Austria

Domestic security has taken precedence in the capital as the government moves to grant intelligence services broader surveillance powers. The ruling ÖVP dropped its long-standing opposition to the measure, which aims to give the state a longer reach in monitoring foreign threats. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court has ruled that politicians may no longer use government staff to run their party social media accounts, a decision that separates the business of the state from the business of the brand.

A 51-year-old man confessed to a murder in the Meidling district today, ending a brief search by police. The legal system is also busy with the collapse of the Signa empire: industrialist Hans Peter Haselsteiner told a court he found it impossible to believe that René Benko lacked the €5m he is accused of defrauding from a foundation. It appears even in a real estate crisis, some figures remain larger than their bank balances.

The trade sector is reporting a slump in online orders following the introduction of a new package tax in October. While the AI boom has pushed electronics group AT&S to record revenues, the average consumer is proving less resilient to new levies. In more peculiar news, police investigating reports of tampered Halloween sweets now suspect some of the nearly two dozen cases were staged by the children themselves to satisfy online challenges.