NEWS FROM BERLIN
Strike with lentil soup in front of TikTok headquarters
Around 150 content moderators went on strike because they are set to lose their jobs in the TikTok’s “Trust and Safety” department, with artificial intelligence (AI) taking over most of their work in the future. The moderators protect the video platform from hate, violence, and fake news. However, as Kathlen Eggerling (ver.di) has observed, “nothing has changed since the last day of the strike at the end of July.” Management is still trying to get a conciliation committee set up with the works council in Berlin, and a decision is expected at the end of September. Meanwhile, European solidarity is growing around the case. Source: tagesspiegel
Adjustments to new A100 section
Berlin’s Transport Senator Ute Bonde (CDU) has announced plans to relieve traffic congestion in the area around the new A100 Treptow exit. The politician told rbb that a traffic simulation had been carried out before the new section of the motorway went into operation, but the results did not come out as expected. According to the Senator for Transport, attempts will be made to relieve traffic on Elsenstraße and thus also on the Elsenbrücke bridge. Since the opening of the new section of the city highway, there have been long traffic jams, heavy traffic, and confusing situations around the exit and entrance in Treptow—especially for pedestrians. Source: rbb
Görlitzer Park: the data is against the fence
By the end of 2025, all entrances to Görlitzer Park should be able to be closed. However, Vasili Franco (Greens) observes the figures presented by the administration provide arguments against the closing. At the park, entrances are to be closed between 10 p.m./11 p.m. and 6 a.m. According to the figures, from October 2024 to August 2025, 835 crimes were recorded in Görlitzer Park, but only 216 of these occurred during those future closing hours. Besides, when comparing with other neighboring areas, figures are even more striking. In Wrangelkiez, for instance, there were 2,974 crimes during the same period, much more than in the park itself. Source: nd
20,000 Berlin households still without power on Wednesday
A major power outage was caused by a fire at two power poles, noticed at around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of households are still without power. The emergency numbers 110 and 112 are partially down. The police assume that this is a politically motivated attack: according to initial assessments, the outage was probably caused by an arson attack by extremists during the night. The political affiliation of the perpetrators is not yet known. The investigation is being conducted by the state security service. Source: rbb
NEWS FROM GERMANY
AfD aims for absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt
Elections will be held in Saxony-Anhalt in September 2026. According to a survey published on 4 September by Infratest Dimap, the AfD is clearly ahead in the state with 39%. The CDU follows far behind with 27%. At the same time, almost half of those surveyed (47%) would prefer a state government led by the CDU, as has been the case up to now. Ulrich Siegmund, the leading AfD candidate, has set himself the goal of governing the state alone in the state elections in a year’s time. “We want to offer a stable and reliable government,” he told Stern magazine. Source: n-tv
Meissen’s office remains Nazi-free
Meissen (Saxony) has a new mayor, Markus Renner, who is not affiliated with any party. He won a majority of 58.5% of the votes in the first round of voting on Sunday. He prevailed over his two competitors, René Jurisch (30.4%), who was supported by the AfD but is not affiliated with any party, and FDP politician Martin Bahrmann (11.1%). The Saxony Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers the AfD to be a right-wing extremist party. Nevertheless, the party’s support for René Jurisch in Meissen attracted nationwide attention. About 25 years ago, Jurisch was a member of the neo-Nazi party NPD, which is now called Heimat. Source: taz
Number of asylum cases rises significantly
Although fewer refugees are coming to Germany, the number of asylum cases is increasing, according to an analysis from the Deutsche Richterzeitung (DRZ). The DRZ shows that 76,646 new main proceedings had already been filed with the administrative courts by June 30,2025—in 2023, there were 71,885. Sven Rebehn, Federal Executive Director of the German Judges Association, said: “The decline in the number of asylum applications in Germany has not yet had an impact on the judiciary. The number of asylum cases rose significantly in the first half of 2025 because the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees can now process asylum applications more quickly.” Source: taz
Israeli ambassador calls attack in Ulm a terrorist act
Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, has condemned the attack on an Israeli company in Ulm. Several people attacked the building during the night with paint bombs and smoke bombs, broke in, and smashed windows. In Ulm, the state security service and the anti-terrorism center are investigating the background to the crime. According to information from the dpa, they suspect a political motive. That is because the attacked company is reportedly the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit. Five suspects have been arrested. Some of the suspects supposedly entered the building and were later arrested by the police on the upper floor without resistance. Source: swp
