Berlin news · 28 October 2026
Union Berlin Humiliated 0-5 by Cologne in DFB-Pokal
1. FC Union Berlin trailed 0:1 at half-time before completely falling apart in the second half against FC Cologne to exit the DFB-Pokal. Captain Rani Khedira called the second-half display a "system crash" and apologised to fans.
Berlin Retailers Expect 25 Million Euro Halloween Windfall
Berlin traders anticipate 25 million euros in extra Halloween spending driven by sweets, costumes, and decorations, roughly matching last year despite broader consumer caution.
Berlin CDU Politician Plans to Vote for AfD Candidate, Cracking the Firewall
Reinickendorf CDU politician Marvin Schulz announced he will vote to install AfD candidate Thomas Ruschin in the district administration, citing practical policy over party logic and drawing sharp SPD criticism.
Berlin Prosecutors Overwhelmed: 62,776 Cases Open as Staff Numbers Fall
Despite a budget for 441 prosecutor positions, only around 394 full-time equivalents are working in Berlin — 16 fewer than last year. The city's justice administration counts 62,776 open criminal cases at mid-year, 338 above a separate Richterbund survey figure that itself showed a nearly 14 percent rise from mid-2025.
Bavaria Courts Property Giants and Warns Against Berlin Socialisation Plans
Bavaria held a special parliamentary session to woo housing corporations away from Berlin, warning that a Red-Green-Red socialisation policy could deter property investors from all of Germany.
Berlin Emergency Winter Shelters Nearly Full in October
Berlin's roughly 700 cold-weather shelter beds are already at 90 percent capacity in October, with a planned 150-bed facility falling through and some shelters turning people away.
Hertha BSC Aim for Fourth Straight DFB-Pokal Round of 16 at Jeddeloh
Bundesliga 2 leaders Hertha BSC travel to lower-division SSV Jeddeloh II in the DFB-Pokal second round, without three key players but as strong favourites to reach the last 16 for the fourth consecutive year.
Berlin Food Legend Rogacki Struggles with Staff Three Weeks After Reopening
The iconic Rogacki delicatessen, now a six-month pop-up in Kreuzberg's Markthalle Neun, had to shut its fresh counter due to staff shortages, the second operational closure in three weeks.
Queer Muslim Activist Tugay Sarac to Receive 10,000 Euro Reconciliation Prize
Berlin-based Tugay Sarac, 29, a former Salafist turned queer Islamic community worker at the Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Moschee, will receive the Klaus Jensen Foundation's Versohnungspreis in Trier on 26 November.
Polar Air Could Bring Germany First Hard Frost by Early November
European weather models consistently show a cold polar air mass arriving in Germany around 10 November, potentially pushing night temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.
German Red Cross to Open 40 Million Euro Disaster Hub Near Berlin This Week
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is set to inaugurate the DRK's new population-protection centre in Luckenwalde on Thursday, bringing together disaster relief supplies capable of supporting up to 5,000 people.
Crisis Hotline Volunteers: Every Tear on the Phone Is Valuable
Germany's Telefonseelsorge crisis hotline handles around 1.3 million calls a year; two Potsdam volunteers describe why they give their time and how demand rises every autumn.
Verdict Expected in Berlin Serial Assault Trial Spanning 14 Victims
A Berlin court is expected to deliver its verdict against a 69-year-old suspected of assaulting 14 women he met via dating apps between 2016 and 2022; prosecutors requested 13 years plus preventive detention.
Verdi Signals Possible Strikes at Berlin's BVG in 2027 Wage Talks
Union Verdi has terminated key parts of the BVG collective agreement for more than 16,500 employees and will open new wage negotiations in early 2027, explicitly not ruling out strikes if talks fail.
Berlin Parties Signal They Will Block AfD Vice-President Nominee at New Parliament Opening
When the newly elected Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus holds its constitutive session on 29 October, Die Linke, CDU, Greens, and SPD have all indicated they will not vote for the AfD's vice-president candidate Martin Trefzer.