1.
Lots of little lockdowns
Germany is discussing whether corona rapid
tests
should cost something in the future in
order to get vaccinations going: Those who can no longer be tested for free for the evening at the cinema may still pick up their syringe after all, that's the calculation.
Today SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz joined those who are in favor.
(Another possibility:
vaccination bonuses
. My colleague Stefan Kaiser advocates them. Or you can woo the hesitant even more - our columnist Margarete Stokowski promotes this.)
Enlarge image
Photo: Gregor Fischer / picture alliance / dpa
Meanwhile, Great Britain wants to massively expand its test offers:
Boris Johnson's government has announced daily tests as an alternative to self-isolation - because the country has had chaotic weeks. Apparently, 1.7 million Brits were in self-isolation or quarantine at the same time - many small lockdowns that added up: buses and trains failed, shelves in supermarkets remained empty. Petrol stations had to close temporarily, garbage cans remained empty. More than a million children could not go to school - every seventh school child was missing.
A quick pan back to Germany:
The Robert Koch Institute sees so-called lollipop tests as a good opportunity for broad corona testing of children
.
The Lolli method could be "a basis for a widely applicable and systematic test concept in day-care centers and schools."
You can find the latest corona news here: The pandemic update
2.
The explosion
At least one dead, 16 injured, four of them seriously, plus four missing: a devastating explosion occurred in Leverkusen's Chempark around 9:30 this morning.
It could still be measured at a distance of 40 kilometers.
Dark billows of smoke can be seen on videos.
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Black smoke over the Chempark Leverkusen
Photo: ROBERTO PFEIL / AFP
According to the operating company Currenta, the explosion occurred in the tank farm of the disposal center in the Bürrig district.
Then it burned there, the emergency services put out the fire around noon.
According to Chempark manager Lars Friedrich, three tanks with organic solvents were affected.
They are all "completely or partially destroyed".
A thick cloud of smoke formed that stretched far over the city.
The residents should stay inside and close the windows and doors.
Motorways have been closed.
The exact cause was still unclear until early evening.
Read what is known so far here.
3.
CH Beck for good?
The legal specialist publisher CH Beck has surprisingly announced that it will rename several standard works from its publishing program, which are fixed terms for every law student, every lawyer and every judge:
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Photo: Bonn-Sequence / Imago Images
The »Palandt«, the 3216-page short commentary on the German Civil Code, becomes the »Grüneberg«.
The thick red collection »Schönfelder« with laws on civil and criminal law will in future be published by Munich civil law professor Mathias Habersack.
The multi-volume commentary on the Basic Law "Maunz / Dürig" will in future be called "Dürig / Herzog / Scholz".
In the case of a loose-leaf comment on the Income Tax Act, the eponymous name »Blümich« will be replaced by that of the current editors Peter Brandis and Bernd Heuermann.
The publisher is obviously not driven by the idea of an over-motivated advertiser who wants to transfer the rebranding feat of the Raider / Twix chocolate bar ("nothing else will change") to the legal system.
Rather, there seems to be something like a late realization that it could be problematic to continue to label the most important standard works with the names of prominent National Socialists.
Otto Palandt, for example, as President of the Reich Judicial Examination Office, was one of the most important lawyers of the “Third Reich”.
The other future ex-title-characters also played active roles during the Nazi era.
The question remains: why only now?
"In times of increasing anti-Semitism, it is important to me to set an example through our measures," said the publisher.
Read more here: CH Beck renames standard legal works
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What else is important today
Ministry of Health confirms plans for stricter entry test rules:
Jens Spahn has confirmed that he wants to expand the corona test requirement for travelers.
Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz is meanwhile questioning the free rapid tests.
"What the next generation believes depends on who writes the story":
The storming of the US Capitol on January 6 is to be clarified in a committee of inquiry from today - but the Republicans are boycotting the body.
Can the work-up still succeed?
The London district is said to have covered up 700 cases of child abuse:
Violence and sexual assault are said to have occurred in several children's homes in the London district of Lambeth in the 1960s.
The authorities apparently knew about it but did nothing.
Isabell Werth's dressage team wins second German gold medal:
First the canoeist Ricarda Funk, now the riders around Isabell Werth: On the fourth day of the competition in Tokyo, the German Olympic team won gold for the second time.
Werth can now write history.
But now you should really update:
A week after iOS 14.7, the iPhone manufacturer has already pushed an update for the update.
The list of security holes it closes is short but important.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +
How the coup could come about - and what is now imminent:
The young Tunisian democracy has reached a dead end.
The Islamic conservative Ennahda party has run down, the president is taking power.
A risky step, but one that raises hopes.
Biden wants to plug tax loophole for the dead:
So far, it has been worthwhile in the USA to take investment profits with you to the grave.
The US president now wants to change that and is provoking controversy in Congress.
After all, it's about $ 43 billion a year.
"His intelligence knows no bounds":
Friedrich Wendt learns national anthems or the number pi by heart at a breathtaking pace.
At first his parents didn't even notice that their son was gifted.
Soon the boy will attend the advanced math course.
Which is less important today
Olympic ring:
The footballer
Max Kruse
, 33, had to wait longer for the answer from his girlfriend Dilara after his TV marriage proposal on Sunday than he had hoped, as he has now said in the Olympic podcast of the sports show.
His knee-fall from Yokohama was not broadcast live because the ARD switched directly to swimming.
"So it must have taken 20, 25 minutes to get through to her." After all, the courted woman answered "Yes".
Typo of the day
, corrected in the meantime: "In an East Asian country, people often describe themselves as a 'homogeneous society' in which everyone is similarly relative."
Cartoon of the day:
Laschet's climate policy
And tonight?
Enlarge image
Photo: DER SPIEGEL
Could you watch the SPIEGEL political talk "top talk" between my colleague Markus Feldenkirchen and the Green politician Ricarda Lang.
Lang criticizes her party leader Annalena Baerbock for the "N-word": "None of us should pronounce this word because it reproduces racism and because it hurts people." You can find the entire program here from around 8 pm.
A lovely evening.
Sincerely
yours, Oliver Trenkamp
Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.
