the three question marks today:
Joe Biden in Kiev – what did the US President have in his luggage?
Tesla's guerrilla tactics - how does Elon Musk want to keep the Germans and Chinese at bay?
Shrove Monday in Germany - why are two pubs in Cologne no longer participating?
1. Hey Joe
When high-ranking politicians travel to Kiev, they usually travel by train from Poland.
The same applies vice versa.
Even if one does not yet know how US President Joe Biden got to the Ukrainian capital today, the visit can definitely be considered spectacular.
For the eighth time, Biden has made his way to Kiev, but for the first time since the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression on February 24, 2022.
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US President Joe Biden (middle right) and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, hug as they say goodbye at the memorial wall for the fallen defenders of Ukraine: »Good signal«
Photo: Uncredited / dpa
Biden had actually planned to continue to pledge support to President Duda of Ukraine during his visit to Warsaw tomorrow.
Apparently, the American decided that it would be a good gesture to tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally - even if it involved a risk.
Hours before his arrival, Kiev was cordoned off, the city center around St. Michael's Monastery, Kiev's magnificent cathedral, was blocked off, and air sirens wailed during his tour.
Biden said there could be "no doubt about US support for Ukraine" and announced concrete aid to Zelenskyy, including artillery shells, anti-tank systems and air surveillance radars, to protect the Ukrainian people from air attacks.
The new military supports amounted to US$500 million.
In addition, the US President announced “further sanctions against elites and companies”.
Selenskyj was visibly impressed by the visit and thanked him, saying he was proud that the US President had come.
»Joseph Biden, welcome to Kiev!
Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians.«
The German government has also described the US President's trip to Ukraine as a "good signal".
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit also did not want to evaluate Biden's visit to Kiev on Monday.
According to the United States, it has informed Russia in advance about Biden's visit.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did not say in a phone call to journalists on Monday what the information was and how the Russians responded.
"But I can confirm that we provided that information," Sullivan said.
Read more here: Joe Biden's lightning visit to Kiev - "It's wonderful to see you"
And here is more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:
Ukrainians are curbing the German shortage of skilled workers:
They study German »until they overwhelm themselves«: tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine found jobs in Germany last year - and are thus providing much-needed relief on the labor market.
Russia's nuclear exports appear to be rising sharply:
The West has imposed sanctions on Russia's energy sector, but with the exception of the nuclear sector.
Now the new figures show that the industry is making great money – also thanks to customers in Europe.
Borrell calls Chinese arms deliveries to Russia "red line":
The US warns of possible arms deliveries from China to Russia.
Now the EU is also reacting: According to chief diplomat Borrell, the People's Republic would thus cross a red line.
Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update
2. Elon Musk and his "fart program"
Almost two weeks ago I drove in a Tesla Model Y for the first time.
Until then, I had only followed the hype surrounding the brand as an interested reader.
Now I was sitting in one of those cars that a family friend of mine had bought.
I have to say that the principle »Reduce to the Max« caught on with me too.
There aren't hundreds of extras that you can configure for a fee.
There is a manageable number of colors, a light or dark interior, you order the car online and you don't have to deal with any liveried car salesman.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk: Farting for a free ride
Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP
Using this method, Tesla sold more than twice as many electric cars as VW and six times as many as BMW last year.
According to the ranking by mobility researcher Stefan Bratzel, the US group is also well ahead of its German competitors when it comes to innovations.
Tesla is the only well-known manufacturer to have steadily increased sales and profits in recent years, despite the pandemic and the Ukraine war.
But the German and Chinese manufacturers want to catch up, Elon Musk clearly missed the sales target he set for himself of 1.5 million cars a year.
The American carmaker's streak of success threatened to break off, also because the lavish state subsidies in Germany - a main market - have expired.
Musk therefore resorted to a rather shameless trick: he drastically lowered the list prices.
This means that Tesla customers can now collect the full environmental bonus of more than 7000 euros including VAT, most recently they only received discounts of around 4800 euros.
In his text, my colleague Simon Hage describes that the US entrepreneur can definitely afford the price war: Tesla achieves significantly higher profits per e-car sold.
Now Tesla's advantage is certainly not only in the margin.
Musk also seems miles ahead of the Germans and Chinese when it comes to networking.
With just seven years of serious car manufacturing, he may not have the experience of the Germans in terms of chassis, drive or gimmicks - when it comes to digitization he certainly has it.
Ultimately, a Tesla is an app on wheels - right down to such abstruse features as a »fart program«.
No, I didn't forget an "h".
With Tesla, you can set an app so that the car farts when it flashes to amuse passers-by.
Please don't ask how often we tried out this "special equipment" on our trip almost two weeks ago...
Read more here: Elon Musk's guerrilla tactics - How Tesla is tricking Germany's car companies
3. Cologne alert
Every year around this time, our editorial conferences in Hamburg raise the call: »We have to do something for carnival!« People underestimate how many people from the Rhineland there are at SPIEGEL.
In the past two years, due to the corona virus, we managed to avoid detailed reporting.
But this year it was time again.
A colleague even founded the “regional customs group” and invited people to a first excursion: last Saturday there was a meeting at the “Backes” establishment in the southern part of Cologne
intended to explore the so-called Rhenish cheerfulness.
Since the inclination group has not yet been recognized as a company sports association, travel, costume and other costs had to be borne by the participants themselves.
In the end, however, the colleague himself had to cancel because there was water damage in the family that needed to be repaired.
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Crowds of people waiting to be let in on the university meadows at the entrance to the Zülpicher district: »That sounds exaggerated, but parts of your life are no longer safe here«
Photo: Thomas Banneyer / dpa
It was perhaps also an omen that my colleague David Holzapfel had previously researched.
He – a Protestant Bavarian – was out and about in Cologne and visited two real institutions, the street carnival pubs »Oma Kleinmann« and the »Engelbt«.
Both said goodbye to the carnival bustle in Cologne.
Carnival always means ecstasy.
But the party in Cologne's Kwartier Latäng student district has now gone too far for them.
With a heavy heart, the two traditional pubs are no longer participating.
Too loud, too dirty, too much alcohol and disinhibition.
“I've seen 14-year-olds pulling line speed after line in front of our store.
How girls and boys urinate and defecate between cars because they don't know where else to go. There are girls
who have to be cornered by guys and dragged into the pub by our bouncers,” says carnivalist Maureen Wolf.
'Anyone who hasn't seen it can't believe it.
Doors were kicked open.
Now that sounds exaggerated, but parts of your life are no longer safe here,” adds landlord Jürgen Potthoff.
"Grandma Kleinmann" and the "Engelbt" are no longer taking part, but hundreds of thousands are.
For the first time since the corona crisis, the fools in Germany's carnival strongholds celebrated Shrove Monday without restrictions.
The first major train started in Cologne on Monday morning – for the first time on the right bank of the Rhine in the Deutz district, connecting both sides of the cathedral city.
Throwing camels into the Rhine was strictly forbidden for environmental reasons and could lead to license withdrawal.
It still works there, German thoroughness!
Cologne celebrated an anniversary this year.
On February 10, 1823, the first Rose Monday parade took place here.
In 2023, the motto was: »200 years of Cologne Carnival: Ov krüzz or across«.
In other cities like Düsseldorf, Mainz and Bonn things started a little later on Monday.
In Düsseldorf, the train was held under the motto "We celebrate life".
In the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital, the motto was: »In Mainz, Fastnacht stands for peace, freedom, tolerance«.
In case you're confused: No, the most recent party congress of the Greens was last October - and not in Mainz, but in Bonn.
Read the whole story here: Pub Carnival – Kölle Alarm
What else is important today
Leading economist criticizes subsidies for chip factories in East Germany:
The latest supply bottlenecks for computer chips have called the government into action.
In many places, new plants are being built in a hurry - but the German state is exaggerating when it comes to subsidies, warns IWH President Gropp.
One in ten online purchases is returned:
according to a survey, returns are popular in online retail.
Some customers order home a large selection just to keep a few pieces.
Others, on the other hand, have never sent anything back.
Speed camera apps are also banned for passengers:
The use of warning apps for speed checks is not only prohibited for the driver, the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court has decided.
If you know where to look, you don't need them either.
Russian ship targeted wind farms in the North Sea:
According to the Netherlands' military intelligence service, Russia has tried to disrupt the country's energy supply in the North Sea.
A Russian ship was even escorted out of Dutch sovereign waters.
My favorite story today:
At the beginning of January, a former classmate sent me a newspaper clipping from our regional newspaper in Baden-Württemberg.
A 75-year-old woman is missing in Eislingen.
She wanted to visit relatives, but never showed up at the destination.
The woman is "possibly in a helpless position," the article said.
After two weeks of unsuccessful searches, the police finally found her on the outskirts - dead. The woman was my math teacher.
What the newspaper described as "possibly in a helpless situation" was apparently an advanced dementia in my teacher.
It is a condition that almost everyone with a family history of this condition struggles to cope with.
My colleague Julia Jüttner wrote about such a case in the current issue of SPIEGEL in a very impressive and moving way.
She tells of the 77-year-old Mr. N., who killed his 79-year-old wife because he was overwhelmed with her progressive dementia and the care.
When the daughter called or the neighbors asked how things were going, Mr. N. started to cry.
"My wife is just a shadow of herself," he told a neighbor.
Mr. N. "became increasingly sad because he saw his wife disappear and couldn't help her," says the neighbor.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, in December 2021 almost five million people were recorded as being in need of care within the meaning of the Long-Term Care Insurance Act, i.e. they had a so-called degree of care.
Their number has almost doubled since 2015.
There are 1.6 million people with dementia in Germany.
Experts assume a much higher number of those affected.
Except for the fact that the cases ended in death, the stories about my math teacher and Ms. N. have nothing in common.
But both show what an insidious disease dementia is and how difficult it is for relatives to deal with it.
Read the whole story here: Manslaughter process in Berlin - "I was all alone"
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Threatened world of wonders:
The marine biologist Antje Boetius, head of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, has been fighting for the protection of the oceans for years.
A UN agreement could now bring the breakthrough.
The walking one-man regulars:
Hubert Aiwanger's free voters could ensure that Markus Söder continues to rule in Bavaria after the election in October.
What does the party stand for?
Julian Nagelsmann's real problem:
Julian Nagelsmann freaked out again verbally.
He still has a good standing with the Bayern bosses.
It's different in the team.
Taliban versus Taliban:
The Islamists in Afghanistan are divided: Should girls go to school – or not?
Even an uprising against the supreme Taliban leader seems possible.
Baerbock orders a “feminist reflex”:
the foreign minister wants to appoint an ambassador for feminist foreign policy.
This is just one of many measures planned from Baerbock's »Guidelines for Feminist Foreign Policy«.
The draft is available to SPIEGEL.
Which is less important today
Angela Merkel: »The former Chancellor then informed the Federal Foreign Office about the impression she had gained from the caller during the phone call«
Photo: REUTERS
Noise and intoxication:
Franziska Giffey and four other mayors of major European cities were victims, as were Stephen King and now
Angela Merkel.
Two satirists close to the Kremlin claim to have tricked the ex-chancellor into having a phone conversation with the former Ukrainian president.
It would not be the first coup by the propaganda duo.
Merkel's office said: "I can confirm a phone call to a caller who posed as former (Ukrainian) President Petro Poroshenko."
Mini concave mirror
Here you can find the whole concave mirror.
cartoon of the day
And tonight?
Since it is hopeless anyway to get tickets for this year's Berlinale, you could bring the Berlinale home.
Not the current one, whose films are all still in competition.
But an earlier one.
You could follow the tip my colleague Thorsten Dörting gave me and watch one of the 2021 Berlinale competition films, which is now on Netflix.
I'm talking about »Nebenan« , a wicked chamber play that Daniel Brühl directed for the first time.
Brühl also plays one of the two main roles.
The other is played by the great Peter Kurth.
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Brühl and Kurth in »Next Door«
Photo: Reiner Bajo / Reiner Bajo / Berlinale
It's about a smart actor named Daniel who is involved in international action cinema hits and is played by Brühl, who has taken up residence with his small family in a chic loft with its own elevator in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district.
The abysses of this nuclear family are observed there by his neighbor Bruno (Peter Kurth) - sometimes casually, sometimes systematically.
Actor Brühl enjoys self-exposure in this comedy, written by writer Daniel Kehlmann.
His opponent Bruno comes up trumps as a grim, affably grinning avenger.
In a SPIEGEL interview with my colleagues Lars-Olaf Beier and Wolfgang Höbel, Brühl said at the time: »The central theme of the film is gentrification.
This topic has accompanied me ever since I moved to Berlin more than 20 years ago – basically to this day.« At the end of the film, Peter Kurth sings the song »Wait« melancholy: »Do you know the country that you can only reach in dreams can?
Infinite and far and wide I sit there at the edge of time and wait.«
You just have to wait until tomorrow, when there will be a new "evening situation."
I wish you a nice evening.
Heartfelt
Yours, Janko Tietz, Head of Department Germany/Panorama
