Trump Sends Peace Envoys as Germany Nears Election

President Trump is sending envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a new Ukraine peace proposal, with Kushner expected to meet Vladimir Putin on Saturday and Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, Axios reports. The move comes as Washington also squeezes Iran: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has launched Operation Economic Outcast, sanctioning 60 entities to choke Tehran economically. Reactions vary: China is resisting, India is trying to balance both sides, and the UAE is retreating under pressure from Washington and Beijing alike. In Germany, tension is building before Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt election, where the AfD polls above 40 percent against CDU premier Sven Schulze's 26 percent; Schulze is counting on the AfD missing an absolute majority and finding no coalition partner. The far right's rise is spilling into the courts too, with the AfD-linked Desiderius Erasmus Foundation filing a criminal complaint against Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt over withheld state funding. Even so, Germany's economy is quietly posting its best numbers in years, though high energy costs and labor shortages persist. Meanwhile in Brussels, EU Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera will present the Affordable Housing Act next Wednesday, aiming to unify European rules on short-term rentals like Airbnb after protests in Paris, Barcelona and Venice.