Excursion in Franconia
It sounds like a fun class trip: Once a year, the Federal President sets out with the diplomatic corps, i.e. the around 150 ambassadors accredited in Germany and the heads of international organizations, to explore the beauties of Germany.
Today we're going to Franconia, simply because Bavaria hasn't been on the itinerary of the colorful tour group since 2006, according to the Office of the Federal President.
In Nuremberg, visits to a medium-sized company from the mechanical and plant engineering sector, the Germanic National Museum and the Carthusian Church are planned, where Markus Söder is expecting the group for lunch.
In the afternoon we go to the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energies in Erlangen and to the World Heritage Site in the city of Bamberg.
Only a few are not allowed to go: representatives of rogue states such as Russia or Iran have to stay in their Berlin residences.
In a speech to the ambassadors, Steinmeier also wants to appeal to their professional ethics.
It is now a matter of countering the "poison of distrust," Steinmeier will say, of remaining in global dialogue instead of giving in to bloc thinking and the emergence of nationalistic egoism.
It will probably be quite a pathetic speech.
At the same time, the Federal President of Ukraine will assure that Germany will continue to stand "firmly and resolutely" at their side and will support them militarily, politically and financially.
However, someone for whom these words were probably intended does not go along at all.
The Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk has canceled due to deadlines, it is said.
But maybe he's already packing his bags.
As the "Bild" newspaper and the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" report, with reference to information from Ukrainian government circles, the controversial ambassador from Germany could soon be recalled and work in the Kiev Foreign Ministry in the future.
The Ukrainian Ambassador in Germany: The Undiplomat
Moscow's grinding success
Beautiful words are one thing, concrete actions another.
Steinmeier will not say exactly what military support for Ukraine might look like in the near future, after all it is not his job.
The question remains relevant nonetheless.
Most recently, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht tried to list in detail what Germany had already delivered in the form of ammunition and equipment to Ukraine or was planning to do so.
In the end, the balance sheet didn't look so bad.
But this balance sheet is also a few days old, and the issue of arms deliveries has become surprisingly quiet, from the German side, but also from the Ukrainian side.
A few days ago, Lambrecht had announced that he would be delivering three more Panzerhaubitzen 2000 to the Ukraine, accompanied by a clear statement: "I'm going to the absolute limit of what is responsible." In other words: that's it for the time being with the howitzer .
However, there are now days when Ukraine will once again be heavily dependent on arms supplied.
The Russian conquest of the strategically important cities of Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk marks a significant victory for Moscow in its plan to conquer the Donbass in the medium term.
It also shows that Russia's strategy of what some call "constant grinding" is working.
Russia now controls a fifth of Ukraine.
So if Germany is serious about its promise to Ukraine, then it must now ensure that weapons continue to be delivered to Ukraine on a continuous basis.
Struggle for Donbass: what does the capture of Lysychansk bring to Putin?
You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
Moscow is also threatening other EU countries with consequences:
After the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats from Bulgaria, Russia warned the European Union against "imprudent support for anti-Russian measures".
The EU called the threat “unjustified”.
Despite Russian attacks, Zelenskyy is thinking about reconstruction:
The Ukrainian president does not want to wait until the end of the Russian war of aggression to rebuild his country.
The overview.
The shots and the Supreme Court
The day before yesterday Copenhagen, yesterday Highland Park, the number of attacks is frightening.
At least six people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the parade in the Chicago suburb yesterday.
Another madman, another act that is terrible but unavoidable?
In the US, one cannot assess these events without taking the political climate into account.
Just a few days ago, New York law professor Michael Waldman wrote on Twitter with frightening ability to predict:
"There will be more guns, more violence."
He commented on a landmark ruling by the mostly conservative Supreme Court, which had banned six US states from concealed carry limit the use of firearms outside of your own four walls.
It's judgments like this that make a bloody deed like yesterday's possible.
When I was a US correspondent, I tried to understand Americans' relationship with their guns.
There are historical reasons that explain a lot, the lack of police presence in many parts of the USA in earlier decades, the resulting self-image of having to defend oneself against the dangers of life.
There are societal reasons, the sense of security and respect that a gun conveys.
And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy shooting at a shooting club.
I have never understood why gunmen like Adam Lanza, who shot 28 people, including 20 children, at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown (Connecticut) in 2012, did not lead to a radical rethinking of American society.
If even the brutal murder of children is not able to break the massive influence of lobby groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA), it is not surprising that the advocates of stricter gun laws in the USA will probably never prevail.
And this is the only way to explain why the highest US judges deliberately undermined the Senate's tentative efforts to reform the gun laws with their verdict.
It is also the late revenge of ex-President Donald Trump, who cemented the arch-conservative line of the highest court for many years with two new appointments.
According to the non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive, the number of mass shootings in the United States this year has risen to 308 with yesterday's shooting.
4th of July Parade Assassination: Gun Terror on US National Day
Relaxation of gun laws: fire free in America
Addendum: TikTok and Melnyk
Yesterday in the morning news I reported
that the video service TikTok had blocked part of journalist Tilo Jung's widely publicized interview with the Ukrainian ambassador Melnyk
because it allegedly violated the community guidelines.
The company has now come forward and announced that it will restore the video after re-examination.
A TikTok spokesperson said, "We know we don't always get it right - this is a complex and nuanced area, and we continue to invest in strengthening our policies and enforcing our strategies, as well as training our teams."
Here is the current quiz of the day
Loser of the day is Germany...
... because it has lost its top spot in the global economy, at least that's how the latest figures can be interpreted.
For the first time since reunification, the German trade balance slipped into the red, so the former export world champion Germany recently imported more goods than exported in terms of value.
Where is the good news, where are the German innovations?
Negative trade balance: Germany imported more than it exported in May – for the first time since 2008
The latest news from the night
Association of civil servants rejects English as a second administrative language in German authorities:
The FDP advocates introducing English as a second administrative language.
This is intended to make it easier for immigrants to go to the authorities.
However, the civil servants' association fears the bureaucratic effort.
Britain will not return to the EU under Labour, either:
just a few years ago, he was fighting for a second referendum to overturn Brexit.
Now Labor leader Keir Starmer is making a change of strategy.
Man falls into a hole in the ground while mowing the lawn and dies:
In Bad Sulza in the Weimar region, a man died when he fell into a hole while mowing the lawn.
Why the earth opened up and how the 62-year-old fell in is still unclear.
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
How a woman has been fighting for fair pay for four years:
Gabriele Gamroth-Günther won a landmark judgment before the Federal Labor Court.
But she still earns significantly less than her male colleagues.
She continues to fight – for herself and for future generations of women.
Can underwater meadows help save the climate?
They are not as colorful as coral reefs, but seagrass beds can store an amazing amount of carbon dioxide.
In the Baltic Sea, biologists are testing whether the grass can be planted on a large scale.
But there is a problem.
The record winner is threatened with a crash landing:
the German national soccer players have won the European Championship eight times, but the great successes are a long time ago.
Other nations have passed.
How could that happen?
How to overcome stage fright and fear of failure:
The psychiatrist Michael Bohne coaches musicians, athletes and managers who want to overcome their fear of public appearances.
How to overcome your panic?
By gently tapping, the expert recommends.
I wish you a sunny day!
Yours, Martin Knobbe
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