The polls actually speak clearly: Trump's Republicans will almost certainly lose their majority in the House of Representatives. And the situation could also change in the Senate, from red to blue, from Republicans to Democrats.
But that's the same thing with the polls in the USA. In the past, pollsters have often been wrong when it comes to Trump. The strength of his electoral base was often underestimated. It is therefore by no means a foregone conclusion that the Democrats will actually win control of both chambers of Congress.
After Trump's departure, Germany is now Ukraine's most important supporter and ally in its defense against the Russian aggressors. And so Friedrich Merz welcomed Selenskyj as a friend to the Chancellery today and assured him of further help for the upcoming harsh winter.
At the same time, however, the federal government must work together with the Europeans not to sit at the diplomatic table when it comes to looking for ways to end the war. Representatives from the USA, Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to negotiate with each other again in Abu Dhabi in mid-November. Merz and Selenskyj insisted today that Europe be involved in the talks. The Chancellor emphasized: "Central elements of a peace solution, be it sanctions or security architecture, can only be solved with us Europeans."
Halloween is actually supposed to be a lot of spooky fun, especially for children and young people. But this year it has become a very real horror in some places: unknown people have prepared sweets that children have collected from house and apartment doors with needles, nails, screws or other sharp-edged objects. New cases were also reported today: A family in Brandenburg discovered a needle in a chocolate bar. In the southern Palatinate there was a stapler stuck in a piece of chewy candy.
There are now reports of dangerously prepared sweets from many regions in Germany. Such finds are also reported in Austria, Ireland, Denmark and Norway. Some children injured themselves when they bit into candy, chocolate or wine gum. Fortunately, as far as we know, things have turned out well everywhere so far.
Stunned, you ask yourself the question: Who does something like that? Who enjoys putting children's lives in danger? And why?
The police seem to be at a loss as to who is behind the devious manipulations. Investigators are checking whether there are connections between the widely scattered cases. Whether views or networks on social media could have anything to do with it. In the meantime, all that remains is the advice to children and parents to closely monitor the Halloween yield. And the hope that no one gets seriously hurt.
Understanding of Voldemort: Daniel Brühl, 48, has experience with the role of the villain. The actor has already played the Marvel villain Zemo and a Nazi war hero in “Inglourious Basterds”. Now he lends his voice to Lord Voldemort in the soon-to-be-launched German “Harry Potter” audio book series, in which the works are read with different roles. But even with the “ultimate antagonist,” Brühl believes he has found a human point of contact: the fear of death. Brühl told the internet portal web.de: "This unwillingness to accept having to die is what connects you with Lord Voldemort, despite all the darkness and evil."
You could watch the new film “Klara and the Sun” in the cinema – or start reading the novel of the same name. Almost everyone is talking about artificial intelligence right now. When the British Nobel Prize winner for literature Kazuo Ishiguro, 71, published his book about a humanoid educational robot a few years ago, the debates about AI and its consequences were still a “matter for specialists,” as the author himself says in a conversation with my colleague Tobias Rapp.
The main character of the post-apocalyptic future story is the robot girl Klara, who is supposed to protect the teenager Josie from loneliness. Klara is very similar to a human, has tics and feelings, looks for friends and believes in supernatural powers. “Klara and the Sun” has been in cinemas since last week. And creator Ishiguro is “overjoyed” with the film adaptation of his novel by New Zealand director Taika Waititi, 51.
A lovely evening. Warmly
Yours, Philipp Wittrock, author in the SPIEGEL capital office
