Munich/Vienna – October 29, 2026 -- Shoppers in Germany and Austria can now ask an AI chatbot where to find nearby supermarket deals and whether a price is actually good. The feature, called "Frag den Guru" ("Ask the Guru"), is built into the free marktguru app for Android and iOS.

Chatbot opens with one tap and accepts text, voice or photos

A blue marktguru icon at the bottom right of the app opens the chat. Users can type a request or speak it. They can also upload a photo of their fridge contents or a handwritten shopping list to start the conversation.

Munich/Leipzig – October 29, 2026 -- The 32nd José Carreras Gala airs live from Leipzig on Wednesday, December 16, at 8:15 p.m. on MDR, HR and SWR, with a parallel livestream in the ARD Mediathek. It is the first time three ARD broadcasters have carried the charity event together.

Frankfurt am Main – October 29, 2026 -- Six new Wonka sweets, from hat-shaped chocolates to a hollow milk chocolate Oompa-Loompa, are on sale across Germany for a limited time. Ferrero is behind the range, which it says offers unusual combinations of flavor, color and texture.

Ferrero has held the Wonka candy rights since 2018

Ferrero secured the exclusive confectionery rights to the Wonka brand in 2018. Its research and development teams worked with the company's creative teams to test recipes, flavors, textures and shapes for the range.

Mainz – October 29, 2026 -- German public broadcasters ZDF, 3sat and phoenix will cover the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, 2026, with daily news segments, documentaries and streaming premieres.

Turkey hosts the 31st UN climate conference, while Australia chairs the negotiations. The source notes that the Pacific region and its island states are especially threatened by climate change, and that implementation and financing of projects will be debated heavily this year.

Berlin – October 29, 2026 -- A new civil protection center in Luckenwalde, in the Teltow-Fläming district, can supply up to 5,000 people from transportable containers, according to German Red Cross (DRK) President Hermann Gröhe.

The center works like a mobile small town

Gröhe described the facility as a small town in containers that can be transported and then set up. He said it answers one of the major challenges Germany faces now: caring for up to 5,000 people at once.

Tübingen – October 29, 2026 -- Children who brush twice a day from their first milk tooth get one of the most regular taste experiences of early childhood, and many kids' toothpastes are deliberately intensely sweet. A dental prevention researcher now asks whether that daily routine could influence which flavors children prefer later.

Munich – October 29, 2026 -- World Savings Day on October 30 is a good moment for parents to talk with their children about wishes, spending and savings goals, and Germany's SOS-Kinderdorf-Stiftung has five practical tips for doing it.

Styria – October 29, 2026 -- Dog owners in Austria and Germany can now add a daily herbal supplement to their pet's bowl: Styrian company Hanfred has launched its Daily Dose herbal sticks, available immediately.

The line comes in four variants: Gut, Joints, Relax and Sensitive. Each contains a selected herb blend in an individually portioned sachet that mixes straight into the dog's regular food. The packaging comes in colored metallic designs.

Berlin – October 29, 2026 -- WELT TV will air the roughly 43-minute documentary "Vantara - Sein Herz für Tiere" ("Vantara - A Heart for Animals") for the first time on Sunday, 1 November 2026, at 14:50. The film goes inside an Indian rescue center where injured and formerly captive wildlife get a second chance.

One of its stories centers on the elephant Leelavati. She was left tied up when a circus tent caught fire, and burning debris fell on her body. She suffered severe burns but survived, and she now receives medical care at Vantara.

Osnabrück – October 29, 2026 -- A majority of young people in Germany want influencers barred from advertising unhealthy food, according to a representative survey commissioned by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv). In the poll, 57 percent of 14- to 25-year-olds agreed that influencers should not promote unhealthy foods.