Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce said on Sept 27 that 127 monitored firms recorded 4.04 bln yuan in sales over the Mid-Autumn holiday (Sept 25-27), up 20 pct versus the comparable holiday period last year (Oct 6-8, 2025). Foot traffic across 70 major shopping districts reached 27.088 mln visits, up 14.7 pct. UnionPay Merchant Services reported cultural and entertainment spending rose 16.6 pct and tourism ticketing spending rose 21.3 pct during the holiday.

EU interior ministers and officials met in Germany on Sept. 26 to discuss tighter border controls and enhancing emergency rapid-response capacity. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt urged creation of an EU rapid-return procedure to address a surge of illegal migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta since late July; Spanish government data show about 10,000 migrants remain in Ceuta.

U.S. officials said Iran would be mistaken to assume rising prices and the U.S. midterm election will erode President Trump's negotiating leverage in efforts to end the nearly seven-month conflict. A three-hour meeting this week produced no breakthrough, but Washington said it remains confident mounting economic pressure will push Tehran toward a deal. State Department deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said President Trump holds all the leverage.