Berlin
- 8h ago
Bundestag backs tobacco tax hike, with packs set to near 12 euros by 2030
The Bundestag approved a law that raises the tobacco tax in steps through 2030, with the Bundesrat due to decide on Friday, 16 October. The steepest increase falls on e-cigarette liquid.
- 12h ago
Germany and France provisionally agree to soften 2035 combustion engine phase-out
The provisional deal would let more combustion cars be sold after 2035, with manufacturers no longer offsetting the last 10% of their CO2 emissions under the draft.
- 14h ago
Berlin court upholds school ban on demonstrative prayer, finding Muslim students disadvantaged
The Berlin Administrative Court ruled on Thursday, 15 October 2026, that the Diesterweg-Gymnasium may prohibit demonstrative religious rites on school premises. The judgment is not yet final, and the plaintiff association plans to seek leave to appeal.
- 14h ago
Federal Constitutional Court orders Reiche to remove Left Party video from ministry Instagram
Germany's top court provisionally ordered Economy Minister Katherina Reiche to take down an Instagram clip linking the Left Party to antisemitism, deciding 6:2 on an urgent application from the party.
- 17h ago
German fuel tax cut passes on only about two thirds to drivers, DIW finds
Two weeks after the tax cut took effect on 1 October, the DIW estimates that about two thirds of the 16.7 cent reduction has reached drivers. Weak competition among refiners and wholesalers is the suspected cause.
- 17h ago
SPD to elect entire leadership at Bremen congress on 16 and 17 January after Bas quits
Bärbel Bas has stepped down as SPD co-chair and labour minister, and the party plans to elect its entire leadership at a congress in Bremen in mid-January.
- 18h ago
House martin named Bird of the Year 2027 in online vote as numbers fall
More than 148,000 people voted, giving the house martin 45.2 percent of the ballots, NABU and the Bavarian LBV announced. The swallow winters in Africa and is listed as endangered in Germany.
- 19h ago
Hamburg court convicts two men of spying for Iran and plotting attacks on Jewish leaders
The Higher Regional Court in Hamburg sentenced two men on Thursday, 15 October 2026, to 8.5 and 4.5 years in prison for intelligence agent activity on behalf of Iran. The court found they had prepared attacks on Josef Schuster and Volker Beck.
- 21h ago
Merz rejects claim Ukraine aid cuts into German social spending as AfD attacks
Merz told the Bundestag that no euro for Ukraine is missing from German social or education budgets, while AfD leaders accused him of failing on reforms.
- 21h ago
Bundestag is due to vote on Germany's emergency care reform on Thursday, 15 October
The bill would route callers with non-urgent complaints to the 116117 on-call service and send patients to integrated emergency centres at hospitals. Doctors and hospital groups doubt it will ease crowded emergency rooms.
- 22h ago
German asking rents climb 1.2% in third quarter, the steepest rise since early 2025
Asking rents for newly listed flats in Germany rose 1.2% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter, excluding inflation. Berlin and Düsseldorf posted the largest gains among the eight biggest cities, while existing flats outpaced new builds.
- yesterday
Fact-checks find no evidence Ukrainian strikes on Yandex halted Russian bots
No evidence shows that Ukrainian drone strikes on Yandex data centers reduced Russian propaganda bot activity. A viral graph and remarks by Volodymyr Zelensky helped spread the idea, and the data does not back it.
- yesterday
Germany's average health insurance surcharge may stay at 2.9% in 2027
Health minister Carsten Linnemann said the average additional contribution for statutory health insurance could stay at 2.9% next year. Insurers still set their own rates, and the actual average currently sits a little above 3.1%.
- 2d ago
Deutsche Bahn bans alcohol at all German railway stations from 15 October
Drinking alcohol at Deutsche Bahn stations became prohibited across Germany on Thursday, 15 October 2026. DB says the rule should cut violence and litter, though outlets give station counts from 5,400 to 5,700.
- 2d ago
Germany's 2027 budget draft omits aid for surviving Polish victims of Nazi occupation
The 2027 draft budget in Berlin contains no funds for Polish survivors of Nazi occupation, and even supportive Bundestag members consider changes before adoption unlikely.
- 2d ago
Germany sets up 13-member commission to draft nursing care reform by January 2027
The federal cabinet set up the care structure commission on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, with first proposals due by the end of January 2027. The reform is to take effect on 1 July 2027.
- 2d ago
German cabinet approves interim social media ban for children under 13
The Family Ministry's key points paper would bar children under 13 from TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram until EU-wide limits apply, with graduated limits for 13- to 18-year-olds.
- 2d ago
World Hunger Index rises for first time in series dating to 2000
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest index value of any world region, and seven of the eight countries with alarming hunger levels are located there. The reports come ahead of World Food Day on 16 October.
- 2d ago
Germany plans national gas reserve funded by a levy from October 2027
The draft law sets a reserve of 24 terawatt-hours for crises such as sabotage, paid for by a levy that would first apply on 1 October 2027. Typical households would pay between 3.77 and 7.20 euros a year.
- 2d ago
Germany's cabinet approves two-tier sugar tax on sweetened drinks from July 2027
Germany's cabinet approved a sugar tax on sweetened drinks on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, a day after the coalition settled its dispute. The levy of 26 or 32 cents per litre is due to start on 1 July 2027 and still needs approval from the Bundestag.
