Germany today (Thu 29 Oct): Parental allowance to rise for the first time since 2007, Volkswagen loses €5.8bn in the third quarter, Chancellor Merz meets President Lee in Seoul today, Leverkusen turn 0–2 into 5–2

Good morning! Here's your German news for Thursday, 29 October. We start with good news for families expecting a baby: the parental allowance may go up for the first time in 19 years. Plus a huge loss at Germany's biggest company, the chancellor in Korea and a wild cup comeback from last night.

1. [Politics] Chancellor Merz meets President Lee Jae Myung in Seoul today

• Thursday afternoon, 29 Oct, at Cheong Wa Dae — the summit is followed by a joint press statement and an official dinner. It is the leaders' third meeting and Merz's first visit to South Korea as chancellor
• What's new since our last post — on 26 Oct he had just set off. Since then he has signed a strategic partnership declaration in Singapore and an economic-security declaration in Japan; Korea is the last stop of the five-day trip
• Agenda: future industries — stable supply chains for chips, batteries and AI, renewable energy and power grids, defence cooperation and regional and global issues
• Business at the table — about 60 guests from the German business delegation and Korean companies are invited to the dinner, among them the heads of Hyundai Motor and POSCO
• Tomorrow (30 Oct): business conference — Merz opens the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK) in Seoul, with up to 1,000 executives from Germany and the Indo-Pacific expected

Source: bundesregierung.de · newspim.com · ajunews.com · news.de (dpa)

2. [Economy] Volkswagen posts a €5.8bn loss for the third quarter

• Announced this morning, 29 Oct — the VW Group's net loss after tax for July to September was about €5.82 billion, more than five times the loss a year earlier (about €1.07 billion)
• Porsche is the main reason — one-off charges, above all a write-down worth billions linked to its subsidiary Porsche. It's a book loss: no cash actually leaves the company
• Sales and deliveries fell too — revenue dropped 6.3% to about €75.3 billion; deliveries fell 14.3% to 1.89 million vehicles. In China they fell 38.5% to about 406,000
• The year's target was already cut — in September VW lowered its 2026 operating margin forecast from 4.0–5.5% to "at most 1%"
• What it means for you — VW is Germany's largest manufacturer, so expect more news on jobs, suppliers and regional economies such as Lower Saxony. Keep these numbers in mind when you read about restructuring

Source: berliner-zeitung.de · wetterauer-zeitung.de · tagesspiegel.de (dpa) · ariva.de

3. [Society] Parental allowance (Elterngeld) to rise for the first time since it began in 2007

• Draft bill on 28 Oct — Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) sent her draft into coordination within the government. She aims for a cabinet decision in November; nothing is final yet
• Higher minimum and maximum — from €300 to €330 a month at the minimum, and from €1,800 to €1,900 at the maximum
• 80% for four months per parent — each parent gets four reserved months at 80% of their pre-birth net income (now about 65%); later months are paid at 50%. The other six months can be shared freely
• Still 14 months — the plan to cut it to 12 months has been dropped. If only one parent claims, the maximum is 10 months; single parents keep 14. Christmas bonuses will count in the calculation, and both parents can claim at the same time for several months
• What it means for you — the start date and which births it covers are not decided. If you apply now, today's rules apply — expecting a baby? Watch for the cabinet decision in November

Source: web.de (dpa) · mannheim24.de

4. [Culture] Rebekah Rota will run Theater Erfurt from 2028

• Announced on 28 Oct — Rebekah Rota will be the new Intendantin (artistic director) of Theater Erfurt, the municipal theatre of Thuringia's capital. The city council's main committee approved her on the evening of 27 Oct
• Five seasons from 1 August 2028 — her first contract runs until 2033; she follows the current director, Christian Ilgen
• Now in Wuppertal — since August 2023 she has been opera director of the Wuppertaler Bühnen
• Why her — the responsible deputy mayor said she convinced with her expertise, her artistic vision and her ability "to win people over for change"
• Good to know — in German theatres the Intendant decides the programme and the ensemble, which is why they are chosen years in advance

Source: nachtkritik.de · evangelisch.de (epd)

5. [Arts] Ulrike Ottinger's vampire comedy "Die Blutgräfin" opens today

• In cinemas across Germany from 29 Oct — "The Blood Countess" by German director Ulrike Ottinger runs 119 minutes and is distributed by Neue Visionen
• Isabelle Huppert is the countess — Birgit Minichmayr plays her maid, with Lars Eidinger and Thomas Schubert also in the cast. It's an Austrian–Luxembourgish–German co-production
• Set in today's Vienna — the countess returns after centuries to hunt for a mysterious book said to destroy all evil, through the city's crypts and cemeteries
• First shown at the Berlinale — it had its world premiere at a Berlinale Special Gala in February
• What it means for you — perfect timing for Halloween week. Check your cinema for showings in the original version with subtitles (OmU)

Source: kino.de · ulrikeottinger.com · film-rezensionen.de

6. [Entertainment] "The voice of the Ruhr": Herbert Grönemeyer wins the NRW art prize

• Announced on 28 Oct, worth €25,000 — the state of North Rhine-Westphalia gives singer Herbert Grönemeyer its 2026 Kunstpreis
• Ceremony on 17 Nov at K21 in Düsseldorf — Minister-President Hendrik Wüst and Culture Minister Ina Brandes will present it
• The album "4630 Bochum" — the jury calls the 1984 album a classic of German music history; Wüst says Grönemeyer "gives the Ruhr a voice"
• Beyond the music — the jury also praises his stand against division in society and his calls for fair pay in music streaming
• What it means for you — "Bochum", "Männer" and "Mensch" are songs every German knows. His clear diction makes them good listening practice

Source: land.nrw · rhein-zeitung.de (dpa)

7. [Sports] DFB-Pokal: Leverkusen turn 0–2 into 5–2, Bayern win 6–1

• 28 Oct, Leverkusen 5–2 Nürnberg — second-division Nürnberg led 2–0 after goals in the 13th and 30th minutes. Tapsoba scored twice from corners (41', 49'), then Schick (70', penalty), Hofmann (78') and Vázquez (89'). Crowd: 29,681
• Bayern beat Magdeburg 6–1 — a big win against a second-division side to reach the last 16
• Second-division Kiel knock out Hoffenheim — 1–1 after extra time, 4–3 on penalties; Kiel's goalkeeper saved the decisive kick
• What it means for you — giant-killing by smaller clubs is what makes the cup fun. When the round-of-16 draw comes, check who your local team gets

Source: zdfheute.de · t-online.de · zdfheute.de · vavel.com

Weather

City	Fri 30 Oct	Sat 31 Oct	Sun 1 Nov
Berlin	☁️ 9° / 5° mostly cloudy	🌥️ 12° / 7° cloudy, a little sun	⛅ 9° / 6° partly sunny
Hamburg	☁️ 12° / 9° mostly cloudy	☁️ 11° / 9° cloudy	☁️ 10° / 7° mostly cloudy
Munich	⛅ 10° / 3° partly sunny	☁️ 10° / 2° mostly cloudy	🌦️ 6° / 3° little sun, light rain at times
Cologne	⛅ 15° / 5° partly sunny	⛅ 13° / 4° partly sunny	☁️ 11° / 4° cloudy
Frankfurt	⛅ 13° / 4° partly sunny	⛅ 12° / 3° partly sunny	⛅ 11° / 3° partly sunny

Tip: mostly dry until the weekend, but mornings in the south and west are cold at 2–4°. Sunday (1 Nov) is All Saints' Day, a public holiday in five states including Bavaria and NRW — shops are closed there, so do your shopping on Saturday. (wetter.com forecasts)

German from today's news

Word	Meaning	Example from the news
der Gipfel	summit (literally: mountain top)	Merz und Lee treffen sich zum Gipfel in Seoul.
der Verlust	loss	VW meldet einen Verlust von 5,8 Milliarden Euro.
das Elterngeld	parental allowance	Das Elterngeld soll zum ersten Mal steigen.
die Intendantin	(female) artistic director of a theatre	Rebekah Rota wird Intendantin in Erfurt.
der Kinostart	cinema release	Der Kinostart ist am 29. Oktober.
das Elfmeterschießen	penalty shoot-out	Kiel gewinnt im Elfmeterschießen.

Know someone expecting a baby? Pass on the Elterngeld news. Have a good day. Schönen Donnerstag! 🇩🇪