"Lost Illusions"

German government: The Chancellor had been pressing hard for some time, and finally, Joschka Fischer has come around. The Foreign Minister has given up his ambition to become the first Foreign Minister of the European Union and will run for office with Gerhard Schröder again in 2006 in a Red-Green campaign. This early decision will frustrate the career hopes of many in the Green Party.

"The Scourge of God"

Iraq: In the Shiite pilgrims' town of Nadjaf, a bloody battle for power is raging among the religious leaders. A young theocrat is leading the movement against the US occupying force. He wants to set up a dictatorship along Iranian lines, and has already formed his own army. Until now, the town of Nadjaf has been viewed as a haven of peace and order in the chaotic post-war Iraq. With their guardians of virtue, the Shiite theocrats guarantee security on the streets. Even after dusk Nadjaf seemed no more dangerous than any town in Central Europe. And yet the Shiite capital offers an unsettling glimpse of a possible future for the country now liberated from its dictator. The "Army of the Mahdi", which 23-year-old Muktada al-Sadr, self-proclaimed religious leader, called into life in July, appears to be tied up in a secret war. His warriors have their sights on the unpopular American occupying forces, of course. But the radical Shiites are also fighting against competing moderates.

"Ending the Occupation"

SPIEGEL interview with Shia leader Muktada al-Sadr about the conflict with the Americans:

"The Americans have got to go, because otherwise the wave of violence with spill over. ... They seem to be neither able nor willing to restore general safety. ... The Americans are pursuing highly selfish goals, which is why they will not leave our country a single day earlier than is necessary for securing their interests. ... The occupying forces have to hold elections in the immediate future. A referendum on the type of political structure that Iraqis want could mark the beginning."

"Everything Just Stolen?!"

Ten years after the Internet started up, the entertainment industry is facing one of the greatest threats in its history. Whether music or films, video games or PC programmes - making pirate copies has become a popular pastime. But what is art actually worth when it is available everywhere for free? Ten years after the Internet began its rise to become a mass medium, and just four years after the infamous music swapping site Napster first appeared in the media, the worst fears of the entire entertainment industry are coming true. Piracy has become a mass movement, and stealing a popular pastime.

"The Silent Revolution"

Turkey: Prime Minister Erdogan is shaking up the country. He is fighting to win the favour of the USA, wants to fulfil Europe's conditions for EU membership - and is worrying those in Brussels who are opposed to Turkey's membership. Up to 10,000 Turkish soldiers are meant to be moving into Iraq as peace-keeping troops in autumn - the third largest contingent after Americans and British. As desirable as Recep Jayyip Erdogan may find a better relationship with his disappointed allies in Washington, his real political goal is the entry of his country into the European Union. 70 percent of Turks want EU membership. Western European diplomats in Ankara believe that the progress report by the European Commission, which is expected in October, will be "very positive". If reforms are now implemented at a similar pace, the Community will have trouble getting round offering Turkey a date for beginning membership talks in December 2004 - as announced in Copenhagen.

"Hunting Pirates in the Arctic Seas"

Fishing: A strike against the fishing mafia? After pursuing it for three weeks, Australian investigators eventually boarded a Uruguayan boat. Pirates are believed to have caught the world's most expensive fish illegally. This pirate hunt in the Arctic Seas casts a glaring light on a rampant shadow business. Between Russia and Japan alone, one billion euros are thought to be turned over with illegally caught marine animals. The hake fishermen's profits are estimated to lie around 200 million euros. Because in addition to 12,000 tonnes of legally caught hake, at least another 20,000 tonnes are taken from the seas by clandestine captains. The piscine pirates are often backed by organised crime rings. It is difficult to find the men pulling the wires in the background.

"Firework Display of the Hyperstars"

Astronomy: The observation of a baby galaxy which was created shortly after the Big Bang is amazing astronomers. The first stars appear to have started burning much earlier than expected. But in the meantime, suns too have become subject to a declining birth rate. The scientists' calculations indicate that the young galaxy gave birth to a new star on average every five hours. More suns were formed every day than our galaxy, the Milky Way, produces in an entire year. But what researchers find far more fascinating is the huge amount of dust which was already wafting around in the centre of the baby galaxy at the time. This dust presumably consists of heavy elements. And this puzzles astronomers - because in the beginning, the universe was dust-free.

"His Majesty's Murderers"

Pirates: He was an admiral and a killer, he was the true curse of the Caribbean: Sir Henry Morgan is considered one of the most brutal pirates of all time. The Baden salvage specialist Klaus Keppler and the historian Peter Earle have been pursuing Morgan's trail for years. They have found documents, the sunken graveyard in which Morgan probably lies buried, and two of his ships. Morgan became the ruler of the Caribbean because he planned more dispassionately - and killed more passionately - than most. Outwardly he played the tyrant, inwardly a liberal. His men voted on battle plans and targets, and even signed contracts - most of them with a cross - about their collaboration.

"The Physics of Foamed Milk"

Electric appliances: Can espresso made at home ever be as good as that in an Italian café? Hordes of enthusiastic experimenters are struggling to produce the perfect hot drink with their expensive apparatuses. The path to achieving that Italian feel is a long one, but more and more people are embarking on it. The sale of espresso makers increases by at least 25 percent year after year. Since 2001, the Germans have even been paying more for these hallmarks of the art of living than for conventional coffee machines.

"The Polack and the Brownies"

Basketball: Superstar Dirk Nowitzki and his self-confident multi-cultural team represent the strongest German national team of all time. But at the European championships that begin on Friday, they will for the first time be under pressure to succeed. The team works in spite of its strange mixture, because basketball is not a sport that calls for language. Eye contact or a gesture are enough to communicate on the court. The different roots of the athletes also characterise the team's gameplay. It does not rely on Teutonic virtues, but has agreed on a code which coach Henrik Dettmann describes as "a mix of the three most important schools of basketball". The American school focuses on athletic skills, the Baltic school on dynamism, and the Yugoslav school focuses on discipline and versatility.