Munich – October 30, 2026 -- Annette Dittert's "Dear Britain" has won the Bayern 2 audience award at the Bavarian Book Prize, chosen by radio listeners from five titles. The winner was announced on Thursday evening, October 29, at the ceremony in Munich's Allerheiligen-Hofkirche.

Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- Only 8.5 percent of Germans, roughly one in twelve, say they have done enough to protect their home against burglary, even as darker evenings arrive. That is the finding of a representative survey by ring, conducted by the polling institute YouGov.

82 percent feel safe, but 63 percent did nothing new this year

In the darker autumn and winter months, 82 percent of respondents feel safe or very safe at home. Only 3 percent feel unsafe.

Stuttgart – October 29, 2026 -- Buying an investment property in your hometown feels safe, but familiarity does not show whether a location will pay off over the long term, says Mark Stühler, managing director of Einfach Immo GmbH.

Munich – October 29, 2026 -- Home buyers in the euro area should not expect cheaper or pricier mortgages right away: the European Central Bank (ECB) held its key interest rate at 2.5 percent, and ten-year building loan rates recently stood at around 4.4 percent.

Mortgage rates follow capital markets, not the ECB directly

Building loan rates track long-term capital market rates more closely than the ECB's key rate. Expected central bank moves can therefore already be priced into loan terms before the ECB announces a decision.

Kronberg im Taunus – October 29, 2026 -- Nearly one in five people in Germany (18 percent) has never talked about their own retirement provision, according to the new Retirement Conversation Gap Study from Fidelity International.

Many respondents would pick an unpopular chore instead: 30 percent would rather do their tax return, 28 percent would rather go for a preventive health check-up, and 25 percent would rather have a dental check-up.

Mainz – October 29, 2026 -- A new documentary from ARD Wissen, "Meine Träume – Was verraten sie über mich?" (My Dreams – What Do They Reveal About Me?), is streaming now in the ARD Mediathek. It asks whether people are helpless against their nightmares or can learn to shape them.

Hamburg – October 29, 2026 -- NDR television chef Zora Klipp starts a six-part culinary road trip through northern Germany on Friday, October 30, at 9:15 p.m. on NDR Fernsehen. The series "Zora schmeckt's – Zu Gast in ..." runs weekly and is also available in the ARD Mediathek.

Hamburg – October 29, 2026 -- The TITAN UPGRADE S20 carry-on trolley, priced at €259.95, shares the top spot in a Stiftung Warentest comparison of 17 carry-on suitcases. In issue 6/2026, it earned an overall grade of "Good" (1.8).

The S20 is the only suitcase rated "very good" for packing

Testers gave the trolley "very good" marks for packing comfort, effortless pushing and pulling, and for usage instructions and declaration. No other suitcase in the test reached "very good" for packing.

Ludwigshafen -- Safer Internet Day falls on February 9, 2027, and Germany's klicksafe initiative is calling on schools, companies, authorities and clubs to register their own events now. This year's motto is "Mein Bild – Deine Grenze" ("My Image – Your Boundary"), with a focus on stopping sexualized violence online.

Wiesbaden – October 29, 2026 -- From 2027, many self-employed people in Germany can claim up to 540 euros a year in state subsidies for private retirement savings, including through the new Altersvorsorgedepot (retirement savings depot).