☀️ Guten Morgen, Berlin!
High: 16.5°C | Low: 7.5°C
Chance of Rain: 5%
Sunrise: 7:25 AM | Sunset: 4:16 PM
Here’s your quick update on what’s happening around the city on Thursday, November 13 - from urgent alerts to stories in the subreddit. Today we went through 180 sources so you don't have to.
💌 Know someone who’d love this? Share the email or send them the URL.
Got feedback? Write us at news@berlindaily.org. Let's dive in.
🇩🇪 What the CDU and SPD want to spend the federal government's special fund on
Berlin’s CDU and SPD agreed on a plan to use federal special-fund money. The city expects 5.2 billion euros over twelve years, flowing from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2036. Earmarks include 700 million for the climate adaptation law, 300 million for water infrastructure, 680 million for trains, 170 million for bridges, and other civic upgrades. (rbb24)
Berlin’s plan sits within a national investment push. Germany created a 500 billion euro special fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality after amending the constitution in March 2025. The law sets aside 100 billion euros for Länder and municipalities, with expenditures approved over twelve years and financed by federal borrowing. (Bundesfinanzministerium)
Berlin’s list targets heat resilience and long-delayed maintenance, but effectiveness will hinge on delivery and how much reaches local projects.
🇬🇧 Google Announces €5.5 Billion Investment in Germany, including AI Infrastructure, through 2029
Google announced a €5.5 billion investment in Germany for 2026 to 2029. The plan adds a new data center in Dietzenbach, expands the Hanau campus, and grows offices in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. Google will recover heat to warm over 2,000 households and extend its Engie clean-power deal. It projects €1.016 billion GDP and about 9,000 jobs yearly. (Google Cloud Press Corner)
Power needs are surging with AI. McKinsey estimates European data center electricity use could grow from 62 terawatt hours to more than 150 terawatt hours by 2030, lifting demand from about 10 gigawatts to 35 gigawatts and roughly 5 percent of Europe’s consumption. That raises grid and siting pressures for hyperscalers. (Reuters)
Google’s 24/7 carbon-free energy approach aims to match every hour of electricity use with carbon-free supply. The United Nations’ 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact frames this as a procurement and policy model to drive grid decarbonization, moving beyond annual certificate matching toward real-time alignment across technologies, markets and locations. (United Nations)
🇬🇧 Personalization in Travel: How Berlin Airport Turns Data and AI Into Real Passenger Value
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is transforming the passenger experience by focusing on personalization and "digital handholding." Led by Christian Draeger, the strategy centers the entire passenger journey, not just the airport itself. This is achieved through physical personalization, with two terminals designed for different travelers: one for comfort (T1) and one for speed (T2). BER also improved security with CT scanners to reduce friction.
A key innovation is "Berry," an AI virtual assistant that replaced the call center, cutting costs and improving satisfaction. BER uses AI for operations, like aircraft turnarounds, and plans to expand Berry to contextual chat. The ultimate goal is a seamless, stress-free journey.(CX Today)
Traffic is climbing. BER handled 2.66 million passengers in October 2025, around 100,000 more than a year earlier. The autumn holidays produced the airport’s busiest day since opening, with 102,059 travelers on 17 October. Such peaks heighten pressure on queues, staffing, and information flows that personalization and automation aim to ease. (BER Airport)
⚡ Quick Hits
🇬🇧 Paris to Berlin Night Train Service Set to Boost Tourism with Affordable, Eco-friendly Travel | The European Sleeper service (overnight train operator) launches March 26, 2026, running three times weekly between Paris and Berlin. Fares start at €59, offering an affordable, lower-carbon alternative to flying.
🇬🇧 Rent cap extended until 2029 | Re-let rents cannot exceed local comparative rent by more than 10%. Conversion of rental buildings with five or more units is banned until the end of 2030 to curb displacement.
🇩🇪 Attacks on Berlin clinics? Now there are first clues | Police received seven tips about explosions and arson targeting cancer-treatment areas at Charité (university hospital) and Vivantes (municipal hospital). State security and explosives experts are investigating possible politically motivated attacks.
🇩🇪 "Homelessness is becoming more female" | Berlin houses over 53,000 homeless people (up from 47,000 in 2024). The system is strained and officials warn numbers could reach 100,000 by 2028.
🇬🇧 Behind Closed Doors: Queer domestic violence | Police recorded 256,942 domestic violence victims in 2024, a 3.7% rise. The new Violence Assistance Act (Gewalthilfegesetz) omits queer-specific data and protections, leaving queer survivors reliant on limited local services.
🇩🇪 Berlin's Senator of the Interior Iris Spranger: "Pyrotechnics ban areas will be set up" | Spranger says Berlin will deploy about 4,200 police and 1,500 firefighters for New Year’s Eve. The city is budgeting €1.6M for drone defence (2026/27).
📅 Events Today
🎟️ Berlin Freedom Week | November 08 - 15, 2025 | Varies | A week of talks, films, tours, workshops, exhibitions, and family activities reframes freedom. Speakers, activists, and historians debate protests, digital rights, and historical memories. Families make candles for freedom.
🎟️ Zeughausmesse | November 13 - 16, 2025 | €10 (Free for visitors under 18) | Curated designers show experimental handmade hats, furniture, bags, jewelry and lamps. Visitors touch and test objects. Shoppers meet artists and buy high-quality craft that blends beauty and use.
🎟️ Medieval Christmas Market | November 13 to December 22, 2025 | Tuesday to Friday €3, concessions €1.50, Saturday and Sunday €4, concessions €2, Monday free | A medieval market showcases blacksmiths, potters and woodcarvers selling handmade gifts. Jugglers and acrobats roam amid torchlight. You sip hot mead (or try archery).
💬 What Berliners Are Talking About
🗣️ If you’re renting in Berlin - join a mieterverein, please and thank you | Berlin renters strongly recommend joining a Mieterverein to reclaim overpaid rent.
🗣️ Need advice: My wife was fired during vacation — now we have a court date (Berlin) | Community urges getting a lawyer, contacting Agentur für Arbeit, and preparing for settlement.
🗣️ bars that accept reservations for max 12 people? | Users recommend Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, and Neukölln bars for small-group, late-night reservations.
🤸 Word of the Day: Purzelbaum | Literal: Tumble-tree | Meaning: A somersault. | Example: Die Kinder schlagen im Park Purzelbäume. (The children are doing tumble-trees in the park.)
👋 That's a wrap! Thanks for reading Berlin News Daily!
Subscribe for free to get tomorrow’s news in your inbox.