Today we are talking about the Chancellor's government declaration at the turn of the century, the battle for the city of Bakhmut - and the poisoning attacks on girls' schools in Iran.
Another chancellor's speech at the turn of the century
The Russian attack on Ukraine turned German politics upside down.
The Federal Chancellor described this change with the catchy word »Zeitenwende«, so that even the last person understands what the hour has struck.
»We are experiencing a turning point. That means: The world after is no longer the same as the world before.«
Olaf Scholz said three days after the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Then he announced, among other things, the massive rearmament of the Bundeswehr.
Scholz could also have said: "Dear people, the Russians are going crazy, we're standing there naked because we thought there were no more wars.
Now we need more guns again, otherwise it's our turn next.' But that might have been a bit too direct.
Be that as it may:
Today, a year later, the Chancellor wants to take stock in a government statement in the Bundestag.
He should span the wide arc: What has become of the turning point?
Where is the Bundeswehr?
How is Ukraine supported by Germany in its defensive struggle against Russia?
How is the energy supply in Germany?
An honest balance of the turning point would look like this:
After a furious start with the Chancellor's speech in the Bundestag, the turning point became a typically German slow-motion turning point ("Die Zeit").
A thousand concerns had to be weighed.
Only now things are progressing.
Germany is now the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the United States.
The new
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius
is proving to be a blessing for the Bundeswehr, which may (at some point) still be able to achieve
NATO's two percent target
with him .
And the chancellor, too, somehow gained stature in this process.
In any case, since the decision to supply Leopard tanks to Kiev, he doesn't seem quite as driven.
German security policy: Why the turning point still needs time
You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
Recent developments:
The US Attorney General has described the actions of the Wagner mercenaries as "incomprehensible".
President Zelensky thanks the Ukrainians for holding out through the winter.
And: possible sanctions against China.
Ukraine is attacking Russia with these new drones:
Ukraine can rely on Western weapons support for its national defense.
Attacks on Russian territory, on the other hand, are only possible with Ukrainian weapons.
The latest attacks show that Kiev has upgraded.
Putin bans foreign words from his officials:
A new law directly affects the everyday life of many Russians: Anyone who works for the state must avoid using words from other languages.
There should only be a few exceptions.
Does Bakhmut fall to the Russians?
It is already one of the bloodiest battles of this war:
Russian troops have been trying to take the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut for weeks.
Thousands of Russians are said to have already fallen.
There are also heavy losses on the Ukrainian side in the battle of attrition.
Allegedly, the Russians have meanwhile surrounded the city from three sides.
Now the Ukrainians have announced that they will be strengthening their troops in the region.
At the same time, however, a possible withdrawal is no longer ruled out.
This was indicated by Alexander Rodnyansky, economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Our military will, of course, weigh all options.
So far they have held the city, but if need be they will strategically withdraw," Rodnyansky said on CNN.
"We will not sacrifice all our people for nothing."
If Bakhmut is taken, Russian President Vladimir Putin could finally report positive news from the front again, even if the strategic value of the city does not appear to be particularly great.
But Putin needs such successes to convince his own people that the "special operation" is somehow making headway in Ukraine.
By the way, not much is left of the city of Bakhmut after the heavy fighting.
It resembles a landscape of ruins.
After the experience of Russian combat operations in Chechnya and Syria, one could also say that the area has been putinized.
Battle of Wuhledar and Bachmut: »300 meters from here the melee starts«
Poisoning attacks on girls' schools in Iran again
Another drama is unfolding in Iran, where people have been protesting against the mullahs' regime and religious fanaticism for months.
According to the French agency AFP, Iranian media reported new
poisoning attacks at a total of ten girls' schools
, seven in the north-western city of Ardabil and three in the capital Tehran.
More than 100 students were hospitalized.
These are not the first cases of this kind. Poisonings at girls' schools in Iran have been reported again and again for about three months.
Religious extremists are suspected to be behind the attacks in an attempt to exclude girls from schooling.
The exact course of the poison attacks and who is responsible have not yet been clarified.
According to an Iranian MP on Wednesday, almost 1,200 schoolgirls with shortness of breath had to be treated by a doctor, 800 of them from poisoning alone in the city of Qom, south of Tehran.
The substances used against the girls in Qom apparently contained traces of nitrogen.
The Iranian authorities do not appear to be in any particular hurry to solve the attacks.
After all, for the first time President Ebrahim Raisi has also gotten involved in the matter.
He announced that from now on the Ministry of the Interior would keep him informed about the status of the investigation into the incidents - whatever that means.
The US State Department called on the government in Tehran to investigate the attacks on the schools at high pressure.
Retaliation for protests?
Hundreds of schoolgirls in Iran apparently poisoned
Here is the current quiz of the day
The starting question today: Where did the "Boxer War" take place?
Loser of the day...
…are
Donald Trump
, Republican Rep.
Marjorie Taylor Greene
and the
organizers of the CPAC conference
in Washington, DC.
For a long time, the annual meeting of young conservatives in the US capital was considered one of the most important events in the calendar of the party's future presidential candidates.
But this year everything seems to be a little different.
Donald Trump will appear at the four-day conference at the weekend.
His possible vice presidential candidate Taylor Greene and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley are also expected.
But other potential Republican candidates are avoiding the conference.
Apparently, some candidates no longer want to be seen with Trump and the many other southpaws at the conference.
They are too extreme even for them.
Trump's former Vice President
Mike Pence
has not yet registered for the CPAC.
In recent years he has always been a regular there.
Florida Governor
Ron DeSantis
is also likely to skip the meeting, as will Virginia Governor
Glenn Youngkin
.
Pence and DeSantis want to take part in a counter-event by the conservative
"Club of Growth"
in Florida.
You will know why: important major donors of the party meet there.
Your help can be crucial in the election campaign.
The latest news from the night
The cause of Havana syndrome is probably not a foreign attack:
Fatigue, headaches, vision problems: For years there have been repeated reports of mysterious illnesses among US diplomats.
However, Washington does not believe in an attack from outside.
The British government was apparently considering mass killing of all domestic cats:
In the initial phase of the corona pandemic, uncertainty was particularly great in many places - including in the British government.
Apparently, a particularly tough step was also discussed there.
That blew him away:
on screen he plays the boxer Adonis Creed, he was also the »Sexiest Man Alive«: Now Michael B. Jordan received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
It got emotional.
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
How Coke became the »nice Cola«:
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Coca-Cola also announced its departure from Russia.
But the US soft drink company has not completely separated – now the “nice Cola” is sold there.
How Stalin once starved millions of Ukrainians:
During the great famine of the 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died.
Researchers have now found evidence of targeted action by Moscow.
In Germany there is talk of genocide - is that true?
“Personnel managers are now threatened with criminal proceedings for breach of trust”:
anyone who pays too much to works councils can now be accused of willful breach of trust.
Lawyer Stefan Greiner explains why the judgment of the BGH is not only making VW uneasy - and when it makes sense for companies to self-disclose.
»Being on a stage has always been all I wanted«:
Louisa Schlang moderates live events and a morning show on the radio.
How she got her job in a roundabout way - and why she sometimes sprays hairspray on the soles of her shoes.
I wish you a good start into the day.
Yours, Roland Nelles, US correspondent