"Fighters for the Caucasus”

Islamists: Two German Muslims have died in Chechnya. After Afghanistan, fundamentalists are apparently now also being recruited for the war against Russia. The death of the two men from the South German provinces has confirmed what investigators have suspected for some time: Muslims from Germany are fighting on the Chechnyan front too. Investigators are anxious that after the fall of Afghanistan Chechnya could now become the new focus of the world-wide jihad. So they are feverishly hunting for the wire-pullers and religious leaders who are recruiting fighters for the Caucasus in Germany.

“The Merry-go-round of the Candidates”

Deutsche Telekom: Telekom’s former CEO Ron Sommer was forced to step down because … well, why was he? His old strategy is to be continued, and one of his closest confidants is his most likely successor. Scarcely a day goes by without the media introducing yet another new candidate for the vacancy. And almost equally often, top managers from at home and abroad publicly announce that they are not available for the position, which goes with a salary of 4 million euros a year. The chaotic screening of candidates is unparalleled internationally too. Is this all just a coincidence, or are Hans-Dietrich Winkhaus and Helmuth Sihler only pretending to be hunting for a successor, and will they eventually present a solution that has long been decided internally, as insiders suspect? Telekom staff speculate that an in-house appointment would be the easiest way for the former Henkel managers to distract people from the fact that they actually backed all Sommer’s decisions to the bitter end.

“Professional Help”

Europe: The jubilation over EU enlargement is premature – a 25-member EU will be incapable of action. Now Joschka Fischer wants to speed up the reforms. Many decisions still have to be reached unanimously by the Council of Ministers, the legislative organ of the member states. But even resolutions for which a majority vote is sufficient, such as those on financial and economic policy, can be blocked by a small group of states. The great adventure of EU expansion to the east can only succeed if the Treaty of Nice is quickly revised – by a constitution that lays down clear rules for future cooperation. The Brussels constitutional convention with its 105 representatives from the governments and parliaments of the old and new member states, from the European Parliament and from the European Commission, wants to complete a draft constitution, including a new Community treaty, by the middle of 2003. Fischer has his own views on the architecture. In his opinion it is a question both of a “union of the states” and a “union of the citizens and democracy”. The Council’s decision-making procedures must reflect the interests of both.

“The Incense Connection”

Yemen: Home of the legendary Queen of Sheba, daring fortresses and special fragrances: the “Happy Arabia” of ancient times has deteriorated into a threatening haven for the Al Qaida terrorist network. Are Bin Laden’s followers organising attacks against the West from here? Much like his Pakistani colleague Pervez Musharraf, Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Salih, 60, only really had one option after the attacks of September 11: either to be blacklisted by the USA as a part of the “Axis of Evil”, or to at least formally declare his willingness to fight radical forces. During a visit to the White House in November 2001, the former army chief of staff decided to cooperate with the USA. However, Salih doesn’t want to be seen as simply following American orders – he faces a number of different fronts. Crushed between those living in the past and those living in the even more distant past, under pressure from the West, Salih does not perhaps himself know exactly where his loyalties lie.

“Seductive Situation”

Armed forces: The leadership of the army tries to regiment the love life of German soldiers, sometimes resorting to abstruse official regulations. But the cases heard by military courts show that overseas deployment and the rising number of women in the army put officers before insoluble problems. As always, the army’s leaders are reacting repressively to their staff’s growing problems with sexual issues. The military regulations concerning comradeship compel superiors to pry into private affairs which they would be better keeping out of – and there is no sign that this bizarre situation might change under the new defence minister Peter Struck (SPD).

“Expulsion from the Land of Thirst”

Namibia: President Nujoma wants to dispossess foreign landowners – and so divert attention from ineffective land reforms. Those now anxious about losing their property are primarily Germans. Twelve years after liberation from the occupying South African forces, which replaced the German colonial rulers at the end of World War I, a large proportion of the useable soil is still in the hands of whites. As in Zimbabwe, it seems that in Namibia, too, white farmers will be made the scapegoats for the fact that land reforms have advanced so slowly for so many years. Because the disunited governing party has to stand again in the 2004 presidential elections - and no topic is more suitable for uniting the party than a fairer distribution of the land.

“Your Daughter Is a Son”

Medicine: To this day, Jenny is unaware that she was born without a clear sex. Doctors persuaded her parents to let them carry out surgery that would make the child into a girl. Nevertheless, she sometimes behaves like a boy. How are the parents supposed to tell the now twelve-year-old the truth? Until recently, doctors didn’t believe there could be any problems with the prescribed sex. But the sense of whether one is female or male appears to be congenital and unalterable – no matter what surgery or upbringing make of it. Since doctors have begun listening to their patients instead of just dictating measures to them, they have had to relinquish a lot of their self-assurance.

“Pictures of Misfortune below Triumphal Arches”

Art: Monuments of Saddam Hussein dominate the scenery in Iraq, the cradle of culture. But one of the most lively art scenes of the Arab world is flourishing in their shadows. Nevertheless, many Iraqi artists are hoping for the return of the UN weapons inspectors: they are badly needed as buyers. The problem with producing art in present-day Iraq is not an ideological one, let alone one of police-control – it is the lack of money for working materials, but also the Iraqi clientele, which can barely afford to buy art any more. To paraphrase the Austrian journalist Karl Kraus: art which the censor understands is rightly banned. By that criterion, it is surprising just how much Baghdad’s censors are willing to permit.

“Frenzy of Sound with an Emergency Brake”

Opera: Opera director Peter Konwitschny, who has frequently triggered scandals, has dared to tackle Richard Wagner’s trickiest musical drama. Konwitschny’s disturbing Hamburg production of the “Meistersinger” saves up the big surprise for the end. This is the point when the shoemaker and poet Hans Sachs speaks out against “evil mischief” against Germany, railing against the “false southern king” and defending the “German master’s honour”. The orchestra falls silent; a debate begins on stage, reminiscent of the palaver of a citizen’s action group. Why this breaking with illusions out on stage? Is the department for political correctness being permitted to raise its accusing finger in the middle of the play? Or is Richard Wagner’s most elaborate, most fatally German, but also funniest opera simply to be given its ultimate closing gag? One thing is certain: Peter Konwitschny, 57, has once again succeeded in making himself and his latest project a topic of discussion – in a more economical way than ever. At the dress rehearsal last Thursday, he regretted that even in his production, Wagner’s situation comedy and his remarkable capers with rhymes are often difficult to follow. Only the full text makes it clear that Wagner was not presenting Germanic cardboard cut-outs, but witty, sometimes crafty people, though certainly in need of redemption.

“The Demise of the Marine Steeds”

Wildlife: Millions of sea horses die every year in aquariums, to be used in the making of potency drugs and keyring pendants. Conservationists are calling for strict monitoring of the trade whose consequences are disastrous. All 32 known species of sea horse are now on the international Red List of Threatened Species. In many parts of the world, the numbers of these colourful marine dwellers have dwindled to half in just five years. In Chile, it will be decided whether to add sea horses to the Second Annexe of the Washington Agreement on the Protection of Wildlife. If the move is successful, trading will still be legal, but exporters will in future have to furnish proof that the sea horses have been fished by sustainable means.