Daily Briefing 21.09.2026, 09:05 (CEST)

German foreign minister urges UN action to resolve global crises

Germany has called for concrete progress towards ending wars in Ukraine and the Middle East as world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Schick on target again as Leverkusen beat Leipzig, first Paderborn win

Patrik Schick kept up his 100% scoring record in the Bundesliga season when he sent Bayer Leverkusen on course to a 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig on Sunday.

Germany's Merz calls election drubbing for conservatives a 'disaster'

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called his Christian Democrats' performance in state elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a "disaster," as projections suggest the conservative party has suffered another major electoral blow to the far right.

Exit polls: Historic loss for Merz's CDU as AfD gains in German votes

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives are on course for their worst-ever performance in a state election, exit polls showed on Sunday, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) making major gains in two votes.

Analysis: VW, Mercedes and BMW lose ground against global rivals

Germany's three largest carmakers continued to lose ground against international rivals in the first half of the year, according to an analysis by consultancy EY.

Dortmund happy to be top of Bundesliga, want to be Bayern challengers

Borussia Dortmund top the Bundesliga for first time in more than three years and although it is still early in the season they want to be a serious challenger for mighty Bayern Munich.

German economist calls fuel rebate plan a bad mistake

A member of Germany's Council of Economic Experts has said the government's decision to introduce a fuel rebate is a cynical way to try to solve a problem with a short-term solution that will lead to frustration among younger voters, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper reported on Sunday.

'I already had a war in summer': Undav's fight against criticism

VfB Stuttgart forward Deniz Undav has vowed to fight back yet again after criticism on his slow start into the season which has resulted in not being nominated by new national team coach Jürgen Klopp.

Oktoberfest revellers briefly left hanging upside down on ride

Visitors to a fairground ride at Munich's Oktoberfest were left hanging upside down for around five minutes on the first day of the renowned annual beer festival, the attending ambulance service said.

Cake not cash: Burglar steals sweet loot in German café raid

A burglar with an apparent sugar deficit broke into a café in Germany, but instead of raiding the cash register, the thief took a cake and two packs of ice cream, local police reported on Sunday.