1.
A 16-year-old Syrian arrested in Hagen was preparing an attack on the local synagogue - the NRW Minister of the Interior sees an "Islamistically motivated threat situation"
In the Westphalian city of
Hagen
, the security authorities prevented an apparently prepared bomb attack on the synagogue there. A 16-year-old Syrian is suspected of having been arrested. According to SPIEGEL information, the extremist is said to have been in a monitored communication with a chat partner about an
bomb attack on a synagogue
have spoken.
In addition to the youth, the police arrested three other men in an apartment near Hagen Central Station.
The street in which the apartment is located has been blocked.
The police searched a suspicious vehicle parked there.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) said there was a "serious extremist threat".
The reason for his possible plan is said to have been the beginning of the highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur.
Enlarge image
Police officers in front of the synagogue in Hagen
Photo: Markus Klümper / dpa
Jewish and non-Jewish people in Germany would have to understand "that after the Shoah it is not enough to have a few security cameras and thick doors ready so that things don't repeat themselves", the Jewish political scientist and writer Max Czollek said in 2019 after the attack on the
synagogue in Halle
written in SPIEGEL. At that time, a right-wing extremist shot two people and injured two others near the synagogue. A "different society" was needed, Czollek said at the time. Above all, an alert society is required. I find it shameful that synagogues and Jewish educational institutions in Germany have to be guarded day and night to protect them from attacks. It is definitely better than playing down or ignoring the danger posed by anti-Semites with right-wing extremist and Islamist motives.
My colleague Roman Lehberger writes in his report on the thwarted alleged attack that the police have been protecting the Hagen synagogue with a large contingent since yesterday evening.
A planned service and other celebrations have been canceled.
"The perpetrator apparently had no connection to a local radical scene, at least he was not known to the state security officials," says Roman.
"As is so often the case, there is much to be said for self-radicalization on the computer." Further investigations will show how concrete the arrested man's plans were.
"The fact is that it was once again a foreign secret service that warned the German security authorities," said the colleague.
"That shows how important cooperation is on an international level."
Read more here: Unsuccessful attack on synagogue in Hagen
2.
With the wage agreement between the railways and the train drivers, the strikes are over for the time being - but another union is already announcing a possible labor dispute
In three rounds of strikes, the
train drivers'
union
GDL
paralyzed large parts of German rail traffic over the past few weeks.
Today
Deutsche Bahn
and the
GDL
announced that they have agreed on a
new collective
agreement.
Among other things, depending on the wage group, employees receive a corona bonus of up to 600 euros.
On March 1, 2022, another corona premium of 400 euros is to be paid.
The Prime Ministers of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony,
Daniel Günther (CDU)
and
Stephan Weil (SPD), were
also involved
in the negotiations between the railways and trade unionists
.
Günther spoke of good news for all Deutsche Bahn customers.
"In the end, there is now a result that is supported by everyone involved." Weil said that the participation of outsiders was probably useful in view of the initially rather muddled situation.
Enlarge image
Photo: Filip Singer / EPA-EFE
Unfortunately, the wage conflict with the agreement between the railways and GDL may not have ended. The larger
rail union EVG
announced today that it will, in turn, submit a catalog of demands to the company. "We are preparing for negotiations, but also for measures including industrial action," said EVG boss Klaus-Dieter Hommel.
Among the competing unions there is apparently a dispute over who the new contracts negotiated by the GDL should apply to. The GDL officially negotiated for train drivers and train attendants. But she also called for general collective agreements for employees in the workshops and in the infrastructure as well as for trainees. As a rail customer who often takes trains, I find the gossip about the train, which many people do, generally rather ridiculous and I agree with the diagnosis of the entertainer Harald Schmidt: “Regardless of whether it's stress in the family, loss of job or declining sexual performance - it's always that Railway fault. "
But maybe one should be really annoyed by the hiccups among the rail unions.
And because of the behavior of the CEOs, the railway is "far from being back on track," as my colleague Gerald Traufetter writes.
Read more here: Why rail customers have to expect new strikes
3.
Scientists have probably recognized the reaction that causes cells of corona infected people to age prematurely - this could help in the development of drugs
The mechanism that medical
professionals
call
cellular senescence
is actually
a protective program for the human body: damaged, infected or old cells are put into a kind of retirement and no longer divide. This prevents, for example, cancer from developing through uncontrolled multiplication of cells.
Now, a study published in the renowned specialist magazine »Nature«, which my colleague Julia Merlot reports on, shows how the avalanche-like inflammatory reaction in many
patients infected
with the
coronavirus
triggers a kind of inflammatory storm in the body.
This could also offer a possible explanation for why the risk of becoming seriously ill increases with age and certain pre-existing conditions.
According to the findings of the experts, the disaster begins with the infection in the upper respiratory tract.
In the end, there is usually pneumonia that is typical of severe Covid 19 courses.
Enlarge image
Graphic of a Sars-CoV-2 particle
Photo: Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty Images
The scientists hope that with their work they have found a new target for therapy. Four active substances that attack senescent cells, so-called senolytics, have already been tested in animal models. Interrupting the inflammatory overreaction early with specific active ingredients has "great potential" in the treatment of Covid-19 patients, according to a press release from the Molecular Cancer Research Center of the Charité in Berlin.
The best protection against a serious illness after an infection with the coronavirus remains
vaccination.
"Experts understand better and better how the coronavirus can trigger an excessive immune reaction and thus lead to very serious or even fatal courses," says Julia.
In contrast to many other countries, »in Germany we fortunately have the opportunity to protect ourselves against this with vaccinations«.
Read the full story here: Coronavirus causes cells to age prematurely
(Would you like to receive the »Situation in the evening« conveniently by email in your inbox? Here you can order the daily briefing as a newsletter.)
What else is important today
Bankruptcy in the first ballot despite a comfortable majority:
Reiner Haseloff's election as Prime Minister in Saxony-Anhalt was bumpy.
There are rumors about who was trying to kill him.
The focus is on two groups.
Australia's submarine deal reminds France's foreign minister of Trump:
Following the new security pact for the Indo-Pacific region, Australia has terminated a treaty with France.
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the decision "brutal".
Britain rejected the criticism.
Leasing customers are not entitled to compensation for the diesel scandal:
because he first leased an Audi with a scandal engine and then bought it, a man in Baden-Württemberg wanted his money back.
The Federal Court of Justice rejected that.
This does not end the process.
Turkish public prosecutor's office demands acquittal for Mesale Tolu:
The journalist was in
custody for
seven months for "terror propaganda" and membership in a terrorist organization.
Now the public prosecutor's office has requested that all charges against Tolu be dropped.
My favorite story today: words as weapons
Enlarge image
Leïla Slimani
Photo: Christophe Gateau / dpa
My colleague Volker Weidermann reports in his very special, admirably light tone about a speech by a great, clever writer, a new movie and the reading of a highly stubborn and sometimes eccentric author. At first you think as you read: What on earth does the Moroccan-born Frenchwoman
Leïla Slimani,
who
spoke
as the opening speaker at the
Berlin Literature Festival
, have to do with Christoph Stölzl's adaptation of Stefan Zweig's »Schachnovelle« and with a show by Swiss Christian Kracht?
But then my SPIEGEL colleague succeeds very elegantly in conjuring up the power of literature and its value in describing our present.
My favorite phrase is: "Books are a danger to all oppressors and conjurers of the theory that there is only one truth in the world."
Read the full story here: Words as Weapons
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +
Why Kim Jong Un is now firing short-range missiles from a train for the first time:
North Korea is testing missiles - and South Korea is responding by presenting new weapons.
Rapprochement is over and the arms race on the Korean peninsula has begun.
Donald Trump was not innocent of that.
"Are the Germans a nation of financial tricksters, Mr. Schick?"
Even before the search in Olaf Scholz's ministry, Germany was considered a paradise for money laundering and tax evasion.
The financial expert Gerhard Schick explains why this is - and what politics should change quickly.
These tricks were used to break into the Green Vault:
The Berlin Rammo clan is suspected of having stolen the Dresden jewelery treasure.
Investigators have gathered how the perpetrators entered the museum, which should be as safe as Fort Knox.
"Otherwise I will become space junk":
Astronaut Matthias Maurer will soon be embarking on a long-term
mission into space
.
Here he talks about the flight in the brand new SpaceX capsule from Elon Musk, hygiene in space and the dangers of its outdoor use.
Which is less important today
Hipster
:
Elton John,
74, has to postpone various concert dates in Europe to 2023 due to an upcoming operation.
The British pop star, who enjoys a great reputation among his colleagues as a helper in need and a great carer, apparently fell in late summer.
According to his own statement, he is in severe pain and has to undergo a hip operation.
Despite physiotherapy and medical help, he had "increasing difficulty moving me."
Typo of the day
, corrected in the meantime: "You can find an overview of all German biosphere reserves here."
Cartoon of the day:
instant program
And tonight?
Could you go to the cinema again and
watch
the documentary
"Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse"
.
He shows an exceptional teacher who makes integration a success and shows his young protégés how it works to learn and live together.
My colleague Hannah Pilarczyk calls director Maria Speth's film "silly and rousing".
What I found particularly impressive in Hannah's meeting was the description of how Mr. Bachmann proceeds in moments of crisis: "If nothing works, there is still the music," it says.
»Drums, guitar and bass are always available in the classroom, as well as sofas and a kettle for tea.
Under the guidance of the old rock fan Bachmann, the students pick up the instruments - which songs they play cannot be revealed here.
Just this much: The selection is one of the funniest things about this film, which is already full of humor. «(Here is the full review.)
A lovely evening.
Sincerely
yours, Wolfgang Höbel
Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.
