Germany sees electric-car surge, Spain calls snap election, German scientists win Nobel in medicine
Germany reported a record rise in electric-vehicle registrations, Spain’s prime minister announced a snap vote for late November, and a Würzburg professor shared a Nobel Prize in medicine with two colleagues.
Official figures released this month reveal a record surge in electric-vehicle licences in Germany, with the growth largely powered by Tesla and Chinese makers, whereas VW, BMW, Mercedes and Opel saw little or only modest gains. The spike coincides with high fuel prices and a government purchase incentive that has already been granted to many applicants. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that voters will head to the polls on 29 November, citing the collapse of his alliance with Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont and mounting public anger over housing evictions.
Analysts say Sánchez hopes the election will serve as a referendum on his housing agenda. Meanwhile, the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg celebrated the Nobel Committee’s decision to honour emeritus professor Georg Nagel, alongside Peter Hegemann and Karl Deisseroth, for pioneering optogenetic techniques that allow precise control of neurons with light.
Why it matters
The stories show shifting energy trends, political instability in Spain, and a breakthrough in biomedical research.
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