1.
The storm day over large parts of Germany will probably be followed by more - the reason is a rare weather situation
It was a French philosopher who formulated the ultimately cheering sentence in the 18th century: "We should expect the best and the worst from people, just as we do from the weather." blaspheme.
Rather, they were forced to hopefully brace themselves against the storm that raged over large parts of the country with what they hoped to be the best they could.
They had to take care of school children who stayed home because of the storm, clear out trash cans that had been knocked over by the storm and limbs that had been torn off, and reorganize trips that had been canceled due to storm damage.
The hurricane »Ylenia« uprooted trees in Germany, cut power lines and flooded coasts.
And the next storm, it's called "Zeynep", will follow today's ordeal immediately.
My colleague Jörg Römer describes the rather rare weather conditions as »storm tongs«.
New rain and wind riots can probably be expected in large parts of the country by the weekend, which could rage until the beginning of next week.
A stormy double pack swept across Central Europe.
While winter storms moving from west to east usually hit Scandinavia and miss Germany, "strong wind fields" are currently present further south and are sending storm lows "like on a race track" in our direction, according to the colleague.
Judged with scientific precision, today's storm is "not exceptionally strong," writes Jörg.
In China, at the Olympic Winter Games, the most important weather issue at the moment is not masses of rain and hurricanes, but rather the icy cold.
In his report on the shivering athletes, my colleague Jonas Kraus writes that the sports competitions at minus 20 degrees Celsius can also have bad health consequences.
In television pictures of Olympia we often see faces taped over to protect them from frostbite.
A Norwegian coach complained that the venue was "not made for biathlon" because of the extreme cold.
Medically, the assessment of the trainer can be explained soberly.
"Breathing in large amounts of cold air leads to the airways drying out," writes colleague Jonas. Many people reacted to this with "coughing, wheezing and a feeling of tightness in the chest."
Read more here: The dangerous freezing at the Olympics
2.
SPIEGEL research points to a new brutal tactic used by Greek EU border guards - two refugees are said to have been thrown into the sea and drowned
With the knowledge and support of most European countries, Greece has established a practice of brutal border protection in the Aegean: apparently, refugees are to be systematically deterred.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has boasted that he has drastically reduced refugee crossings.
Like many other media users, I have become accustomed to images of frightened refugees on rickety rafts since the Greek Coast Guard began systematically dragging apprehended migrants out to sea and dumping them on inflatable rafts in spring 2020.
DER SPIEGEL has proven the illegal actions, some are recorded on videos.
"The Aegean has turned into a death zone in recent years," says a story that a SPIEGEL team has now researched together with the European partner media "Lighthouse Reports", "Guardian" and "Mediapart".
It is about the circumstances of the death of two refugees who had already arrived on the Greek island of Samos on September 15, 2021.
Sidy Keita, 36, a refugee from Ivory Coast, and Didier Martial Kouamou, 33, from Cameroon wanted to apply for asylum in Europe.
A few days after their arrival on Samos, Keita and Kouamou were found dead.
The current washed their lifeless bodies towards the Turkish coast.
Upon examining Keita's body, medics determined that he had drowned.
Colleagues Şebnem Arsu, Giorgos Christides, Steffen Lüdke, Maximilian Popp, Bernhard Riedmann, Jack Sapoch and Florian Schmitz viewed photos, reconstructed the crossing and spoke to eyewitnesses to clarify the case of Keita and Kouamou.
“The research suggests that Greek border guards dragged Keita and Kouamou out to sea and threw them overboard.
There is no conclusive evidence," they write, "but credible circumstantial evidence."
The colleagues' report is about border guards hiding their faces under balaclavas and Greek officials admitting that coastguards are actually pushing refugees overboard.
The tactic is mainly used in small groups.
Didier Martial Kouamou was buried in his home village of Batchingou in southwest Cameroon.
Sidy Keita is buried in the Doğançay Cemetery in Izmir, a »cemetery of the nameless«.
Finally, does the EU cover up the violence of the Greek officials?
"It's clear what's going to happen now," says my colleague Maximilian Popp, deputy head of SPIEGEL's foreign department.
“EU officials will be outraged and promise clarification.
But nothing will change again.« The Europeans have been accepting the violence at their borders for years.
"Because secretly they are happy that Greeks, Croats, Poles keep the refugees away - no matter by what means."
Read the whole story here: EU border guards are said to have thrown refugees into the sea
3.
Ex-supermodel Linda Evangelista is no longer hiding after a failed procedure - and could become a role model in the beauty debate
Of course, men, and therefore myself, should generally not make big claims when discussing notions of female beauty.
I was nonetheless pleased today at the bravery shown by former supermodel Linda Evangelista.
After an apparently unsuccessful beauty operation around five years ago, she appeared on a magazine cover for the first time.
"I'm tired of hiding," the magazine "People" quotes the 56-year-old Evangelista as saying.
On Instagram, she wrote about one of the photos from the shoot that she is about "freeing myself from shame, learning to love myself again - and hopefully helping others with it".
Evangelista was considered one of the most successful models in the world in the 1990s, she was the face of brands such as L'Oréal and Prada.
Once she said, according to legend, "I don't get up at all for less than $10,000."
That was often imitated, never equalled, a glorious insolence, for which I admired her heartily.
Last September, Evangelista revealed that she was "brutally disfigured" by a beauty treatment.
For many years she loved to be on the catwalk, explains Evangelista now.
"Now I'm scared of meeting someone I know."
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Photo:
John Lamparski/WireImage/Getty Images
Because people, like the weather, sometimes tend to be disgusting, there will surely be a few people who, more or less gleefully, reflect on the fact that glamor characters like Evangelista also have to struggle with accidents, aging and other meanness.
I think it's more correct to recognize a great sign in her appearance, as does my colleague Heike Kleen.
"For Evangelista to return to the spotlight and show off her altered body could be a story about self-discovery," says Heike, who wrote about the allure of the case.
Now the former supermodel has "the chance to become a role model."
Read the full story here: From Supermodel to Role Model
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What else is important today
Biden fears Russian invasion of Ukraine in the next few days:
Russia claims to be recalling troops from the Ukraine border.
But even Joe Biden does not believe Moscow's assurances.
The danger of an invasion is "very high".
Probation for drivers after accident with four dead in Berlin:
The accident had sparked debates far beyond Berlin: An SUV driver had killed four people in the city center when he lost control of the vehicle.
Now the verdict has come.
In Germany, more than 3,000 anti-Semitic crimes were committed in 2021:
the Federal Ministry of the Interior registered a high in anti-Jewish crimes as early as 2020.
In the past year, the number has increased again.
Gender is also polarizing among the younger generation:
the majority of young people interviewed for a study tend to reject the gender language debate, and many are annoyed by the linguistic »stumbling block«.
At the same time, young women in particular see gender as an important signal.
My favorite story today: Super Mom
My colleague Andreas Borcholte recognizes the Cologne entertainer Meltem Kaptan as a discovery at this year's Berlinale.
She won the Silver Bear for Best Acting Performance.
In Andreas Dresen's film »Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush«, Kaptan plays the mother of Murat Kurnaz, a German-Turk who was innocently imprisoned in Guantanamo for five years.
"Life isn't always funny," she said after the award ceremony.
Maybe she could play a German woman in the near future.
And then joked in very fluent – English: »Talking about integration, hahaha.«
Read the whole story about Meltem Kaptan here: Who is the Berlinale winner?
What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today
Lambrecht calls for a higher Bundeswehr budget for deterrence:
Because of the Russian deployment on the Ukrainian border, NATO is strengthening the eastern flank of the alliance.
Defense Minister Lambrecht is now demanding more money for deterrence measures against Russia.
A little "freedom":
Experts consider the new corona freedoms to be justifiable - but warn.
There is no plan if the number of infections increases again.
Children of the apocalypse:
In Berlin, activists turn climate protection into a street fight.
For the survival of mankind, they glue themselves to freeways almost every day.
For this they are spat on and insulted.
The authorities seem powerless.
Which is less important today
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Kamila Valiyeva
Photo: PHIL NOBLE / REUTERS
Ice princess misfortune
:
Kamila Valiyeva
, 15, missed out on an Olympic figure skating medal in the individual competition in Beijing.
The highly favored star skater from Russia made several mistakes and ended up fourth.
After it became known a few days ago that the young athlete had tested positive for doping in December, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas had allowed her to take part in the women's singles anyway.
But the nerve strain was obviously too great.
After the short program on Wednesday, Valiyeva was still leading the field, but today many jumps went wrong, the athlete lay on the ice several times.
Typo of the day
, now corrected: "In the letter, Moksau calls for NATO to stop expanding in Eastern Europe."
Cartoon of the day:
I think you shouldn't overdo it again with the loosening!
And tonight?
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Cabaret artist Hader: "The power of stupidity is all-encompassing"
Photo: Ingo Pertramer / DER SPIEGEL
Inspired by the hype about the Berlinale, could you watch one of the Berlinale films from previous years that are currently being offered in the 3Sat media library.
For example »Wilde Maus«, the directorial debut of the Austrian entertainer Josef Hader.
The film was screened in competition at the Berlin Festival in 2017.
It depicts the comic decline of a highly mediocre and very touching hero.
Of course, he's played by Hader himself.
In his review five years ago, my colleague Oliver Kaever couldn't really relate to the film.
Nevertheless, I find it enchanting – like practically everything that the arch-melancholic and great cabaret artist Josef Hader, who turned 60 a few days ago, has achieved in the course of his winding career.
A lovely evening.
Yours sincerely,
Wolfgang Hoebel
Here you can order the »Situation in the Evening« by e-mail.