1. The fascination of »Titanic«
Probably no other misfortune occupies and fascinates people like the sinking of the "Titanic" – to this day. This is now shown again by the search for the lost submersible "Titan", with which a crew of five, including at least two super-rich, was on its way to the wreck at a depth of 3800 meters. Since Sunday, the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards have been searching for the wrecker, the world press is reporting live, and the ratings are skyrocketing. (Here's a video.)
Little by little, it is now becoming known who is trapped on board the "Titan": The British billionaire and hobby adventurer Hamish Harding, who flew into space only last year with the Amazon founder's spaceship "Blue Origin", has to hope for rescue, according to the reports, as well as one of Pakistan's richest men and his son. Today, a spokesman for the family confirmed that Paul-Henri Nargeolet is also one of the five occupants. The former naval diver was part of the first expedition that examined the famous wreck in 1987. It is unclear how long the air on board will last.
Zoom Image
The »Titan« on an earlier voyage
Photo: OceanGate
The outer skin of the "Titan" has to withstand an enormous pressure, about 400 kilos per square centimeter. The submersible is a bold construction made of carbon fiber and titanium," says my colleague Christoph Seidler from our science department, who is trying to find out what exactly went wrong during the dive. As it stands, however, the company did not initially have it certified by one of the classic providers. It was pointed out that this would take too long and would be 'anathema to rapid innovation'." At the very least, this raises questions.
Another »Titanic« question, however, has long since been clarified, as Christoph pointed out to me: Why doesn't Kate Winslet make room for her Leonardo DiCaprio on the makeshift raft in the film? Because James Cameron was so annoyed by the question, he had the scene recreated under scientific conditions – with the result: only one of them could survive.
Read more about the technology of the lost submersible here: 400 kilograms weigh on every square centimeter
2. Little ice, a lot of mountain
The glaciers in the Himalayas supply almost two billion people with water – now it turns out that, according to scientists, they are melting faster than ever before due to climate change – and much faster than experts assume. The consequences threaten a number of places.
Zoom Image
Himalayan mountain range (picture from 2022)
Photo: Nicolas Economou / NurPhoto / Getty Images
"We're going to lose glaciers in a hundred years," said Philippus Wester, an environmental scientist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, who led the report. "When it gets warmer, ice melts, that was expected, but what wasn't expected and is very worrying is the speed."
With a warming of 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial temperatures, glaciers across the region will lose 2100 to 30 percent of their volume by 50, the report said.
Read more here: Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than in the past decade
3. What a bear's personality!
A teddy bear is to cheer the German national team to success at the home European Championship in 2024 - Uefa presented the mascot today. It doesn't have a name yet, but at least a pair of pants. Which is not a matter of course after the bottom-free-shaggy cattle Goleo from 2006.
Zoom Image
A duster?
Photo: UEFA / dpa
"Despite the turn of the German era, the animal, in its ostentatious harmlessness, remains a representative of the past, rather anti-militarist decades," says my colleague Marco Fuchs from our sports department. "No one in Europe has to be afraid here. Germany speed means a leisurely stroll with a teddy bear friend.«
The official name suggestions are, no joke, Albärt, Bärnardo, Bärnheart and Herzi von Bär. Marco fears: "The names open up the space in which such proposals are created. Agency people have agency ideas and we-don't-want-to-hurt-anyone-decision-makers like Philipp Lahm then also file the last corners.« So many beautiful things would have been possible, Marco's favorite: "Bärtolt Brecht! Bärlusconi! Or also: wild garlic (Welcome to Germany!)«
Do you have any better ideas? Write to us at lageamabend@spiegel.de . We will publish the best ones here in the coming days.
Here you can find Marco's gloss: Der Bärendienst
News and background information on the war in Ukraine:
Putin's economic figures are propaganda. Or? The official growth figures from the Kremlin are suspiciously good despite sanctions. Robert Habeck is now setting up a monitoring tool for the Russian economy. There are already ways to learn more about the situation.
Fleeing Ukraine causes population growth in Germany: The population in Germany grew by 2022.1 million people in 1 – according to statisticians, this is mainly due to the movement of refugees from Ukraine. The newcomers are also changing the demographics in this country.
Expropriated Putin: There is still a huge amount of Russian state assets in Western accounts. The money should now be secured for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Here you will find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine: The news update
What else is important today
Scholz appeals for China to exert more influence on Russia: After the german-Chinese intergovernmental consultations, Olaf Scholz and Li Qiang showed their willingness to engage in dialogue – but the Chinese premier did not respond to the chancellor's appeal.
Low wages in prisons are unconstitutional: Two prisoners have won a victory before the Federal Constitutional Court: They complained about the amount of the remuneration – now the legislature has to make improvements. Even in the best case, prisoners earn only 2.30 euros per hour.
Police investigate Robert Sesselmann: On Sunday, he could be elected as the first AfD district administrator – now it is known: According to SPIEGEL information, the Thuringian police are investigating the suspicion that Robert Sesselmann is said to have threatened a man during the election campaign.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
An oligarch, a villa in the Alps – and Putin's daughter: Arkady Rotenberg is one of Russia's richest men and Putin's close confidant. Internal documents now show for the first time in detail how he probably camouflages his fortune – also in Kitzbühel, Austria.
The mailboxes remain empty – and no one is doing anything about it: Deutsche Post has recently been slower than ever, and many customers are annoyed. Actually, the Federal Network Agency is supposed to control the company, but it has so far been powerless.
»The younger colleagues send me their to-do lists every day«: Anahita Thoms volunteers in addition to her job as a lawyer. This only works because she lives efficiently, she says. Here, she reveals her best tricks – and how much Gen Z she's in.
DFB star İlkay Gündoğan – this is his team now: İlkay Gündoğan has been a national player for twelve years, and now he is assigned the leadership role: the captain of Manchester City is to lead this team out of the crisis. Can he do that?
What is less important today
Enlarge imagePhoto: Matt York / AP
Oberkörber: Basketball player and 12-time All-Star Chris Paul, 38, said he learned during a flight to New York that he would probably have to leave his previous club, the Phoenix Suns, and join the Washington Wizards, as he told the New York Times. According to the report, he received a text message from his son Chris II, 14, who had learned it from television. The athlete himself said he was surprised: "Anything can happen in this league."
Mini concave mirror
The »Bild« newspaper about the mountaineer Reinhold Messner:
"Messner says in the Italian newspaper 'La Stampa': 'Bears and wolves cannot be culled, but the bears have overpopulated the forests. They have to be cut in half.'"
Here you will find the whole concave mirror.
Cartoon of the Day
And tonight?
Could you follow a recommendation from my colleague Eva Thöne from our culture department and start reading the Australian thriller »Zu Staub« by author Jane Harper.
Photo: Felix Cesare / Getty Images
"What makes the thriller truly unique is Harper's talent for describing nature," says Eva. "When she describes the absolute night, because the transformer is turned off on the farm in the evening, it is eerie and attractive at the same time: the stars and the distant howling of the dingoes are beautiful, but at the same time one of the people who are on the farm in the dark must be the murderer." (Here's the full review.)
I wish you an exciting evening. Heartily
Yours, Oliver Trenkamp, newspaper editor in the editor-in-chief