"Magic of Tones"

SPIEGEL cover story:

Music can move you to tears or comfort troubled hearts. And it can drive masses of people to ecstasy. But why? Researchers are trying to get to the origins of the most puzzling art. Their conclusion: it is music that makes Homo sapiens a social creature. Music is probably the strangest type of art that humans have created. Unlike painting, poetry or sculpture, it does not depict the world. A chord means nothing, a melody makes no sense. Essentially, music is pure mathematics - calculable vibrations of air whose frequencies are superimposed on one another according to the laws of physics. Psychologists, brain experts, mathematicians and musicologists are trying to get down to the bottom of the phenomenon by employing the methods of modern science. Music, they have shown, is more than just aimless idleness. Evidence is mounting up showing how closely bound up it is with the nature of humankind and its world.

"Campaign Dust Off"

Federalism: Finally, a slow-moving debate is picking up speed. The political parties in Germany want to reform the federation. A commission is to consider how the federation and the states can better distribute their responsibilities. In two years, the Basic Constitutional Law may be modernized.

"You're Not at War"

Bundeswehr: Following the attack on a Bundeswehr convoy in Kabul, there is increasing evidence that the commanders disregarded protective procedures and endangered soldiers needlessly. In fact, several rules stipulated in the internal "guide" for the "protection of convoys" were broken on the routine trips to the airport. For example: the closing off of streets by military escorts, preventing the unauthorized passing of convoys by means of security vehicles, taking various routes, transporting soldiers only in armoured vehicles in danger zones and sending along ambulances. Immediately after the explosion, military authorities announced that such precautions had previously not been necessary in Kabul, where the Germans thought themselves well-liked, and the precautions were also "too costly".

Headline not yet known

Insurance Cartel: Managers across the board complain that insurance companies are cancelling their industrial insurance policies and demanding hefty rises in premium prices. Attempts to switch to a different company and get a better deal regularly fail. Since last week, the suspicion that such uniform behaviour, which violates competition law, can only be explained by telepathic energies has become official. The allegations of cartel building and the threat of severe penance has hit the insurance companies at a time when the industry is struggling worldwide with its most serious crisis to date and the aftermath of the stock market weakness.

"Kalashnikov Republic"

Caucasians: The Abkhaz Republic, a former tourist paradise on the Black Sea, wants to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its secession from Georgia - and is preparing for new armed conflict. "In effect, we are a Russian protectorate", admits Sergey Shamba, who nonetheless prefers to be called the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Members of the UN mission and German military observers, 11 of whom are at present in the troubled area, have recently started to fear that Georgia could still want to reconquer the Abkhaz Republic by force - this time, possibly even with American assistance.

"Parsi Paradox"

India: The leaders of the thousands-years-old religion want to prevent interfaith marriages. Will Zarathustra's followers die out? Many Parsis speak of a "talibanization" of their faith. But it is not only the ban on mixed marriages that threatens the Parsis' future. They tend in general to marry at a later age, thus lowering the number of children and, as a result, the number of the faithful.

"The Gist of the Matter"

Great Britain: Charming, charismatic, eloquent - Prime Minister Tony Blair is celebrated in the USA as a political wunderkind, but at home, his star is sinking. For the first time in a decade, the Labour Party is more popular than he is. Will Blair soon be the Emperor without Clothes?

"Fear has Disciplined Me"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Bianca Jagger about her metamorphosis from star of the 1970's party gang in New York to fighter for human rights and against the war in Iraq, her friendship with Andy Warhol and her anger at George W. Bush:

"I want to be a witness when innocent people are endangered. ... At first, it was extremely difficult, and I realized that I would have to demonstrate more perseverance than others to be taken seriously. By now, I have worked for human rights for over 21 years. ... I did not realize what Mick's fame and the resulting media pressure entailed. ... Our marriage had good and bad aspects, like everything does. A couple of good ones, a lot of bad ones. ... Andy was a visionary. He had the directness of a child and, at the same time, a vicious side. He could siphon off other people's knowledge and create something brilliantly new from it. ... As someone who grew up in the Third World, I find any form of colonial or imperialistic activity repugnant. ... Bush is the most harmful and the most dangerous president that America has ever had. A man who shows nothing but contempt for the UN, for international treaties, the environment, the judiciary, and civil rights."

"The Power of Millions"

Protests: Young, rich heirs have gathered around Attac to support the opponents of globalization and have donated shares of their fortunes. In contrast to many New Economy pioneers who consider a car a status symbol and a shares portfolio at the expression of success, these heirs prefer to invest in justice, solidarity and grassroots democracy. The counterpart of New Economy yuppies has donated three-quarters of a million euros in the "Agitation Foundation", which is something like the Bank of Do-Gooders.

"Licence to Dance"

Revue: A Prague marionette is the star of a Canadian hip-hop videotape. Comical and brooding disputes between two dolls that hang on threads - and act: Spejbl and Hurvinek have been the stars of the famous Prague marionette theater for years. The carved lime-wood figures have long become a type of sacred national relic, comparable to the Karl Bridge, Pilsner beer or the Good Soldier Schweik. And then came this video from abroad. The Czechs consider it to be an infringement of copyright law.

"Eager for the Revolution"

Formula 1 racing: The races for the World Championship are more exciting than they have been for years. However, behind the scenes, a battle for the future of the Grand Prix rages. Car manufacturers want to dismantle the dictatorship of Godfather Bernie Ecclestone. Not even Ecclestone doubts that the elite league of motor sports is nearing a regime change. The pressure applied by the car companies is too great. They demand transparency, a say in management and a more just distribution of marketing profits in favour of the racing teams. If their demands are not met, the five auto manufacturers intend to run/implement their own championship under the name "Grand Prix World Championship" when their contracts with Ecclestone expire in 2008. Time is short: the independent teams are close to going broke.