Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku, take the stage after he declares victory during a midterm election night party at The Department at Hudson's in Detroit, Michigan, early on November 4, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Kowalsky / AFP)
Several German supermarkets affected by refrigeration cyberattacks, Germany follows US midterm results closely as Democrats celebrate victory, pensions expected to rise next year and more news on Wednesday November 4th.
Today's top story: Cyberattacks hit refrigerators at German supermarkets
Several German supermarkets have been hit with cyberattacks on refrigeration systems.
Reports of similar problems have hit grocery stores in countries across Europe recently, forcing retailers to discard food.
The attackers are not simply switching units off remotely; they actively trigger defrost or heating modes. As a result, temperatures in refrigerated display cases and freezers have climbed, in some instances reaching as high as 50C.
It has resulted in large quantities of meat, dairy products as well as frozen goods becoming spoiled. In some cases, the units have overheated to such an extent that fires have broken out.
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The motive for the cyberattacks is not known and no group or individual has claimed responsibility yet.
European cybersecurity agencies, such as the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), have issued urgent warnings. Supermarkets and operators of industrial facilities have been instructed to immediately disconnect all control equipment from the public network.
Remote maintenance should only be conducted via secure, encrypted connections (VPN) and with two-factor authentication.
READ ALSO: European countries snared in fridge cyberattack
Germany watches US midterm results in US closely as Democrats take Congress
Germany has been following the US midterm elections closely, with major broadcasters and news outlets providing live coverage and analysis as the Democrats celebrated their victory.
Democrats seized control of the US Congress, capturing the Senate and House of Representatives in a nationwide rejection of President Donald Trump, set to put the brakes on the final two years of his presidency.
The Democratic landslide will give the opposition power to block legislation, launch broad investigations into Trump's administration and thwart his judicial and senior government appointments.
The results reflected deep anger over living costs, tariffs and Trump's war against Iran, which has sent fuel prices soaring and compounded dissatisfaction with an already deeply unpopular president.
German media have been providing extensive coverage of the elections with live blogs tracking the results as well as analysis.
The elections have attracted interest among the many Americans who call Germany home. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), around 118,130 US citizens were living in Germany at the end of 2025.
READ ALSO: Americans in Germany - How to make the most of fall
Industry group says Germany needs drastic change to expand AI
Germany needs drastic reform to step up data centre construction, a German digital association said Tuesday, as warnings mount that it is falling behind in AI.
"We need to significantly improve the investment framework for data centres with affordable electricity, suitable sites and much faster planning and approval procedures," Bitkom head Ralf Wintergerst said.
"The AI race is also a race for computing power. Those who fall behind in infrastructure risk quickly losing ground in AI," he added.
Fears have grown that Germany and Europe more broadly are missing the boat when it comes to AI.
The United States last year released 59 notable AI models, according to a count cited by the European Central Bank, while China released 35. France and Britain released one each.
Though total installed computing power – essential to train and run AI models – has almost doubled in Germany since 2015 to reach over 3 gigawatts, according to Bitkom, it is forecast to lag far behind China and the United States.
High energy prices and long approval procedures are seen as holding back the buildout.
Pensions expected to rise by more than four percent
The pensions of over 21 million pensioners in Germany are expected to rise again by more than four percent this summer.
According to the draft of the 2026 Pension Insurance Report, the government is anticipating an increase of 4.1 percent on July 1st 2027. It would mean a monthly pension of €1,000 would rise by €41.
The exact figure for the forthcoming pension adjustment is yet to be finalised, with concrete data expected by March.
The planned increase comes after pensions went up by 4.24 percent last July.
Bayern Munich sink Atletico in Champions League
Bayern Munich overcame a horror list of absences to cruise to a 2-0 win away at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Teenage Germany forward Lennart Karl opened the scoring and Konrad Laimer added another as Bayern triumphed despite a bulging casualty ward.
Jamal Musiala, Luis Diaz, Serge Gnabry and Ismael Saibari were on Bayern's injury list but it meant little as freshly-minted Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane and captain Joshua Kimmich marshalled his troops to a memorable victory.
The German champions also arrived in Madrid without coach Vincent Kompany, sick with a meningitis-related condition.
"We are standing together despite the difficult times at Bayern in the last weeks and are delighted we could experience this team victory together," Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said.
Further suspect held in Germany over Poland Starlink fire
A further suspect has been arrested in connection with a fire at a Polish Starlink station in September, German prosecutors said this week.
The Turkish national was detained in the southern German city of Reutlingen on Tuesday, three weeks after two other Turkish suspects were also arrested in Germany over the same case.
The two men arrested in October are in custody ahead of their possible extradition to Poland.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called the fire an "act of hybrid warfare", at a time when Ukraine's allies have accused Moscow of such hybrid attacks.
The man detained on Tuesday is suspected of having "commissioned the two men arrested on October 12 with carrying out the arson attack in Poland", according to German prosecutors.
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