Here you will find the most important news of the day, the most popular stories from SPIEGEL + and tips for your evening.
The topic of the day: The killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani
Iran's most important general is dead. Qasem Soleimani died in the Iraqi capital Baghdad when a American MQ-9 Reaper drone was rocketed. The killing was on the personal orders of President Donald Trump.
For the regime in Tehran, the assassination of Soleimani is tantamount to a declaration of war, it is a highly dangerous escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran (here you can find a chronology of recent developments).
HO / KHAMENEI.IR/ AFP
"Man without a shadow": Iran's General Soleimani was killed in a US attack
Soleimani, 62 years old, only 1.66 meters tall, was one of the most powerful men in Iran. He was head of the infamous Quds Brigades, an elite Iranian unit, and so Soleimani played a key role in military action in Syria and Iraq (read more about the brigades here).
The United States was considered one of the greatest enemies of the state, as feared as the two Sunni terrorists Osama Bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - both of whom were killed by the United States. Earlier US governments were reluctant to kill the Iranian general.
The Iranian revolutionary leader Khamenei condemned the killing as "crime" and threatened "severe retribution". A United Nations expert estimates that the United States may have violated international law in the attack. Read all reactions here.
Did US President Donald Trump weigh the possible extent of his decision? "Probably not," writes SPIEGEL reporter Christoph Reuter. Read his analysis here.
"This has a larger dimension than the killing of Osama Bin Laden," estimate the members of the Bundestag Bijan Djir-Sarai (FDP) and Omid Nouripour (Greens). You can read the interview here.
"A dramatic, shocking act that the Iranian regime will hardly leave unanswered," analyzes my colleague Maximilian Popp. Trump is heading straight for war. I recommend the SPIEGEL editorial to Trump's failed foreign policy.
News: What you need to know today
- The Saxon police have withdrawn their testimony about a medical intervention after an official was injured on New Year's Eve in Leipzig. Contrary to what was reported in a police report on New Year's Day, an injured police officer did not have to be operated on. A police spokesman told the MDR. The Saxon authorities are investigating the attempted murder.
- In Indonesia, dozens of people have been killed in flooded streets and houses. Floods are raging in the affected regions of the country, the authorities speak of one of the worst natural disasters in decades.
Ed Wray / Getty Images
Flooded residential area in Jakarta: 400,000 people in emergency shelters
- One of the country's largest evacuation operations is underway on the south coast of Australia. The reason is the big fires that threaten to get worse on weekends. A report from an inferno.
- The U.S. government has banned many flavored e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes with cartridges already filled in flavors such as fruit or mint are affected, the regulatory agency FDA said. However, the ban is less strict than originally planned.
Opinion: The most discussed comments, interviews, essays
A decade for new thinkers - or the catastrophe: Chancellor Merkel said that we need courage to think again more than ever. Sounds great, says Thomas Fricke. Now all we have to do is find out what that means.
MICHELE TANTUSSI / AFP
Angela Merkel at her New Year's message
Goodbye, dear reader: after almost a year and a half and more than 60 texts, our author Samer Tannous ends his column - with a kind of declaration of love.
An approximately ten-year-old boy eats chips during a train journey in southern England - and Harald Schmidt wonders: Why is the Internet full of snoring boring videos, the success of which cannot be explained? Here you can see his explanation.
THE MIRROR
Stories: The most read texts at SPIEGEL +
"At some point everyone gets on their knees": Does politics make you sick? In an interview, psychiatrist Christoph Middendorf explains how overworking damages MPs and democracy.
More beautiful, leaner, smarter: We should constantly optimize ourselves. But many are overwhelmed by the constant competition with others and themselves. Read the SPIEGEL cover story here.
Mona Ein and Michael Meissner for SPIEGEL
My evening: The recommendations for your evening
What you could watch I: the new Til Schweiger "crime scene". However, the days when Nick Tschiller shot open the escape route with his bazooka or bludgeoned through Turkish prisons are over. Tschiller now looks after difficult-to-educate children in the Helgoland Bay before he has to play the hero again. He's even struggling now, yes, with feelings. The title of this "crime scene" is so creative, "Tschill Out", but "crime scene" critic Christian Buß thinks you can look at it. He gives six out of ten points. You can read his review here.
Christine Schroeder / NDR
Gümmer (Fahri Yardim) with punk singer Tom at Tschiller in the Helgoland Bay
What you could look at II: Let's not kid ourselves, the upcoming weekend will be a long, dark, cold. You need enough material to numb the guilty conscience because of the good intentions that have already been screwed up. So a film recommendation: "Das Boot". In its new edition, which first ran on Sky, on Friday evening now on ZDF. The modern version is also a contemporary, daring and visually stunning war epic, well done, as can be read in this quick check.
I wish you a nice finishing time. Have a good start to the first weekend of the year.
warmly
Maria Stöhr from the Daily team
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