1. The time has come
The EU states today agreed on new sanctions against Russia (more here). At the traditional Matthiae meal in Hamburg City Hall yesterday, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called for more comprehensive support for Ukraine - and warned against underestimating Russia's expansionist drive: "My people and I observe with a certain concern how little attention is paid to what is happening currently brewing in the vastness of Russia.”
She quoted Lennart Meri, one of her predecessors in office. He said the same thing 30 years ago. Back then, in 1994, the deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg was sitting in the hall - and completely freaked out. His name: Vladimir Putin. He left the event in protest.
Just as Kaja Kallas was talking about it, an object crashed onto the parquet floor in the ballroom with a loud noise, reports my colleague Katja Iken, who was there yesterday: "It wasn't the ghost of Putin, though, just a journalist's cell phone. Nevertheless, the crowd froze for a brief moment. Prime Minister Kallas smiled - and continued her combative speech.
Here's the whole story: When Putin showed his true colors in Hamburg
2. Was it amicable?
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Tuchel leaves, who follows?
Photo: Christopher Neundorf / EPA
“There is too little work being done at all levels of society,” says economist Ulrike Malmendier (here is the entire interview). Does she also mean FC Bayern? In any case, the club will part ways with its coach Thomas Tuchel in the summer. The chairman of the board, Jan-Christian Dreesen, can be quoted with the usual phrase in such cases: "We came to the decision in an open, good conversation to mutually end our cooperation in the summer." Tuchel himself assures that he "of course wants to continue everything for maximum success«.
“This makes the rest of the season a double mission,” report my colleagues Peter Ahrens and Jan Göbel. "The current team is still fighting for the title, work is already being done in the background on the future." Who will follow Tuchel? There is still speculation about this. And we speculate with:
Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen, is “currently one of the most exciting coaches in professional football,” say his colleagues. That doesn't just make him interesting for Munich.
Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool FC, has everything a Bayern coach needs: he has the quality as a coach, knows how to play with the media, and trains a selection with stars. "At the same time, an appeal is very unlikely; the 56-year-old explained his end at Liverpool FC by saying that he needed a break."
Zinédine Zidane, without a club, "as a world star, would have the aura that would make even experienced players look up to him," according to his colleagues. However, he doesn't speak German. “So you shouldn’t tell Uli Hoeneß that before he makes a commitment.”
Again to the economist Malmendier: “We Germans are good at being in a bad mood. The country panics when things don't seem to be going well economically. It's something like a self-fulfilling prophecy." It's also true if you replace two words: German -> Bavaria, economic -> sporty.
You can find more candidate speculation here: These are the candidates for the coaching position at FC Bayern
3. Skins matter
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Customers in a Sephora store in Los Angeles
Photo: Amy Sussman / Haus Labs By Lady Gaga / Getty Images
There must be a ban on cell phones in schools. What am I talking about, a cell phone ban for everyone under 18! There is another reason for this that you can happily rub in your children and young people's faces: the cosmetics industry is increasingly targeting children and young people and is trying to get at them on social media. So-called skinfluencers, some of whom are still of primary school age, advertise anti-aging creams and make-up, for example on TikTok.
The phenomenon of “Sephora Kids”, named after the cosmetics chain, is particularly pronounced in the USA, reports my colleague Ines Zöttl. It's about more than Clearasil for spotty teenagers, but also about absurdities like cologne for newborns ($230 for 100 milliliters). Ines spoke to a dermatologist who, as she says, is seeing more and more children with rashes or acne. They often use “industrial remedies with special anti-aging ingredients or for firming and wrinkle smoothing.” She tries to make it clear to children that their skin does not tolerate adult products well.
I bet: All babies smell better without cologne, at least the ones that are freshly changed. And no scented water can beat the smell of a full diaper. The most effective remedy for wrinkles in pubescent teenagers is a long vacation for their parents. Then the cosmetics industry would have to reduce its sales growth, basically.
Read the full story here: When 10-year-olds want $900 cosmetics
What else is important today?
DFL cancels investor deal after fan protests
: A number of football fans had protested violently against the plans, but now the planned investor entry has surprisingly fallen through. The Executive Board of the German Football League decided this at an extraordinary meeting.
Scholz remains no to the Taurus delivery
: A traffic light motion in the Bundestag calls for the delivery of “long-range weapon systems” to Ukraine. Does this also mean the Taurus cruise missile? The Chancellor apparently doesn't see it that way.
Habeck sees the German economy in “difficult waters”
: Germany’s economy is in crisis. At the presentation of the annual economic report, Habeck called for a “reform booster”. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Lindner again campaigned for the controversial Growth Opportunities Act.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
"The Greens remain a potential partner"
: Saxony-Anhalt's Deputy Prime Minister Lydia Hüskens sees economic policy as a decisive test for the traffic lights. And has a recommendation for her FDP for the time afterwards.
»I'm not afraid of killing anyone. I just don't want to die"
: Hundreds of thousands of military capable people have left Ukraine, often on risky routes. Now Kiev is pushing for their return; a mobilization law is planned. What do the men say who are accused of treason by their compatriots?
How did the 1990 world champions fare? The football world mourns Andreas Brehme. The Hamburg native was part of the German World Cup team in 1990 and worked as a coach after his playing career. What happened to the other World Cup heroes?
Which is less important today
Sand and people
: US actor
Austin Butler
, 32, says he had to struggle with extreme heat in his first week of filming the second part of “Dune” – which is perhaps only moderately surprising, since the film is set on a fictional desert planet. "It was like being in a microwave," he told the US magazine "Entertainment Weekly": "There were people who fainted because of heat stroke."
Mini concave mirror
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And tonight?
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Photo: Christoph Reichwein / dpa
Could you plan your festival summer. Do you want to celebrate at an old military airport, at a race track, at the Olympic Stadium? Or be there everywhere? My colleague Bastian Midasch has put together the most important dates - here you can find an overview from May to September.
A lovely evening. Heartfelt
Yours, Oliver Trenkamp, Blattmacher in the editor-in-chief