NEWS FROM BERLIN
4 million kilos of potatoes for free in Berlin
A farm in Saxony, Germany, ended up stuck with a harvest of potatoes that had been ordered by a trader. Due to this year’s unusually high supply that affected the market price of potatoes, selling them was no longer profitable for the trader. The order was financially settled, but the potatoes were left in storage. A collaborative initiative between Ecosia and the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper was organized, with the potatoes being distributed for free. More about the initiative (including a map of Berlin, with places where one can go and get them) is available at https://www.4000-tonnen.de/. Source: dw
“Liberation comes from below”
On January 17, many people demonstrated in Berlin in support of the oppressed people of Iran. In contrast to the demonstration on the next day, however, many here spoke positively about the Shah’s son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the United States and Israel. On January 18, around 1,500 people in Berlin took to the streets to protest against the mullah regime, rejecting at the same time military intervention threats by the US. In the latter rally, there were slogans such as “No Turban, no Crowns”. The speeches were mainly given by women. A representative of the initiative “Socialism from Below” (SvU) affirmed that “Liberation comes from below, not from outside!” Source: nd
Al-Sharaa cancels visit to Berlin—the cancellation should have come from Merz
Ahmed al-Sharaa is not coming to Berlin. The Syrian ruler cancelled his visit, due to the tense domestic political situation and his troops’ military offensive against the Kurds in Syria. Al-Sharaa was appointed transitional president in January 2025 after the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by him, overthrew long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. He has no democratic legitimacy. The allegations against al-Sharaa and HTS are serious and well documented. The cancellation came from Damascus, but it should have come from Berlin. The cancellation of the visit gives the German government some breathing space, and it should use this time to rethink its policy on Syria. Source: bz
Berlin’s Justice Senator calls to Combat Extremism
Berlin’s Justice Senator, Felor Badenberg (CDU), is calling for more personnel and power for security authorities to be able to take stronger actions against extremism. In an interview with rbb24 Inforadio, she said that intelligence services need a bigger investment, with a focus on the digital sphere, necessary to “uncover networks.” As Badenberg explained, security authorities should have tools to “automatically recognize images.” From the Justice Senator’s perspective, the fight against left-wing extremism is being downplayed, because of themes it deals with such as the climate. She states that “there’s no such thing as good extremism.” Source: rbb
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Deutschlandticket should be priority
The German Rail Passenger Association (DBV) has written a press release, where it criticises the government for failing to prioritise the Deutschlandticket policy and recognise its achievements. Currently, 14 million people have a Deutschlandticket subscription. The DBV pointed out that, because annual expenditure for the ticket remains constant at 1.5 billion euros but tax revenues will rise, maintaining the ticket will only get more cost-effective. According to figures from the Federal Finance Ministry, only 0.32% of the federal budget currently goes towards funding the Deutschlandticket. “The ticket promotes the transport transition (Verkehrswende), relieves households and reduces CO2 emissions,” the DBV added, calling for the ticket to be “maintained and improved—independent of political priorities.” Source: iamexpat
SPD wants to stabilise price of basic foods in Germany
The SPD has announced a plan (the Deutschland Korb—Germany’s basket) to stabilise the consumer cost of basic foods produced in Germany. With that policy, certain products, namely basic foods like milk, bread, vegetables and meat products, but also washing powder, soap and other household goods, would be sold at stable prices. A similar policy was introduced in Greece in late 2025, when the government and supermarket chains came to an agreement that supermarkets would reduce the cost of more than 2,000 products by an average of 8%. So far, some supermarket organisations haven’t been so sympathetic to the idea. Source: iamexpat
Do German job centres discriminate against citizens from the EU?
Titled “Wir behandeln alle gleich” (“We treat everyone equally”), a recent working paper by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) has shed light on institutional discrimination informally exercised against EU migrant citizens claiming social security benefits at job centres within the country. For example, the researchers found that, for non-German EU citizens, knowledge of the German language and how the German social system works was “more significant” when it came to claimants being able to “assert their social rights.” Researchers eventually concluded that the current lack of support for non-native German speakers in the unemployment systems raises “moral questions”. Source: iamexpat
Public sector: ver.di wants to expand warning strikes
The trade union ver.di wants to significantly expand their warning strikes in the public sector of the federal states. In the collective bargaining round for the public sector in the federal states, employers did not present a concrete offer for wage increases. The unions reacted with disappointment after the two-day round of talks and announced an expansion of the warning strikes. Regionally affected are university hospitals, road clearance services and some employees in schools and tax offices. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for 11 to 13 February. Around 2.2 million public sector employees are affected by the collective bargaining round. Source: n.tv
