1. Downwards?

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Port of Hamburg: Hoping for exports

Photograph:

Christian Charisius / dpa

One of the most curious made-up words is negative growth. Now the phrase is likely to be in vogue again, excuse me. Because the German economy is shrinking, now officially: Contrary to initial estimates, Germany grew negatively in the first quarter of this year, by 0.3 percent, according to updated calculations by the Federal Statistical Office.

This begs the question: What is the reason for this – and how bad will it get? "Because there was also a minus of 0.5 percent in the previous quarter, Germany was in recession at the beginning of the year according to the common definition," explains my colleague Christian Reiermann. »Shrinking twice in a row means downturn.« The causes: the war in Ukraine, high inflation, a lot of uncertainty, less investment, less consumption.

"But the outlook for the future is also gloomy," says Christian. "The best-known and most reliable indicator in Germany is the Ifo index. His numbers are now also pointing downwards." In terms of economic growth, 2023 already appears to be a year to forget, i.e. to remember negatively.

  • Read more about the background here: Economy in recession

2. Credit points and notes

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63 percent work alongside their studies: Jobbing student (symbolic image)

Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa

Yikes, ten percent of students live in their own apartment or even their own house? This is the result of the so-called social survey, which the German Student Union conducts every three to four years. In the current survey, more than 180,000 prospective academics provided information about their everyday lives, their wallets and their bank accounts. And at first glance, it seems as if many are not as clammy as the cliché of the starving student. So do the young people make a lot of bills while collecting credit points?

No, says my colleague Armin Himmelrath, "working part-time students in particular distort the overall picture." They have only recently been recorded and make the financial situation appear less dramatic than it is. "The federal government, and especially the FDP-led Ministry of Education, must not lose sight of the poor students far below the poverty line." The social survey also shows this: More than 15 percent do not even have 500 euros a month available to make a living. And 11 percent say they don't know how to make ends meet in the next few months.

  • Read more here: »We have a mental health crisis among students«

3. Better than all the Rest

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Tina Turner performing in Chicago in October 2000

Photograph:

Paul Natkin / Getty Images

The news of Tina Turner's death dominates the headlines, radio stations play her biggest hits, newsrooms publish obituaries. Because this career, this life was truly extraordinary: as a child, Tina Turner picked cotton on a plantation, her musical career began in a nightclub. "A steep climb was followed by an abrupt crash – but in the end she turned her life into her greatest work of art," writes my colleague Tobias Rapp.

What remains are their songs. And "the pleasant shivers that run down your spine when you hear it," as my colleague Malte Göbel writes. He particularly recommends these seven hits:

  • »Proud Mary« (1971)

  • »Nutbush City Limits« (1973)

  • »What's Love Got To Do With It?« (1984)

  • »Private Dancer« (1984)

  • »We Don't Need Another Hero« (1985)

  • »The Best« (1989)

  • »GoldenEye« (1995)

And here you will find the stories behind the songs.

News and background information on the war in Ukraine:

  • Russia supporters manipulate navigation system: It was supposed to look as if ships formed a 65-kilometre-long "Z" on the Black Sea – but in reality they were not there at all: hackers have apparently manipulated the maritime navigation system AIS for propaganda purposes.

  • Belarus allows Russia to deploy tactical nuclear weapons: Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted weeks ago that nuclear weapons would be stationed in neighboring Belarus, and now the deal has been reached. And Moscow's defense minister is making new accusations against the West.

  • U.S. suspects Ukrainian special forces behind drone incident at Kremlin: Two drones were shot down near the Kremlin at the beginning of May – the US government suspects the backers in Kiev. Zelensky urges Iran to think. And: confusion about smoke development in Moscow.


  • Here you will find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine: The news update

What else is important today

  • Kılıçdaroğlu sues Erdoğan for fake video: In the battle for the presidency in Turkey, the decision is approaching. Now challenger Kılıçdaroğlu is filing a lawsuit: incumbent Erdoğan is said to have deceived voters with a fake video.

  • U.S. and South Korea launch firing exercises to deter North Korea: 2500 soldiers, more than 600 weapon systems: With a large-scale training, the United States and South Korea want to respond decisively to threats from North Korea, according to their own statements. Pyongyang sees a "war exercise".

  • This is what the weather will be like at Pentecost: The weather on the long Pentecost weekend is supposed to be mostly sunny and dry - you can find out where this is different here. And: For Italian holidaymakers, there is at least some all-clear.

What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+

  • "The FDP must now answer that": What mistakes did the traffic light make with the climate law? SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil talks about the coalition's ongoing dispute and his expectations of the FDP.

  • Why Elon Musk is moving Twitter to the right: Twitter gives Ron DeSantis a jerky start in his campaign. This is amusing, but Musk's readjustment of the platform is consequential – for the US and the world.

  • The last village: Lützerath in North Rhine-Westphalia is history, now the gaze of climate demonstrators is directed to the east. But there they react with bewilderment to the resistance.

What is less important today

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Andersson and Ulvaeus (in »Wetten, dass..?« End of 2021): No real Abba reunion for the »Waterloo« anniversary either

Photograph:

Frederik Kern/Geisler-Fotopress / picture alliance

Don't be funny: Swedish band Abba has rejected speculation about performing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Sweden. That was "out of the question," said co-founder Benny Andersson, 76, in a BBC interview. I don't want that. And if I don't want to, the others don't want to either. It's the same for all four of us. If someone says no, that's a no."

Mini concave mirror

Here you will find the whole concave mirror.

Cartoon of the Day

And tonight?

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"Ariel" actress Halle Bailey: Half of the film condemned to passivity

Photograph:

LMK / action press

Could you watch Disney's »Ariel« with your children. However, perhaps the animated version from 1989 would be better and not the live-action adaptation that is being released in cinemas today. Because the original is "livelier than the infusion", says my colleague Andreas Borcholte. Ariel languished "eternally unemancipated and passive in only a slightly modernized setting, until Ursula's plot fails and deep-sea dad Triton finally redeems her from the fishtail". In the much shorter original, the flounder-like flatness of this story was not so noticeable, especially since crab Sebastian and seagull Scuttle provided turbulent distraction. "Unfortunately, without cartoon effects, their fun factor now falls by the wayside even in the brightly colored water ballet," says Andreas.

Keep your head above water! Have a nice evening, cordially

Yours, Oliver Trenkamp, newspaper editor in the editor-in-chief