's authority as he tries to push through reforms to Germany's sluggish economy.
Two more regional elections follow on Sunday: one in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, another largely rural eastern state, and the other in Berlin, the capital.
AfD is expected to make significant gains in both, though it has no realistic path to power in Berlin and faces a much stronger challenge from the current center-left governor in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania than it did from Merz's party in Saxony-Anhalt.
The prospects for Merz’s Christian Democratic Union are bleaker, 16 months after the 70-year-old became Germany’s leader. It could lose the mayor’s office in Berlin that it has held since 2023 and, if things go very badly, fail for the first time to win seats in a state legislature anywhere by falling below 5% of the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a region where it was already weak.
Merz said last week that “giving up is not an option for me.” But the CDU’s deputy local leader in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania called for him to go, and speculation has mounted that he might soon be replaced — although no top-level allies have called publicly for his departure.
On Wednesday, his party's eight state governors gave Merz their public backing.
“People can trust that we will tackle their problems,” they wrote in a joint statement, the German news agency dpa reported. “As governors, we want to and will make our contribution together with the chancellor.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a press conference after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a press conference after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity, attended a hearing at the International Criminal Court in person for the first time on Wednesday, making his first public appearance in more than a year.
The 81-year old is accused of murder and attempted murder for his alleged involvement in dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs while in office, first as the mayor of a southern city in the Philippines and later as president. He denies the charges against him.
He has missed a series of hearings since his arrest in 2025. Medical reasons were cited for his absence but the court’s judges ruled in January that he was healthy enough to stand trial.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is due to make his first public appearance in more than a year on Wednesday, after the presiding judge in his case at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands said she expected the 81-year-old to attend a pretrial hearing.
Duterte, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity, has missed a series of hearings since his arrest last year. Medical reasons were cited for his absence but the court's judges ruled in January that he was healthy enough to stand trial.
Duterte's charges stem from his alleged involvement in dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs while in office, first as the mayor of a southern city in the Philippines and later as president. He denies the charges against him.
“We would expect Mr. Duterte to be here unless there’s some medical issue,” Judge Joanna Korner said during a pretrial hearing in June.
Wednesday's hearing is to discuss evidence disclosure and come up with a timetable for the trial, which will open in November.
“He’s fully aware that you’ll expect to see him sooner rather than later,” Duterte’s lead counsel Peter Haynes told the judges during the June hearing, referring to his client.
Duterte was arrested in March 2025 and was set to appear in court in The Hague in September last year. However, the hearing was delayed after a pretrial panel of judges granted a “limited postponement” to give the court time to determine whether Duterte was fit enough to take part in the proceedings.
Following an assessment by a panel of medical experts, judges ruled that Duterte is “fit to take part in the pretrial proceedings.”
The ICC has been looking into mass killings in crackdowns overseen by Duterte since 2018. Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.
According to the prosecutors, police and government hit squads carried out dozens of killings at Duterte’s orders, motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves.
A month after the court in February 2018 announced a preliminary investigation into the violent drug crackdowns, Duterte said the Philippines would withdraw from the ICC.
Last year, judges rejected a request from Duterte’s legal team to throw out the case because of the Philippine withdrawal. Countries cannot “abuse” their right to withdraw from the court’s foundational Rome Statute “by shielding persons from justice in relation to alleged crimes that are already under consideration,” the decision says.
Earlier this year, an attempt by authorities to arrest another man wanted by the ICC in connection with the drug killings dissolved into gunfire in the Philippine Senate in May. No one was hurt. The court had unsealed an arrest warrant for Ronald Marapon dela Rosa, who served as national police chief under Duterte. Dela Rosa went into hiding following the Senate standoff and remains on the run.
Two months later, the Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened the trial of Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. If convicted of the charges, which include amassing unexplained wealth and publicly threatening the family of the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., she may be permanently disqualified from holding public office. She denies the charges.
FILE - Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte takes oath during a senate inquiry on the so-called war on drugs during his administration at the Philippine Senate, on Oct. 28, 2024, in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
