🇩🇪Week of October 26

A car drove into a group of people in Neustadt am Rübenberge near Hannover, injuring several of them. Police opened fire on the vehicle in an attempt to stop it. The Tagesspiegel reported that four to five people were injured and that police suspect those involved knew each other.123

Der Spiegel reported that officers shot at the car but could not stop it. By Thursday, NDR.de reported that the injured were in hospital. SAT.1 Regional described the incident as a targeted car attack with at least five injured.345

n-tv reported that suspects fled the scene after the car drove into the crowd near Hannover. No outlet named a motive or identified the driver.67

A storm named "Manja" is sweeping across Germany, bringing hurricane-force gusts to the north and a heavy storm surge on the North Sea coast. The federal maritime authority warned of the storm surge until the afternoon. Forecasters warned of hurricane gusts and light storm surges in the north.12345

The severe weather warning covers North Frisia, where the storm tide is expected to be heavy. The autumn storm is forecast to hit the northern coast hardest.12

The storm is described as a new hurricane low-pressure system striking Germany with violent gusts. It is the second such system to hit the country in the autumn.45

BASF raised its profit forecast for 2026 after an unexpectedly strong quarter, with demand driven by the Middle East conflict. The Ludwigshafen-based chemicals group reported a 15 percent rise in earnings.123

The company is cutting thousands of positions even as business improves, and pressure on the chemicals industry remains high. It is also preparing a stock market listing of its agricultural division.134

Revenue at the group rose more sharply than expected, according to tagesschau.de. Handelsblatt reported that BASF lifted its guidance after the surprisingly strong quarter.25

The share price fell despite the upgraded outlook, finanzen.ch reported, as BASF raised its earnings forecast for 2026 again.6

CDU lawmakers in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament were asked to sign sworn statements confirming they did not vote for the AfD's candidate, according to their own accounts. The demand followed a vote in the Landtag in which AfD politicians were elected, and it has produced a dispute inside the state CDU over an allegation of coercion.123

A CDU politician is now calling for the resignation of faction leader Sven Schulze. BILD reported that Schulze pressured CDU lawmakers into making the declaration about the vote.14

The state party's internal fight is over the sworn declaration itself: FAZ describes a Nötigungsvorwurf, an accusation of coercion, tied to the eidesstattliche Versicherung. Die Zeit reported criticism inside the CDU after the chamber was left during the Minister-President election.25

Attributed claim: Volksstimme, a left-leaning outlet, framed the episode as pressure and attempted coercion over the AfD vote, asking whether CDU lawmakers were meant to lose their mandates. The centre and centre-right outlets n-tv and FAZ reported the same core facts: the sworn statements and the resulting resignation demand against Schulze.672

The cruise ship Mein Schiff 3 collided with two container ships in the port of Bremerhaven while casting off, according to German outlets. One container ship suffered a metre-long tear in its hull, and the cruise was abandoned.123

The Mein Schiff 3 was heavily damaged in the crash, and the voyage was called off in its place. Video footage circulated of the accident, including eyewitness material of the German cruise ship striking the freighter.452

BILD told passengers what rights they now hold after the cancelled trip, while other outlets assembled what is known about the accident so far.46

The Oberlandesgericht München ruled that Beate Zschäpe, the right-wing terrorist from the NSU, must serve at least 24 years in prison and will not be released before 2035, when she would be at least 60 years old. The court also rejected suspending the remainder of her sentence on probation.12

Zschäpe told the court she knew about the NSU murders, an admission of complicity reported alongside the ruling that keeps her behind bars until at least 2035.23

The ruling was reported across the German press, with FAZ, SZ.de, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and ZDFheute all carrying the 2035 date, and the decision was still being reported by Ad-hoc-news.de and Freie Presse two days later.4567

Anthropic has applied for a stock market listing in the United States, opening its books to investors for the first time. The AI developer's filing prospectus runs to 335 pages and sets out figures, risks and warnings about its own technology.12

The prospectus puts the scale of the AI bet at up to 1.75 trillion dollars, the figure investors are weighing ahead of the listing. Handelsblatt's briefing points to one number in the filing that should make readers skeptical, while Golem argues the decisive measure is revenue earned outside the AI bubble.345

The prospectus also shows how the Amodei siblings secure their control of the company ahead of the listing.6

The prospect of the listing lifted battered technology stocks and drove Wall Street, with semiconductor shares among the gainers. In Asia, the Kospi and Nikkei jumped on AI plans, while T-Online reported Japanese and Korean markets sharply recovered and China stayed weak.789

US investors face a busy week: the Federal Reserve decides its next rate step and three AI giants report earnings.7

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidential election, taking the victory late in the count. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated him on the result.12

Brazilian markets fell sharply on the outcome. The stock exchange halted trading and the country's currency plunged, a drop n-tv described as unprecedented.34

Jair Bolsonaro is protesting the result and, according to Report24, wants the election annulled. The outlet, which describes Lula as a socialist, reports that Brazilian stock values crashed after his win.56

Audi, the Volkswagen subsidiary, plans to build a new factory in the US state of Georgia. US President Donald Trump announced the plant during a campaign appearance, putting the investment at four billion dollars.12

Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner appeared on stage with Trump at the campaign event where the plant was announced. Volkswagen works council chairwoman Cavallo called Döllner's appearance shameful, and union representatives said he had also violated the company's own code of conduct.345

Der Tagesspiegel quoted the criticism of Döllner as "highly embarrassing and unworthy of the company." The works council head's rebuke of the Audi boss was carried by outlets across the political spectrum, from BILD to Der Spiegel and Die Zeit.675