October 2026

Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat in Serbia's snap parliamentary election, with a student list winning the vote. Jubilation and fireworks broke out in Belgrade after the result, where crowds declared "Vučić is history."

Die Zeit and tagesschau.de reported that the race was expected to be neck and neck. Der Spiegel set out the possible outcomes Israeli experts were discussing: a Netanyahu victory, a triumph for the opposition, a minority government, or a deadlock, and what each would mean for the long-serving prime minister.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidential runoff, defeating the Bolsonaro camp in a close race. German outlets reported the result as a narrow victory for the incumbent president. The runoff forced Lula and his opponent toward a consensus, according to Die Welt.

CDU lawmakers in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament were asked to sign sworn statements confirming they did not vote for the AfD's candidates, according to their own accounts. The demand followed a Landtag vote in which AfD politicians were elected, and it produced a dispute inside the state CDU over an allegation of coercion.

A three-day period of national mourning has begun in Spain after a serious train accident in the province of Toledo. Rescue workers are continuing to search for the dead and injured, using cranes in the hunt for missing people.

France's prime minister ordered limited curfews after unrest that escalated into violence, looting and arson, and condemned the violence as reaching a terrible scale. The measures follow protests directed against high living costs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a summit on the Ukraine war with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, to be held in China. The proposal leaves Ukraine itself out of the talks. Reports of the offer circulated on Monday and were still being carried by German outlets on Thursday.

Germany's tax estimators expect higher federal revenues in the coming years, with 10.9 billion euros more for 2027 than previously projected. Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said the extra money brings "keine neuen Spielräume" — no new fiscal room — and dampened hopes that the additional revenue would fund new commitments.

Prosecutors in Hannover have filed charges against Ansgar Schledde, the AfD's state chairman in Lower Saxony, in connection with party donations. The case covers 113 donation cases, and the investigation concerns donation money. The indictment was reported on Wednesday by outlets across the political spectrum.

The Bundeswehr is warning that Russian sabotage attacks on its own troops in Germany are a real threat, with the force describing the danger as "erheblich" (considerable). The warning covers attacks directed at German military personnel stationed in the country.

US President Donald Trump has put planned new sanctions against Russia on hold, invoking the "national interest" of the United States as the justification. The suspension covers planned punitive tariffs and sanctions measures that had been prepared against Moscow.

Protests in France escalated into violence, looting and arson, prompting the French prime minister to condemn what was described as a "terrible scale of violence." The unrest was directed against high living costs, and the German broadcaster tagesschau.de reported that the government appeared overwhelmed by the situation.

The European Central Bank has given UniCredit the green light to further expand its stake in Commerzbank, a step reported as permitting the takeover of the German lender. Around 40,000 employees are affected by the move. Commerzbank shares jumped to a 15-year high as the takeover came closer into view.

Low gas reserves and persistent supply bottlenecks are pushing the EU gas price higher, and German consumers must expect rising gas prices. Gas customers should prepare for uncomfortable times ahead.

The Linke, the Greens and the SPD reached a breakthrough in exploratory talks on forming a Berlin state government, with the three parties announcing a joint negotiating result. The agreement covers measures ranging from the expropriation (Vergesellschaftung) of apartments in Berlin to a ban on mobile phones in schools.

August Hanning, former president of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), has been taken into custody. He is accused of Landesverrat (treason) in what a Green politician, Konstantin von Notz, called a 'unique and shocking case of treason.'

The coalition committee of Germany's CDU/CSU-SPD government met to address disputes over the 'Brandmauer' against the AfD and the government's reform course. The Tagesspiegel described the meeting as a crisis summit in the Chancellery over cracks in the firewall and the reform agenda. The coalition partners are negotiating a compromise on care reform, with private health insurers alarmed by the SPD's push to fundamentally reorganize the care system.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized votes for the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, saying they are incompatible with CDU values, but warned against drawing hasty conclusions. The statements came after the AfD's strong showing in the state, which has triggered a broader debate about the party's potential to govern a state.

Mario Voigt, the Minister-President of Thuringia, has withdrawn his legal challenge against the revocation of his doctoral title. The decision, reported by multiple German outlets, means he accepts the loss of the doctorate. Voigt said, "Ich brauche jetzt einen freien Kopf" (I need a clear head now).

A security researcher discovered a critical vulnerability in hundreds of thousands of solar installations in Germany that would have allowed an attacker to disconnect 8 gigawatts of capacity from the power grid with a single click. The flaw affected the inverters used in the systems, and the breach could have triggered a super-blackout. The incident was reported by multiple German outlets on October 7.

The SPD wants to fundamentally reorganize Germany's care system, a move that has alarmed private health insurers. The coalition is negotiating a compromise on the care reform, with an SPD health expert saying he is confident in the dispute.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a further expansion of the Russian armed forces, setting the authorized personnel strength at 2,441,630 people. The order was reported by German outlets including tagesschau.de, Der Tagesspiegel, and FOCUS online. Der Tagesspiegel also reported that Putin is planning the highest military spending since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The Greens have presented a draft in the Bundestag for a new tax on "extremely large fortunes," proposing a 2 percent levy on assets above 500 million euros. The party wants to bring the measure to a vote in the Bundestag. The proposal targets the wealthiest 0.0007 percent of Germans and is projected to raise 20 billion euros in revenue.

Bundestag President Julia Klöckner has threatened to expel the entire AfD and Linke parliamentary groups from the chamber if disruptions escalate. She said, "If it escalates, I'll throw the whole parliamentary group out." The warning follows repeated heckling from AfD members during Bundestag sessions.

A court has admitted the indictment against former RBB director Patricia Schlesinger, clearing the way for a criminal trial on charges of embezzlement (Untreue). The case stems from the RBB scandal that broke in 2022 over allegations of nepotism and improper expense claims at the public broadcaster.