Here you will find the most important news of the day, the most popular stories of SPIEGEL + and tips for your end of workday.

THE THEME OF THE DAY

End of mining in Germany

The end of a 150-year-long era: On Friday, the last coal mine in Germany closes. The Prosper-Haniel colliery in Bottrop turns off the machines.

Federal President Steinmeier was there at the closing ceremony, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was there, North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet. He said: "A big chapter in German industrial history comes to an end."

The raw material coal was extracted to produce electricity and iron. In the fifties, 50,000 people lived off the hard coal. When politics decided in 2007 to get out of the hard coal, German mining was no longer competitive. 30,000 employees were sent to early retirement. One of them: Holger Kenda. For thirty-three years, Kenda, as he puts it, malforated "30 degrees, heat, mud, dust". But he also says, "Comradeship is very important here." To the video.

FRIEDEMANN BIRD / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock

Prosper Haniel in Bottrop

How do the people in the coalmine go about saying goodbye? A visit on site.

You could have continued, say some buddies. For others, the exit from the coal is overdue. Mining, that's exploitation for them - on the environment. And what about coal mining? My colleague Lukas Eberle writes: "These days in the Ruhr area it is also about which view of the coal is appropriate, is it cultural property or mortgage?"

In any case, there remains the Steigerlied: "Good luck, luck, the Steiger comes, and he has his bright light at night, already lit ..."

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THE NUMBER OF THE DAY

290000000

So many liters of sparkling wine are sold in Germany every year. Never more popping corks than at Christmas and New Year - and in no other country as often as in Germany. Sparkling wine is a real competition for French champagne. And what are you doing cold on Christmas Eve?

DPA

NEWS

What you need to know today

  • In Vienna, a person has been killed by gunfire. This was written by the police of the Austrian capital on Twitter. A second person was seriously injured. The details.
  • The police give the all clear after suspected Ausspähverdacht at Stuttgart airport. There are no indications for the preparation of an Islamist terrorist attack, the authorities said.
  • Turkey postpones the announced offensive to the Kurdish militia YPG in northern Syria. Among other things, a telephone call with US President Donald Trump had him to "wait a while" with the attack, said the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.

OPINION

Most talked about comments, interviews, essays

And then comes Uncle Brexit: Every year again - suddenly the whole family is there, and you have to talk to people whose political views are the plague. Our columnist has played through what Christmas Eve could be like this time. The column by Thomas Fricke.

Christmas Greetings from outer space: Because he is currently too busy in the pedestrian zones, Harald Schmidt reports for his annual review of his private spaceship. Conclusion: 2018 was good, but too fast over. Here is the video.

THE MIRROR

IN YOUR OWN THING

The case Relotius: Der Spiegel, which is digitally read from 18 clock on Friday, deals in detail with the crisis in-house. You will find in it the story of the counterfeit discoverer Juan Moreno. You can read what the internal investigations so far have revealed. And what Giovanni di Lorenzo, editor-in-chief of "Time", says.

  • All reports are freely available as PDF. Here you can download it.
  • The Fergus Falls residents to the Claas Relotius case - the interview.
  • The reporter Juan Moreno on the case Relotius - to the video.
  • Read the reconstruction of the case here.

STORIES

The most read texts at SPIEGEL +

What power should parents have in the school system, Mr Piazolo? Bavaria's new Minister of Culture Michael Piazolo on the influence of parents on school policy - and its limits.

Getty Images

The AfD can laugh in the throat: In liberal democracy, three things have to be successful: the compromise, the culture of dispute and the farewell. Measured by that, 2018 was a miserable year. A review by Dirk Kurbjuweit.

MY EVENING

The recommendations for your holidays

Crazy idea: You could go to the cinema. Pretend that the tree is already decorated or, if you are not so contemplative, pretend that you have Christmas already behind you. Which movie can distract you? The superhero movie "Aquaman" with Jason Momoa and Nicole Kidman. Our movie of the week.

Warner Bros.

Aquaman Jason Momoa underwater in Atlantis

Crazy Idea II: Listening to music, the best of the year 2018. For example, if you are heading home by train or car at the weekend. Or take a break from the grand-tweeting talks and family debates on Christmas Day. Then listen to some rap by Haiyti. For my colleague Andreas Borcholte she belongs to the most important pop interpreters of 2018. Here you can choose from.

DPA

Rapper Haiyti (Ronja Zschoche)

I wish you a nice finishing time.

Wish Merry Christmas

Maria Stöhr and the whole Daily-Team

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