1.
How dangerous the Omikron variant is, nobody knows for the time being - the Germans should take action against the current wave of infections caused by the delta version of the virus all the more resolutely
All SPIEGEL editors-in-chief have great wisdom, otherwise they would not have got the job. My long-time boss Stefan Aust - I'll tell you about the wisdom of the current boss another time - always says in difficult situations: "We'll cross that bridge when we reach it." Think variant of the virus. Aust's wisdom to only discuss the navigability of a bridge when you can take a look at it from the bank probably also applies here. It will probably be a few more days before we know how dangerous the virus mutation actually is. At the moment, people in Germany are well advised to look into the current wave of infections caused by the Delta variant.
Enlarge image
Reopened vaccination center in Zorbau, Saxony-Anhalt
Photo: Jan Woitas / picture alliance / dpa / dpa-Zentralbild
“Forget Omikron!” Is the headline of the comment by my colleague Julia Merlot from the science department.
Julia points out that currently practically all infections in Germany and other European countries are caused by the delta variant.
"Alpha, beta, gamma and other variants basically do not appear (anymore)," she writes.
“It is correct: Omikron could change that.
So to wait before vaccinating would be exactly the wrong reaction. "
Regardless of the occurrence of Omikron, there is no longer enough space in some German intensive care units to provide the best possible care for all patients. Almost 400 people die from and with Covid-19 every day. My colleague Regina Steffens and my colleague Robert Hauspurg report on what is currently really going on in a corona intensive care unit in the latest podcast episode of the SPIEGEL Daily team. The two of them accompanied a senior physician from the Berlin Charité and his helpers in their work - and provide emotional, sometimes harrowing insights into the everyday lives of doctors and nurses.
"If we were able to boost 30 percent of the population within 30 days, that is around one percent every day, there would already be a significant decrease in infection activity after this period," says colleague Julia Merlot, quoting a modeler in her comment.
So it is important to keep vaccinating and to boost what the vaccine suppliers give.
And what about the Omikron variant?
"If things go bad, Omikron will make the way out of the pandemic more difficult," says Julia.
It could be that the variant weakens the effectiveness of the vaccination - but even then, those who have been vaccinated will be better protected from Covid-19 than those who have not been vaccinated.
"So it stays the same: every dose counts."
Listen to the latest podcast from the SPIEGEL Daily team here: Where the worst Covid cases end up
Read the comment on the new variant here: Forget Omikron!
Follow the current events in our Corona news blog.
2.
Actually, US President Biden had nodded the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline - but now the Republicans in the US Congress could stop the project after all
The German politician Otto von Bismarck, who often does not act very morally, has maintained that the healthy driving force of all large states is "state egoism."
The US's own economic interests are certainly one reason why US politics are currently arguing violently again about Germany, Russia and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Republican senators like Ted Cruz or Jim Risch want to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from starting his favorite project.
Enlarge image
The Bowanenkowo gas field in Siberia - it will also fill the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the future
Photo:
ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP
In the summer, US President Joe Biden and Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on a compromise on the pipeline matter.
In principle, Biden waived sanctions for the USA that would hinder the completion of Nord Stream 2.
Among other things, Germany pledged to do everything possible to prevent Russia from using the pipeline as a political weapon.
Even then, the vague approval of the Germans in the US Congress caused some grumbling. But now, as my Washington colleague Roland Nelles reports today, the Republicans are using a powerful lever. "They are using all sorts of procedural tricks to torpedo the adoption of the defense budget, which is planned for the end of the year." The leaders of the Democrats around Joe Biden want to repel the attack by the Republicans, so Roland.
Officially, the US government is concerned not to offend Germany's important ally.
"But there is more to it than that: Joe Biden would have to fear that some of his own party friends could also vote yes to a decision on the sanctions in the Senate."
Congress would stab the President in the back on an important foreign and security issue.
What consequences would a late blockade of Nord Stream 2 have in global politics?
"The fate of the pipeline is now really completely up in the air," says Roland.
“If the US sanctions come, Putin will retaliate in whatever form.
Something bad will surely occur to him. "
Read the full story here: Putin's pipeline is still threatened with extinction
3.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj warns of a coup d'état, the USA of Russian plans of attack - the situation in Ukraine appears threatening
Russia and Ukraine are now enemies, and yet both states have a similar recent history.
"Just like in Russia, after the fall of the Soviet planned economy, a clique of super-rich emerged in Ukraine who combine great market power with political influence," writes my Moscow colleague Christian Esch on the situation in both countries.
"They exert a dominant influence on politics through their own television channels, through political parties, members of parliament, governors and judges."
In Ukraine, its president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of a planned coup on December 1st.
My colleague calls the announcement "bizarre," also because practically no evidence of a planned coup was presented to the public.
From today on, supporters of a former president want to hold an unlimited protest in front of Zelenskyi's official residence.
The conflict between the current president and the oligarchs in the country, above all with the richest Ukrainian of all, Rinat Akhmetov, offers even more cause for unrest.
Enlarge image
Volodymyr Selensky at a press conference in Kiev last week
Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / REUTERS
Akhmetov, who also owns the Shakhtar Donetsk football club, is in a dispute with Zelenskyi, and his television channels are attacking the president. Zelenskyi did not describe Akhmetov as the mastermind behind the alleged coup, but he warned vaguely that the alleged perpetrators wanted to "involve" the businessman in their plans. Akhmetov calls this an "outright lie".
The former television comedian Zelenskyi rules with a "populist program," writes my colleague. For a long time he was smart enough not to attack the oligarchs head-on and wanted to use gentle pressure to convince them to stand up for the common good. But now this policy has failed, and the disappointed President has sharply turned things around. The new goal is called »de-oligarchization«, the state should liberate itself from the system of oligarchs and clans according to the will of those currently in power. "But unlike Vladimir Putin, who subjugated the oligarchs after entering the Kremlin in 2000, Zelensky has neither a coherent concept nor the resources to achieve the same in Ukraine," said my Moscow colleague.
The threat to Ukraine from Russia has grown in the meantime.
NATO is concerned because Russia is deploying tens of thousands of soldiers on the border with Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that there is alleged "evidence" of planned aggression by Moscow.
Read more here: Quarrel with the oligarchs
(Would you like to have the "Situation in the evening" conveniently delivered to your inbox by email? Here you can order the daily briefing as a newsletter.)
What else is important today
CNN suspends star presenter Chris Cuomo:
CNN presenter Chris Cuomo has lost his job for the time being.
He is said to have defended his brother Andrew Cuomo more intensely than previously known - who had resigned as governor of New York after allegations of sexual harassment.
OECD expects a strong upswing in Germany:
Despite delivery bottlenecks and Corona, the German economy is likely to grow by 3.9 percent in the coming year, the experts at the OECD estimate.
But inflation threatens to jeopardize the recovery.
Weather service warns of
low
storm "Daniel":
In the north, gale-force gusts of up to 110 km / h are expected: Low "Daniel" brings uncomfortable weather to Germany.
A slight storm surge is also expected.
Survivors make grave allegations against France and the UK:
27 people died a week ago while trying to cross the Channel from Calais to the UK.
The two survivors of the accident accuse the coast guards of both countries of ignoring calls for help.
RWE tests floating wind power plant off Norway:
offshore wind farms could play an important role in energy supply in the future.
The energy company RWE is now testing a new technology in which the wind turbines are anchored to the seabed with chains.
Dud explodes on construction site - four injured:
An explosion has occurred on Munich's most important train route.
Apparently a WWII bomb went off.
There are several injuries - and an enormous impact on local and long-distance transport.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +
China's dirty business in the Congo:
Chinese corporations rule over copper and cobalt in the Congo - a billion dollar business.
Research by SPIEGEL and its partners now shows: During the takeover, millions flowed to the clan of ex-head of state Kabila.
Trip into reality:
In the name of freedom, the FDP criticized many corona measures of the old government.
Now she is responsible for herself - and has to give up positions from the election campaign.
The broken promise of the social market economy:
Germany's social elevator is broken: Fewer and fewer citizens are able to climb into higher income groups - and a gap is opening up between the generations.
How the police want to stop gunmen:
Attacks by mentally unstable men keep shaking the public.
In North Rhine-Westphalia the police tried a new concept to prevent rampage.
The final report is available to SPIEGEL.
The diesel debacle:
lower vehicle tax?
Increase tax on diesel?
The traffic light had the first dispute after the future Minister of Transport Wissing jumped to the side of motorists.
There are long solutions to the problem.
Which is less important today
Enlarge image
Christian Drosten: Man of the year 2021
Photo:
Fabrizio Bensch / dpa
Idol in a white coat:
Christian Drosten, 49-year-old virologist, is "Man of the Year 2021".
In a survey by Playboy magazine, he was elected to this by no means official position for the second year in a row.
Drosten landed in first place with 26.6 percent of the votes, followed by Biontech founder Uğur Şahin and TV presenter Günther Jauch.
The "Playboy" people also provided an explanation for the choice of doctor;
she has nothing in mind with outward appearances.
For the Germans, Drosten is "the man with the greatest social merits in Germany."
Typo of the day
, corrected in the meantime: "Actually, we currently have a problem primarily with the delta variant of the coronavirus."
Cartoon of the day:
30 million by Christmas
And tonight?
Could you watch a really great concert film with Laura Marling.
A performance by the British singer and songwriter, who I hold dear, can be seen in the 3sat media library.
My colleague Andreas Borcholte once certified their songs with a “dreamy ambience”, “that embeds every heavy thought in a seductive melodious sound”.
The concert film shows her without an audience at a Corona appearance last year, she plays alone with her guitar in the Union Chapel in Islington, in north London.
A lovely evening.
Sincerely
yours, Wolfgang Höbel
Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.
