"I Felt Ashamed"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson on a possible new war, Germany's role in the Alliance and Nato's relationship with the USA:

"All the measures for which the Americans want our support would presuppose that they show us new evidence. And tell us what measures result from this. The resolution passed by the American Congress authorising military measures refers directly to September 11, al Qaida and bin Laden. … Nato badly needs more and better special troops. We have hesitated too long - hoping that terrible scenarios like this would never occur. Now we know that they can occur … When it was founded, Nato had 12 members. Now there are 19 of us, and the decision to undertake our biggest military campaign so far was reached unanimously. If there's a political will in defence issues, it doesn't matter how many states are involved. But some administrative things will need to be changed."

"An Explosive Situation"

German armed forces: A confidential report paints a grim picture of the internal state of the armed forces. The army feels overstretched - and has no confidence in the political leadership. The confidential paper contrasts starkly with the image of a dedicated company of soldiers which Rudolf Scharping so much likes to present - and which is all too often acted out for him when he inspects the troops.

"There's Going to Be Another War"

Afghanistan: Kabul's interim prime minister Hamid Karzai finds himself challenged by the warlords in the provinces. The tribal lords are expanding their influence in bloody skirmishes. In Masar-i-Sharif, too, rivals are fighting for power - and threatening the government. Afghanistan's fate will not be decided in the capital but out in the provinces, where the government hasn't even got its own confidants as governors, and there are no soldiers from the international peace-keeping force to be seen.

SPIEGEL interview with Afghanistan's deputy defence minister Abdul Rashid Dostam, 47, on the fighting in his region.

"Hunted Hunters"

Middle East: After one year in office, hard-liner Ariel Sharon is at the end of his military wits. Instead of a cease-fire, violence is escalating. Resistance against the bombings is growing in Israel. After a long period of silence, the peace movement appears to be gaining momentum again. Sharon, who for a long time achieved top scores in the opinion polls, has dropped in popularity by almost 20 percent. Instead of the promised security, he has given Israel a record numbers of dead. Added to this, the country is in a severe economic crisis with rising unemployment.

"Sharks Have Sharp Teeth"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Leo Kirch and his managing director Dieter Hahn, on the television empire's debt debacle, the possible restructuring of the German media landscape and their fear of the insatiable appetite of their most powerful competitor, Rupert Murdoch:

"Our huge capital demands have reached an order of magnitude which can no longer be satisfied by a single entrepreneur and a few core banks." (Hahn) "We found the remarks by Rolf Breuer, the head of Deutsche Bank, extremely odd. But here it's a case of a clash between two banking ideologies: long-term oriented banks and short-term oriented investment banks. The latter are interested in quick profits. They would certainly gain more through the filleting of our company. Funnily enough, Deutsche Bank doesn't finance our operative business anywhere. So that poses the question, who or what is behind Breuer's remarks." (Hahn) "We undoubtedly underestimated the vehemence with which Murdoch would push onto the German media market." (Hahn) "Sharks have sharp teeth. If you can't swim with them, you shouldn't climb into the pool with them in the first place." (Kirch) "If it's necessary, I'll hold out everything to him. Let him eat me, then." (Kirch)

"Saddam's List"

Arms exports: Once again, the Germans are delivering. A company in Mannheim is said to have supplied arms to Iraq. Elsewhere in Europe, too, Baghdad's German henchmen have been on a shopping spree. Experts are surprised that German companies are once again involved in Iraq's rearmament. Because unlike in the 1980s, when "Made in Germany" was still a key pillar for building up a huge arsenal of weapons in Mesopotamia, the entire European industry has for years been regarded as being prudent and very reserved. Now the evidence not only points to Germany, but also to Switzerland and the UK.

"Dope for Survival"

Drugs: Having been postponed for years, a nation-wide trial is now finally starting in Karlsruhe and Bonn, in which heroin is to be supplied to junkies. Switzerland already knows the results. Little by little, 560 long-term fixers in seven German cities are to be given free heroin in a large-scale scientific trial, as well as receiving psychosocial care and therapy. The initiators hope that eventually the crimes associated with drug procurement will decline and the open drug scene will gradually fade away.

"Doner Kebabs for the Delinquent"

Justice: Imaginative judges are sending young neo-Nazis to refugee homes, to mosques or to Turkish snack bars. As bizarre as these punishments may seem - they work.

"Crustacean Cemetery"

Marine biology: Industry is discovering krill as a cheap natural resource in the polar seas. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of the Antarctic shrimp-like crustacean are already turned into frozen food, cosmetics and ointments. Scientists are now trying to estimate the stocks so as to prevent over-fishing. The bioluminescent organisms live in swarms which can weigh up to two million tonnes. Krill is a protein-rich food for whales, penguins and seals. However, for some years now human beings have also become a serious competitor in the hunt for the shimmering, whitish crustaceans. According to a study by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), fishing trawlers from Japan or Poland are already removing 160,000 tones a year from the seas. However the enormous stocks of krill all around the Antarctic are nothing like as stable as the industry believes. Among other reasons, this is because of the extraordinary living and reproduction habits of the shrimp-like creatures.

"The Prada Meinhof Gang"

Zeitgeist: In films, plays and "in" boutiques, the terrorism of the Red Army Faction in the 1970s is undergoing a revival - as a pop phenomenon. Armed struggle is becoming cult, and Andreas Baader, the head of the RAF, is being turned into a cool fashion hero. The children of the "New Centre" are rehearsing radical chic. The sociological terms which the erstwhile revolutionaries would have used to describe this bizarre "societal process" which is now turning them into cartoon figures are "fetishisation" and "objectification". The pop-aesthetic renaissance of the RAF is obviously a reaction to the enormous social emptiness after the bankruptcy of utopias and visions borne of historical optimism.

"Battle of the Big Companies"

Formula one: Once a competition between private racing teams, the Grand Prix circus is now becoming a marketing war within the auto industry - seven car manufacturers want to use it to win over customers. Toyota and Renault have set a new trend: rather than just supplying the engine, they actually build the entire car.

"Sofa-bed behind Frosted Glass"

Automobiles: The German companies DaimlerChrysler, BMW and Volkswagen want to build "high-end" luxury cars for the super-rich. Are there really enough buyers for this kind of status limo? Market researchers are sceptical as to whether this phalanx of "high-end cars", as the manufacturers call them, really will find enough takers. According to a study by the Institute for Automotive Studies (IFA) at the Nürtingen Technical College, the world-wide annual production of almost 20,000 such vehicles would contrast with a natural demand of barely more than 10,000.