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News of the day: Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Christian Lindner, Donald Trump

2022-08-10T15:50:52.709Z


Why did smoke rise over Russia's vacation paradise, why is the federal government more incriminating than exonerating - and why are US Republicans feigning outrage at the FBI? This is the situation on Wednesday evening.


1.

Crimean sparkling wine in Kiev

"The war began in the Crimea and will end there." What a quote!

Said by Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

in his daily video address last night.

Previously there had been violent explosions at a Russian base on the Black Sea Peninsula, which had been annexed by Russia since 2014.

They were surreal images, vacationers sunbathing on white lounge chairs on the beach, a light wind blew the curtains aside and revealed the view of powerful clouds of smoke in the background.

Tourists pulled out their cell phones and filmed the spectacle.

Enlarge image

President Zelenskyy (right) with his office manager Andriy Yermak (right) during a video call with former US President Bill Clinton on Tuesday in Kyiv.

Photo:

IMAGO/Ukrainian Presidential Press Off / IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

It is still not clear who is responsible for the detonations.

Officially, the Ukrainian military does not want it to be the cause, blaming partisans for it.

According to a report in the New York Times, the Ukrainian army has attacked the key Russian air base with an undisclosed weapon it developed itself.

It could be the first signal of a Ukrainian offensive, which military experts have been expecting for a long time.

In late July, Ed Arnold

said

by the British think tank Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), the Ukrainians must nullify the Russian advantage, namely the artillery.

"The important Ukrainian targets at the moment are therefore: ammunition dumps, command and control centers.

Places where high-ranking officers gather and plan,” says Arnold.

That is exactly what seems to have happened now.

Whoever is behind the attack seems to suit the Ukrainian government very well.

"Crimea is Ukrainian and we will never give it up," said Zelenskyy.

"The Black Sea region cannot be safe as long as Crimea is occupied."

In the meantime, however, the war seems to have entered the "weapon-count" phase, human fates are receding into the background in public perception, although many soldiers on both sides are still dying every day in the Battle of Donbass.

But that plays less and less of a role.

Rather, both sides report which weapons were destroyed where and in what way.

At least ten planes were destroyed in the explosions in Crimea, the Ukrainians say.

Not wanting to look completely embarrassed, the Russians hastened to claim that they, in turn, had destroyed a German Gepard tank and seven Himars missiles.

That is not confirmed.

It is the tragedy of a war that at some point all horror seems to have been described and there is a danger

evaluate the military actions like gamers do in a video game.

Can we therefore assume that the war will soon end, as Zelenskyj insinuates with his sentence?

I wish so, but I'm afraid we will have to report further growing and shrinking weapon arsenals.

  • Here you can see the events in the Crimea in the video: columns of smoke over the beach

And here is more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:

  • Hungary pays the bill for using the Druzhba pipeline:

    Oil transport through the Druzhba pipeline is secured for the time being.

    According to its own statements, the Hungarian mineral oil company MOL has made the outstanding payments.

    The oil price reacts immediately.

  • Buyer no longer wants cargo from the Razoni:

    For weeks, the warring parties haggled over the free passage of the grain freighter Razoni.

    Apparently it took too long for the buyer from Lebanon.

  • What children miss the most:

    The doll, the dog, grandma and grandpa: if you flee to another country, you have to leave a lot behind.

    What is particularly missing?

    Photographer Rebecca Hoppé asked Ukrainian children in Hamburg to paint it.

  • Puppet in Putin's hands:

    he was once the friendly face of liberal and reform-minded Russia.

    Today, ex-president Dmitry Medvedev only attracts attention with his agitation against Ukraine and the West.

    What drives this man?

  • War winner Erdoğan:

    Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presents himself as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war.

    In his own country, however, he is rapidly losing support.

    Is the Turkish President overestimating his options? 

  • Ukraine makes contradicting statements about explosions in Crimea:

    Who is responsible for the detonations at a Russian airbase in Crimea?

    There are different statements from Russia and Ukraine.

    A newspaper brings another variant into play.

  • Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update

2.

Thorny Opportunities

Ten billion euros.

That sounds like a lot of money - but it isn't when you count down how many people it's distributed to.

In any case, Finance Minister Christian Lindner

wants

around 48 million citizens to receive tax relief of this amount in order to somehow compensate for the rising prices.

On average, this results in 192 euros per year.

In July, the inflation rate was 7.5 percent more than in the same month last year.

"We are in a situation where action is needed," says Lindner

.

So what exactly is he up to?

First, he wants to mitigate the effect of the cold progression.

This occurs when higher salaries are agreed due to rising prices.

However, these do not completely compensate for the inflation rate, who gets a salary increase of more than seven percent, except perhaps ex-RBB director

Patricia Schlesinger

, who was granted 16 percent when she was still in office?

Purchasing power does not automatically increase with higher wages.

In addition, many slip into higher tax brackets due to higher salaries, so that in the end there may even be less net on the account than before the salary increase.

Lindner now wants to move the corresponding limit values ​​upwards.

Enlarge image

Federal Minister of Finance Lindner: "We must act."

Photo:

IMAGO/Leon Kuegeler / IMAGO/photothek

In his analysis, my colleague David Böcking listed in detail the amounts at stake and why Lindner believes that high earners are not spared.

This is also related to the increase in child benefit.

Lindner wants to increase the amount by 14 euros per month from the current 219 euros for the first and second child to 233 euros for the first three children from next year, and the exemption limit is also to increase.

So families - according to Lindner's reasoning - would benefit beyond measure from his measures.

It is interesting, however, that not only the CDU and the left (coalition of pain) speak of a "Lindner plan" and not of a "government plan", but also the coalition partner, the Greens.

While SPD co-leader

Lars Klingbeil

signaled approval, Greens faction deputy

Andreas Audretsch

complained that high and highest income groups would “receive more than three times as much as people with low incomes, who actually need the relief most urgently”.

Lindner's relief package is not "up to date", criticizes the financial policy spokeswoman for the Greens parliamentary group,

Katharina Beck

.

In general, tax breaks seem a bit like a consolation in view of the financial challenges that many are already having to cope with, and even more so from the fall of rising heating costs.

In any case, the government is more unanimous when it comes to burdening than when it comes to relieving it.

Only six days ago, the federal government decided on the so-called gas levy.

The purpose of the surcharge is to allow companies importing gas from Russia to pass on the additional costs of procuring gas from other sources to their customers.

For an average four-person household with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours, the additional costs from the surcharge alone can amount to up to 1,000 euros a year - the other price increases of the utilities are not even included.

In many households, heating costs are likely to quadruple from autumn.

Are 14 euros more child benefit really a noticeable relief?

The President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution,

Stephan Kramer

, is already expecting riots due to the high energy prices in autumn and winter.

The Corona protests, on the other hand, were “more of a children’s birthday party”.

But as Lindner said back in 1997 as an ambitious young entrepreneur: "Get to work, get the job done, problems are just thorny opportunities."

  • Read the whole story here: Who is relieved by Lindner – and who gets nothing 

3.

The lost States of America

They were spectacular pictures.

Police vehicle sirens painted red and blue on the walls of the Mar-a-Lago, Florida property.

The host was in New York.

When the FBI arrived at former US President

Donald Trump

's winter residence to look for illegally stolen documents from the White House, Trump's fate seemed sealed.

He had repeatedly flirted with running again in the coming elections.

But after this action - according to observers - his chances of success should decrease rapidly.

If an indictment for storming the Capitol followed, his dream of a second term could finally burst.

Enlarge image

Trump supporters in Florida: what if their idol fails?

Photo:

GIORGIO VIERA / AFP

His Republican party is correspondingly nervous.

And "his" is meant literally in this case.

Trump has long since subjugated the Grand Old Party.

Hardly anyone distances themselves, the vast majority swung to his populist course.

The reactions to the FBI raid were correspondingly harsh.

Florida Gov.

Ron DeSantis

suspected a conspiracy that the "regime" in Washington had dispatched federal officials to pursue a political opponent.

His tweet culminated in the word "banana republic."

The Justice Department has reached a point "where it has become an intolerable political weapon," rumbled House Republican leader

Kevin McCarthy

.

And Trump's Vice President

Mike Pence

spoke of an "unprecedented action" by the FBI.

My colleague René Pfister got to the bottom of the outrage.

Because it is largely hypocritical.

Many leading Republicans seem uncertain whether their idol will or can enter the race for the highest office in the state.

And if not, they want to run for office themselves – so they mustn't mess with the populist's supporters.

Stupid only when the feigned outrage at the US judiciary turns out to be a boomerang.

My colleague Marc Pitzke has lived in the USA for more than 20 years - he never forgets.

He immediately recalled a tweet Pence tweeted on Oct. 28, 2016: "@realdonaldtrump and I commend the FBI for reopening an investigation into

Clinton's

personal email server because no one is above the law." Tweet is not deleted until today.

  • Read more about the investigation into ex-president: Trump's arsonists 

  • Watch the full video here: "Republicans Respond Extremely Aggressively To This House Search"

(Would you like to receive the "Situation in the evening" conveniently by e-mail in your inbox? Here you can order the daily briefing as a newsletter.)

What else is important today

  • New business advisor calls for a higher retirement age:

    He has hardly been in his new position as business advisor for a day – and Martin Werding is already speaking up: with suggestions that would have noticeable consequences for employees and pensioners.

  • Facebook gave private chats from 17-year-olds to the police:

    In the US state of Nebraska, a minor and her mother are being investigated for an allegedly prohibited abortion.

    The main evidence is probably news that Facebook had to publish.

  • Shisha as the cause of the fire at the Bastei?

    Four suspects identified:

    A fire broke out near the Bastei Bridge in mid-July.

    Now four men are suspected of negligently starting the fire.

    You face a prison sentence.

  • Experts warn of massive ice loss in East Antarctica:

    The ice of East Antarctica was long considered to be particularly resistant to climate change.

    But it too is fading.

    A study shows that if the ice masses cannot be secured, there is a great danger.

  • "You can't win the biggest title, it's awarded by the fans":

    A footballer who isn't just a star, but a role model?

    He was like that: "Us Uwe" Seeler.

    This legendary athlete was commemorated with a funeral service in Hamburg's Volksparkstadion.

My favorite story today:

It's getting warmer again, tomorrow it's supposed to be 29 degrees in Hamburg and 30 degrees on Friday.

If my colleague Oliver Trenkamp weren't on vacation, he would – like every Friday – be sitting in front of his team tile with his tie on.

Because: Friday is tie day.

It is his counter-statement against »Casual Friday«.

Maybe he even wears the utensil on vacation, I don't know.

In any case, he should – and of course you too – the nice interview my colleague Katharina Hölter had with

Antonella Giannone

read, professor of fashion theory, history and clothing sociology.

She says that the way we dress in the work environment has changed significantly.

You guessed it: due to corona.

Every day is now »casual day«.

So now Oli would have to wear a tie every day.

Everyone resists in their own way.

  • Read the whole interview here: Are sweatpants finally suitable for the office?

What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today

  • What connects Johannes Kahrs with the chancellor - and what does not:

    where do the more than 200,000 euros in the locker of the former SPD MP Kahrs come from?

    What role does he play in the cum-ex scandal?

    Questions that could now also become uncomfortable for Olaf Scholz.

  • The court has long since become too small for her:

    the fact that Serena Williams will soon no longer be on the tennis courts of this world is a turning point.

    In terms of sport, the scene has emancipated itself from her.

    As an iconic figure, however, the 40-year-old remains unique. 

  • The economy bike:

    If you ride an e-bike instead of a car, you can keep your money together in times when inflation is hardly slowed down.

    Manufacturer NCM even has a real low-cost pedelec in its range.

    Does it meet at least low standards? 

  • »Clichés in fashion are more dangerous than you think«:

    Holger Hähle likes it airy underneath.

    Women can wear anything, says the biologist, but men have yet to emancipate themselves.

    In some situations, however, he still prefers trousers.

Which is less important today

Enlarge image

Armstrong with partner Hansen: Many low points, now the high point

Photo:

Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Babes for Boobs

  • Tour de trance: The former cycling star

    Lance Armstrong

    is currently in a state of love rapture

    .

    After 14 years of relationship, the American married his partner

    Anna Hansen

    .

    Armstrong posted photos of the ceremony on Facebook and confessed that Hansen saved his life.

    Armstrong suffered from cancer in the meantime, was convicted of systematic doping and consequently lost all his titles.

    »Anna, you have been my absolute rock for the last 14 years and I have to say quite clearly that I would not have survived them without you.

    I'm so proud of the couple we've become.« Armstrong is a close friend of the only German Tour de France winner,

    Jan Ullrich

    .

    He, too, had several self-inflicted low points in his life.

    Only at the end of last year did the native of Rostock have to be admitted to a clinic in Mexico after losing his composure on an airplane.

    Perhaps Armstrong will be able to save Ullrich's life as well and help him to the happiness that he is now experiencing himself.

Typo of the day

, now corrected: "Tschirsich demands consequences"

Cartoon of the day:

Putin's gas

And tonight?

I confess I am biased when it comes to cycling, Armstrong and Jan Ullrich.

As a child, I was in a cycling club myself, I often went to competitions at weekends, once I even went to one together with Jan Ullrich when he was just starting out in the sport in 1983.

He started for the SG Dynamo Rostock-West, I for the BSG unit Freiberg.

There are photos where we wear the same "crash cap" as the "helmets" were called back then.

I was therefore always fascinated by Ullrich's career, was shocked when the doping allegations became certain, suffered when Ullrich's life slipped out of his hands and he became more and more abusive under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Enlarge image

Ullrich 2006 in Strasbourg: Everything is great

Photo:

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

I would therefore like to recommend the highly acclaimed ARD documentary "Being Jan Ullrich" by the authors Ole Zeisler and Uli Fritz.

My colleague Peter Ahrens wrote about it: »Everything was great about Jan Ullrich.

The triumph, the abyss, the drama.

How can you ignore the story of Jan Ullrich without becoming an ignoramus yourself?” The series has been in the media library since the end of June, there are five episodes, no longer than 30 minutes, they trace Ullrich’s beginnings and also spare him not in describing his crash.

Whatever you think of Ullrich, this extraordinary documentary is definitely worth watching!

In his text, Peter judged, "It's also a story about Germany." And at the end, the documentary also shows

I wish you a nice evening.

Cordially


yours, Janko Tietz

Here you can order the »Situation in the Evening« by e-mail.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-08-10

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