What, or who, could be the problem?
Rise in ramming attacks – The attack is the latest in a series that have left the country grappling with questions about public safety.
Six people were killed and hundreds injured when a car plowed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg in December 2024. Two months later, a car drove into trade union demonstrators in Munich, killing a woman and her two-year-old daughter. Two more people were killed in March 2025 when a car rammed into a crowd in Mannheim…
Always a left-wing workers’ district.
Berlin’s “Red Wedding” is still concerned about German militarization (some call it self-defense) in a Germany that has a military about the size of a large American city’s police force.
Germans protest Rheinmetall’s plans for Berlin arms factory – One of Germany’s biggest weapons makers, Rheinmetall, has announced plans for a plant in Berlin. Opponents are warning against more German militarization.
I always felt there was something creepy about that guy.
Now I know why.
Sex doll art sparks debate at German president’s residence – Beyond a headline-grabbing bronze, contemporary artworks draw attention to political power at an exhibition held at Bellevue Palace before the state building closes for renovation.
That means pygmy hippopotamus.
Or bread roll. Take your pick.
A young pygmy hippopotamus at the Berlin Zoo is named Brötchen.
The newest addition to the Berlin pygmy hippopotamus family is named Brötchen. The Berlin Zoo announced this on Wednesday. “Naming animals after foods seems to be a popular internet trend right now,” explained zoo director Andreas Knieriem: “Strictly speaking, though, people in Berlin have known for decades that small, round snacks make excellent animal names: the female hippo Bulette was one of the absolute favorites at the Berlin Zoo until 2005.”
German union leaders cry.
“He keeps investing in Giga Berlin and creating more jobs!”
Tesla invests $250M more in Giga Berlin battery cells, boosting capacity to 18 GWh – Tesla announced today that it will invest almost $250 million more in battery cell production at its Grünheide factory outside Berlin, more than doubling planned capacity to 18 gigawatt hours per year and creating over 1,500 battery-related jobs…
In late February, Musk sent a pre-recorded video to Grünheide’s roughly 11,000 workers warning that expansion would not happen if IG Metall gained a majority in the upcoming works council election. He said that “things will certainly get more difficult if there are external organizations pushing Tesla in the wrong direction,” adding: “We will not close the factory, but realistically we will also not expand.”
The message was clear: vote for the union, lose the investment.
IG Metall’s vote share subsequently collapsed from 39.4% in 2024 to 31.1% in the March election. Tesla’s management-aligned list, Giga United, took 24 of 37 seats. IG Metall has since filed a legal challenge alleging unlawful interference in the election.
Oh, the horror.
It sure is a good thing that German businesses are never run that way.
Ryanair to shut Berlin base as it blames rise in German aviation tax – Trade union criticises airline’s plan to halve passenger numbers to the city as ‘purely profit-oriented…’
“German aviation is broken. The government admits that it is uncompetitive, yet there is no strategy to cut aviation taxes or high airport fees – despite Ryanair warning that Germany would lose traffic, connectivity, jobs and trade.
“Since 2019, Ryanair has been forced to close its bases in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart … in addition to stopping all flights to Dresden, Leipzig and Dortmund.” It said the closures had led to the loss of 13 aircraft from those bases.
The German trade union Verdi criticised Ryanair’s plans as a “purely profit-oriented corporate strategy”.
For membership in a foreign terrorist organization and related offenses?
Better than nothing.
Berlin court jails 4 men over Hamas weapon stockpiles – A court in Berlin has ruled that four men gathered and stored weapons for use in terror attacks as members of a Hamas-linked cell. Prosecutors listed potential targets in Germany, including US and Israeli sites…
Possible targets included the Israeli embassy in Berlin, the US Ramstein airbase and the area around Berlin’s disused Tempelhof airport.
Soon.
Union tries to seize control of works council at Tesla’s German factory – Lawsuits and slander claims fly in IG Metall’s battle with Elon Musk over employment rights and conditions.
Europe’s largest trade union is trying to gain control of the works council at Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin, in an industrial relations showdown marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of slander.
The works council, an elected body of employees that negotiates everything from working hours to pay deals with a company’s management, is considered an entrenched aspect of the German corporate world, particularly in the car industry.
But it was a bone of contention at the Tesla plant in Grünheide, about 20 miles (30km) south-east of Berlin, even before the gates opened almost four years ago.
But then it’s right back to the regular 24/7 unplanned chaos.
So chill already.
Germans Face Travel Chaos As Transport Workers To Strike – Public transport workers across Germany will stage a 48-hour strike from Friday as talks over pay and conditions stall, a union said, potentially sparking travel chaos for millions.
The Verdi union, negotiating on behalf of about 100,000 workers, said Tuesday it had decided to ramp up pressure on local authorities after making little progress in annual negotiations.
Observing Hermann 