News from Berlin
The Barn barista allegedly harassed customer
An Instagram post is putting pressure on the Berlin-based café chain The Barn. Poetry slammer Kevin-Ahn Kwang Soo-Groen recounts a visit on May 1st to the branch at Hackescher Markt, where he was criticized by a barista for wearing a necklace featuring Palestine. The barista introduced himself as a former IDF soldier and claimed to have witnessed atrocities committed by Hamas. Soo-Groen concluded his post by stating that he does not have high hopes for an official complaint. However, the coffee chain has already answered to the post, stating it takes the matter very seriously. There is “zero tolerance for racism.” Source: morgenpost
News from Germany
SPD Wins in Barnim – AfD, in Zehdenick
In a runoff election for District Administrator in Barnim, Brandenburg, Daniel Kurth (SPD) secured a clear victory with 66.1% of the vote against his AfD challenger, Matthäus Mikolaszek (33.9%). In April, during its first round of voting, none of the then four candidates had secured the necessary majority of votes. In another town in Brandenburg, Zehdenick, an AfD candidate has been elected as the full-time mayor. René Stadtkewitz prevailed with 58.4% of the vote. He thus becomes the first directly elected AfD mayor in Brandenburg (Arne Raue in Jüterbog, also from AfD, was an independent candidate at the time of his election, in 2011). Source: taz
Gaza protest at Allianz Group annual meeting
Activists from the No Alliance with Genocide campaign disrupted Allianz’s annual general meeting in Munich on May 7. “You are financing billions that enable the genocide in Gaza,” a protester shouted inside the Olympiahalle. The protest was accompanied by a rally held outside the venue. The campaign called upon Allianz to completely withdraw from any business activities that fuel the war in Gaza and the climate crisis. The company is investing the equivalent of 426 million euros in 15 arms manufacturers that supply Israel, activist Line Niedeggen told nd. These include Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, Leonardo, and Rheinmetall, among others. Source: nd
One in four 18-year-old men disregards the Bundeswehr
Of the 18-year-old men contacted by the Bundeswehr so far as part of the new military service scheme, just under three-quarters (72%) have completed the questionnaire sent to them. Slightly more than one in four young men (28%) have failed to respond to the Bundeswehr’s letter—even though men born in 2008 or later are legally obliged to do so—according to reports by newspapers belonging to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) media group, citing sources within the Bundeswehr. On May 8, students across the country took to the streets to protest against military service. Source: taz
Protest camp barred from site of deportations
A protest camp against Israel, originally planned for Hamburg’s Moorweide, was rescheduled to take place in Sternschanzenpark on May 9. “Taking into account the specific historical local context, the Assembly Authority has prohibited the use of the Moorweide site,” a police spokesperson announced. During World War II, the green space near Dammtor Station served as a gathering point for thousands of Jewish Hamburgers who were subsequently deported and murdered by the National Socialists. The organizer of the demonstration, the group Thawra Hamburg, has been monitored since 2025 by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, on the grounds of extremism. Source: msn
Spending money on the issue
When it comes to weaponry, the Federal Government in Germany does not suffer from a lack of funds. Rather, it operates under the motto of “spending money on the issue.” Following the US decision to cancel the deployment of Tomahawk missiles in Germany, Berlin intends to approach the US regarding the purchase of the long-range cruise missiles, according to a Financial Times report on May 10. The newspaper cited a German government insider suggesting that Berlin might even be willing to pay a financial premium. Fittingly, Germany’s largest arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall, announced: “Later this year, we will begin manufacturing cruise missiles for deep-strike operations at our facility in Unterlüß.” Source: jw
One in nine internet users in Germany fell victim to cybercrime last year
According to the latest Cybersecurity Monitor (CyMon), published by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the Police Crime Prevention Council of the Federal States and the Federation (ProPK), around 11% of internet users in the country fell victim to cybercrime in 2025. The study is based on a representative survey of 3,060 individuals aged 16 and older, interviewed in January 2026. The most prevalent offense is online shopping fraud (22% of the cases). Despite the high rate of victimization, many consumers remain inadequately protected in the digital realm: more than half of the respondents (55%) consider their personal risk of falling victim to cybercrime to be low or non-existent. Source: n-tv
