Germany today (Tue 27 Oct): Scam calls disguised as 116117, Kane wins the Ballon d'Or, federal brakes on Berlin's housing socialisation, a Bürgeramt comedy on TV tonight

Hello! Here is the news for Tuesday, 27 October. Today starts with a warning: even a trusted number on your phone screen can be fake. After that, football news from London and a TV tip for tonight.

1. [Politics] The federal government puts the brakes on Berlin's housing "socialisation" plans

• Key points out on 25 Oct — Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) presented the outline of an "Investitionsschutzgesetz" (investment protection act) that would make it far harder to take large housing companies into public ownership (Vergesellschaftung)
• Three hurdles — ① compensation at market value, set by an expert valuation ② paid at once, in cash ③ proof that it is truly necessary, after all other housing measures have been tried
• Aimed at Berlin — The Left Party, winner of the 20 Sept state election (25.7%), wants to socialise the flats of companies with more than 10,000 units, together with the Greens and SPD. Their exploratory paper caps compensation at €16bn
• Not even the coalition agrees — SPD MP Hakan Demir called it "constitutionally slippery ground"; the Left expects it to fail at the Constitutional Court. The cabinet has not adopted anything yet
• What it means for you — If you rent in Berlin, this debate will run for years. Berlin's Left Party decides at its party conference on 31 Oct whether to enter coalition talks (the next chapter of the coalition tug-of-war from our 24 Oct post)

Source: zdfheute.de · tagesspiegel.de · berliner-zeitung.de

2. [Economy] Porsche sells less but earns more again — €1.74bn operating profit in nine months

• Published today, 27 Oct — Porsche AG's operating profit for January–September was €1.74bn, up from just €0.04bn a year ago. The operating margin rose from 0.2% to 6.9%
• Sales down 16% — 178,532 cars delivered (last year: 212,509). Revenue fell 5.9% to €25.28bn
• Why profit is up — Last year restructuring cost about €2.7bn; this year about €0.5bn. Selling its stakes in Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group also brought a €593m gain
• Forecast unchanged — Revenue of €35–36bn and an operating margin of 5.5–7.5% for 2026
• What it means for you — Germany's key car industry is in a "sell less, save more" phase. Keep that in mind when you read the next car-industry job headlines

Source: newsroom.porsche.com · onvista.de

3. [Society] "116117" on your screen? It can still be a scam

• Warning from KV Hessen on 26 Oct — The Hesse association of statutory health insurance doctors says calls from fake doctors, fake on-call services and fake KV staff have risen in recent weeks
• The trick: caller ID spoofing — Scammers fake the number shown on your display, for example 116117. They are after sensitive data such as bank details
• 116117 never asks for bank details — The association stresses that 116117 staff never ask for bank or payment data
• Only 110 and 112 are protected — Only the police (110) and emergency (112) numbers can't be faked; the KV can't block spoofing technically
• What it means for you — Don't talk, just hang up. If you're worried, call 116117 back yourself. Tell older relatives and neighbours who are less at home in German, too

Source: apotheke-adhoc.de (dpa) · wnoz.de

4. [Culture] Joachim Lottmann, "elder statesman" of German pop literature, dies at 70

• He died on Sunday, 25 Oct — Born in Hamburg in 1956 and raised in Bavaria, he spent his last weeks in a hospice in Vienna
• Best known for his 1987 debut "Mai, Juni, Juli" — A key work of German Popliteratur, which earned him the nickname "Nestor" of the genre
• Satire of its time — His novels took on the financial crash ("Der Geldkomplex"), the refugee crisis ("Alles Lüge") and the pandemic ("Sterben war gestern")
• Writing to the end — Since early 2026 he chronicled his illness in an online diary, "Langweiliges Tagebuch" (boring diary)
• What it means for you — Curious how young Germans talked and felt in the 1980s? "Mai, Juni, Juli" is a good way in

Source: web.de (dpa) · gn-online.de

5. [Arts] Jazzfest Berlin opens on Thursday — the 63rd edition

• 29 Oct – 1 Nov — The Berliner Festspiele's jazz festival centres on the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, with concerts also at A-Trane, Quasimodo and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
• 24 acts, 130+ musicians from 25+ countries — Including four world premieres, two European and five German premieres
• Anthony Braxton opens — The US musician marks 50 years since his Jazzfest debut with a septet formed for the occasion
• A 60th birthday to close — The Globe Unity Orchestra, founded in 1966, plays the final concert with Alexander von Schlippenbach. There is also a Japan focus this year
• What it means for you — A free "Community Week" runs in Moabit from 26 Oct to 1 Nov, so you can catch the festival mood without a ticket

Source: berlinerfestspiele.de · europejazz.net

6. [Entertainment] A Berlin citizens' office as comedy stage — "Nine to Five – Das Amt" on TV tonight

• Tonight (27 Oct), 21:45 on ZDFneo — Two episodes a week. All eight episodes (about 30 minutes each) have been in the ZDF Mediathek since 2 Oct
• Set in the fictional "Bürgeramt Tiergarten-Mitte-West" in Berlin — New boss Ronja Keller (Friederike Kempter), fresh from the private sector, tries to shake up a very relaxed team
• Improvised mockumentary — In the style of "Stromberg", with most dialogue improvised
• With "Conny from the Block" Tülin Sezgin — The comedian helped develop the show and plays Hanni, who runs the canteen
• What it means for you — If you've ever fought for a Bürgeramt appointment, you'll laugh. It's also great listening practice for office German

Source: news.de (dpa) · serienjunkies.de

7. [Sports] Bayern's Kane wins the Ballon d'Or — the first Bundesliga player since Sammer in 1996

• Monday night in London — Bayern Munich's Harry Kane (33) won the Ballon d'Or for the world's best player, plus the Gerd Müller Trophy for the top scorer
• First Bundesliga winner in 30 years — The last player from a Bundesliga club to win was Dortmund's Matthias Sammer in 1996
• Straight into the DFB Cup, 2nd round — Free on TV: Dortmund vs. Bremen tonight at 20:45 (ZDF) and Bayern vs. Magdeburg tomorrow at 20:45 (Das Erste). HSV vs. Frankfurt tonight at 18:00 is on RTL

Source: zdfheute.de · bundesliga.com · presseportal.zdf.de

Weather

City	Wed 28	Thu 29	Fri 30
Berlin	🌦️ 14° / 9° little sun, light rain in places	🌦️ 12° / 9° cloudy, light rain in places	⛅ 11° / 7° partly sunny
Hamburg	🌦️ 13° / 9° partly sunny, light rain in places	🌦️ 14° / 11° little sun, light rain in places	☁️ 11° / 7° mostly cloudy
Munich	🌦️ 11° / 6° little sun, light rain	⛅ 11° / 3° partly sunny	⛅ 10° / 2° partly sunny
Cologne	☁️ 14° / 9° mostly cloudy	☁️ 14° / 9° cloudy	☁️ 11° / 6° cloudy
Frankfurt	⛅ 14° / 8° partly sunny	☁️ 13° / 6° mostly cloudy	☁️ 13° / 6° cloudy

Tip: Light rain comes and goes in the north on Wednesday and Thursday, so keep a small umbrella in your bag. On Friday it's 10–13° everywhere, and Munich drops to 2° in the morning — time to dig out your gloves. (Forecasts: wetter.com)

German from today's news

Word	Meaning	Example from the news
die Vergesellschaftung	socialisation (taking private property into public ownership)	Dobrindt will Vergesellschaftungen erschweren.
der Betrugsanruf	scam call	Die KV warnt vor Betrugsanrufen.
auflegen	to hang up	Sagen Sie nichts und legen Sie sofort auf.
das Bürgeramt	citizens' office	Die Serie spielt in einem Berliner Bürgeramt.
der Umsatz	revenue, sales	Der Umsatz sank um 5,9 Prozent.
die Auszeichnung	award	Kane erhält die wichtigste Auszeichnung im Fußball.

Known number or not — if a caller wants your bank details, hang up first. Have a good day! Schönen Dienstag! 🇩🇪