national task
Renunciation
is this year's theme, not only because of
inflation
, but also because of the
expected energy shortages
.
One reason is the serious mistake made by politicians in making Germany deeply
dependent on Russian gas
.
But that shouldn't be a reason not to support politicians in getting through the crisis.
This is a task for all citizens, a national task, a European task.
Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel, the main people responsible for this dependency, are no longer in office.
Now we are in demand as Chancellor of our own lives
, and in sum as Deputy Chancellor of this country.
Our renunciation, especially our attention to the superfluous consumption of energy, helps to get out of dependence.
Federal Economics Minister
Robert Habeck
has begun to swear the population to this task.
Olaf Scholz
should not be inferior there.
Above all, the authority of a Federal Chancellor is needed here.
And Scholz, by the way, will not want it to be said one day that Habeck led this country through the crisis.
Scholz is taking part in a meeting of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian cabinet in Berlin today.
He then appears at a press conference with Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig.
Russia's supply policy and Habeck's austerity plan: that's why gas is probably getting even more expensive
You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
That happened on Tuesday night:
civilians were injured and killed in eastern Ukraine.
President Zelenskyj already sees his country as part of the European value system.
And: Moscow apparently wants to summon the EU ambassador.
The overview.
According to Scholz, Putin is pursuing "policies aimed at dissolving NATO and the EU":
The Russian President seems to be afraid that the "spark of democracy" could spread to his country: Olaf Scholz commented on warmonger Vladimir Putin - and to discuss arms shipments.
Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner is auctioning off his medal for $103.5 million:
Journalist Dmitry Muratov received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.
Now his medal is changing hands for $103.5 million.
The proceeds will benefit refugee Ukrainian children.
In the footsteps of Kremlin GmbH:
International research shows: Businessmen close to the Russian President are linked by a mysterious structure called LLCInvest.
Is it a joint treasury of Putin's clan?
"Putin's war endangers the business model of the oligarchs":
Elisabeth Schimpfössl interviewed 80 rich Russians and researched what makes them tick.
Here the sociologist reports how the Ukraine war is affecting oligarchs - and why they feel superior to Germans.
»A high blood toll«
Conversation with a leading health politician who has looked around in
Ukraine
's hospitals: The modern protective vests, he says, are effective.
Unlike in earlier wars, the soldiers rarely suffer fatal upper body injuries.
The problem is the arms and legs.
There are a lot of amputations, many of which could be prevented under better conditions.
In the blessing of protective vests,
he says,
there is unfortunately also a curse
.
The spine would sometimes break on the hard edges when the soldiers are thrown through the air and hit hard.
The result is paraplegia.
He was told of 100 to 200 deaths a day, plus 400 to 500 seriously injured who would never be able to fight again.
"A high blood toll," said the health politician.
This makes him pessimistic about the outcome of the war.
Ukraine can hardly compensate for such losses.
Appropriate: Today, German peace and conflict research institutes are presenting the
2022 Peace Report
in Berlin .
Contrary to what the name suggests, the main focus will be on the war.
Report from the reawakened Kyiv: "We hope that we will not become like Syria"
soft politics
The “European Development Days”
begin today in Brussels .
In case you've never heard of it, I feel the same way.
Consequences of asymmetric attention, especially among journalists, with a focus on crises, on power struggles.
The soft, patient policy
is easily lost.
The European Development Days are part of a program with which European institutions promote "intelligent investments in high-quality infrastructure", for example in the areas of climate, education and transport.
All according to European standards.
This might make the world a better place, and of course one hopes that Europe's influence will grow in this way.
Even soft politics usually has a tangible aspect.
The new SPIEGEL quiz
I celebrated one of the greatest triumphs of my life playing the quiz game Trivial Pursuit.
All the other participants in this round found the question of who became the Olympic champion in luge in doubles in Sarajevo in 1984 absurd.
Who knows?
Me, I said: Franz Wembacher and Hans Stanggassinger.
(It could also be that the question was who were the toughest participants in the Sarajevo games. I don't remember exactly. The answer would be the same.) Unfortunately, I've spent a lot of time in my life doing stupid and completely unnecessary things to accumulate knowledge.
Luckily there is now and then a quiz where you can unload this knowledge, now also on the homepage of
SPIEGEL.de.
There you will find a new general knowledge quiz every day
.
Seven questions, seven days a week.
The quiz covers the most important subject areas of social and political events: politics, economy, science, culture, sports, history and entertainment.
Above all, of course, it is about knowledge that is not superfluous.
A new quiz appears every midnight.
If you want to continue playing and access your statistics, please log in to SPIEGEL.de.
If you already have a SPIEGEL+ subscription or an account for the comments section, you can log in with your access data or register free of charge.
Here is the current quiz of the day.
The starting question today:
Where will the 2024 Summer Olympics take place?
Winner of the day...
... is
Annika Büsing
, definitely, without any doubt.
Her little novel »Nordstadt« is this summer's book.
A young lifeguard falls in love with a limping boy who has neither enough money for the cinema nor any prospects.
The two have a hard time finding each other: "In the history of couples who want to sleep together, we're the ones with the most failed attempts." What a beautiful sentence.
This delicate irony runs throughout the book.
Büsing is a teacher, you can tell by her virtuoso handling of youth jargon.
In addition, she is simply an excellent writer who invented an incredibly touching pair of lovers, Boris and the lifeguard.
All in all the book is 246 pages because you have to read it twice, it's that nice.
Or three times: 369 pages.
The latest news from the night
Nationwide seven-day incidence rises to 458.5:
The Robert Koch Institute reports 123,097 new infections within 24 hours - 17,257 more than a week ago.
Meanwhile, several federal states are apparently putting pressure on the government to allow stricter measures.
Radical Islamists kill 132 civilians in Mali:
According to the government, members of an Islamist militia killed more than 130 people in several attacks in Mali.
Terrorist groups have been plaguing the country for years.
One dead in a storm in Bavaria:
The train service in the region has been stopped, the Moosburg area has no electricity – a storm has caused serious damage in Bavaria.
One person died, the information on the number of injured varies.
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
How unworthy can a professor be?
Medical professor Sucharit Bhakdi spreads conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic hate speech.
The University of Mainz wants to withdraw his title because of this.
But that's not so easy.
Every four minutes someone interrupts our work.
Three full working days are lost each month due to interruptions: our jobs are becoming increasingly fragmented.
And then there are the superfluous meetings.
Which helps to get things done in peace.
What lecture hall doodles reveal about students.
"Lucas is stupid" and the lecture only "blablablabla": For Professor Ulrich Müller, such cursory scribblings are archaeological findings.
In a lecture hall in Kiel, he researches decades of student culture.
When extreme sports become life-threatening.
Climbing without protection, cycling until you lose consciousness, swimming in a sea full of jellyfish: many athletes strive to push the limits of the human body.
Some go even further.
Why?
I wish you a good start into the day.
Yours, Dirk Kurbjuweit
