Spiral of violence in the Middle East

The situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly precarious. The UN Security Council will address the situation today. The special session was requested by Russia. Moscow officials may want to use the opportunity to do what they particularly like - accuse the United States of warmongering.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling in the region to negotiate the release of the hostages in Gaza, among others in Israel and Saudi Arabia. More than 100 people are still in the hands of Hamas terrorists.

The White House also announced further US attacks on Iranian-allied militias in the region. Groups that operate primarily in Syria and Iraq are blamed by Washington for the deaths of three American soldiers at the Tower 22 base in Jordan.

To protect ships in the Red Sea, US fighter jets have again attacked Houthi militia positions in Yemen. The Houthis, for their part, threatened further “escalation”. The Iranian government in Tehran said that the US government was making a "strategic mistake" with the air strikes that would only lead to new tensions.

What can be seen is a classic "tit-for-tat" between the USA on the one hand and Iran and its allies on the other: every strike is followed by a counter-strike. Both US President Joe Biden and the leadership in Tehran emphasize that they want to avoid a major conflict in the region. But at the moment everything seems to be going exactly that way.

  • You can read more background information here: The anger of the disappointed

US aid to Ukraine on the brink

The drama in the US Congress over the future of military aid for Ukraine is entering a new, even crazier phase: US President Joe Biden and the Senate have been trying for weeks to pass a billion-dollar package that includes money for both Ukraine and Ukraine also for Israel and for the protection of the US border with Mexico. So far, the Republicans in the House of Representatives have torpedoed the package, but now they are going one step further: The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, announced that he wants to pass a law this week that only provides aid for Israel. Ukraine should therefore initially receive no money.

On the other hand, in the Senate, the finished draft for the large package is available. But there is some evidence to suggest that there will no longer be an overall package. Ukraine can only hope that its case – similar to aid to Israel – will be dealt with by Congress in a separate decision. However, when this will happen and what the possible aid package for Kiev could look like remains more than uncertain. US President Joe Biden originally planned $60 billion for Ukraine. For this he depends on the vote in Congress.

  • You can read more background information here: Zelenskyj's risky game

France's young star at Scholz

Today, Chancellor Olaf Scholz receives the new French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in Berlin for the first time. Like most French people, the German head of government was apparently quite surprised when he found out about Attal's appointment by President Emmanuel Macron a few weeks ago. The previous education minister is only 34 years old, so 31 years younger than Scholz.

The meeting in Berlin is probably mainly about getting to know each other a little better. Scholz will certainly continue to coordinate primarily with President Macron on the important issues that affect Germany and France. Nevertheless, a good working relationship with the French Prime Minister can be helpful for him, for example if there is another problem in German-French relations. As is well known, Scholz has always had his problems with Macron in the past. From this point of view, it certainly can't hurt if Scholz finds someone in Paris with whom he can vent his grief in such cases in the future.

  • You can read more about Gabriel Attal here: The New One

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  • Fight properly against the AfD:

    Does the common fight for democracy prohibit a sharp confrontation between the government and the opposition? Absolutely not, in fact it is essential. 

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The starting question today: When was the “VAT” introduced in its current form in the Federal Republic of Germany?

Loser of the day...

... are the passengers of the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines. You still have to prepare for cancellations and delays today. Anyone who had planned to fly with the airline on vacation could be in for a nasty surprise.

Because of the pilots' strike, several connections were canceled on Sunday, such as flights to the Canary Islands or the USA. The Cockpit Association had called on the pilots to stop working for 48 hours. The aim of the strike is to enforce an initial collective agreement for the new airline.

  • Strike at Discover Airlines: Several Lufthansa subsidiary flights canceled up to and including Monday evening

The latest reports from the night

  • Pro-Palestinian student beats Jewish fellow student until hospitalized:

    According to police, in Berlin, a young man knocked down a Jewish fellow student and kicked him. The victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

  • Relief for companies – Lindner and Habeck are ready to talk:

    A special fund for business? With this initiative, Economics Minister Habeck caused irritation among Finance Minister Lindner. Both sides are now more conciliatory. But the question of money remains.

  • Two-year-old disappears while walking in the forest - major operation triggered:

    The father turned around briefly, then his son could no longer be found: A search operation with drones and helicopters then began in Oberellenbach, Hesse. The all-clear came late in the evening.

I would particularly like to recommend this text to you today:

The suffering of pharmacists:

Pharmacists are considered to be the biggest earners in the healthcare system. But small pharmacies far away from major cities in particular often struggle to make ends meet. And now the e-prescription is also annoying them, as my colleague Martin U. Müller learned in Bünde, East Westphalia. He was doing research at Reinhard Rokitta, 73,'s Punkt pharmacy. Joint ointments are sold here instead of cosmetics, blood pressure lowering drugs instead of homeopathy beads - and the first customer of the day has an urgent question when looking at her e-prescription: "What should I do?" Be better now?" Pharmacist Rokitta doesn't know either, he says: "You have to ask Mr. Lauterbach that." 

I wish you a good start to the day.

Yours, Roland Nelles, US correspondent