"Eastern Taboo Zone"

A government think tank of experts on Eastern Germany, including politicians, practicians and scientists, is drawing disastrous conclusions after taking stock of the unification policies. The old-style reconstruction of the east is accelerating the disintegration in the west. The experts recommend that the eastern states should be declared a special economic zone.

"Masters of Jihad"

Pakistan: Poorhouse and nuclear power, United States ally and breeding ground for Islamic violence - Pakistan is a country of opposites, and a source of danger to the world. Washington places its hopes in the military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who pampers radical mullahs but allows special units of the CIA to hunt Bin Laden. This is the only nation in the world that owes its existence to Islam - with the bloody division of the subcontinent in 1947 to create Hindu-oriented India and a Muslim "Land of the Pure". With its foundation, this Pakistan was catapulted into the centre of world politics; three wars against India over Kashmir followed. Since 11 September 2001, at the latest, and the dramatic change of course in a Western direction, Pakistan has returned to centre stage once again, torn apart by terrorism, threatened by a nuclear war with its neighbour and by dissolution.

"That Came from Us"

Foreign policy: An allusion by the German intelligence service BND to Iraqi biological weapons is turning into a political issue. Were reasons for the war - perhaps even the crucial ones - supplied by Germany, of all countries, one that opposed the war? For months, the German government and the BND have been fearing a return from Washington. Last Wednesday, their forecast turned out to be right. With the help of the "Los Angeles Times", the US administration off-loaded part of the responsibility for the Iraq debacle on Berlin. Because the story of mobile laboratories for biological weapons, one of the ten key points that US Secretary of State Colin Powell used to try and persuade the UN Security Council of Iraq's guilt, had been supplied by the Germans.

"Ghetto of Hope"

Iraq: The Green Zone is the district in the centre of Baghdad where Americans and Iraqis are trying out the vision of a new Iraq. Eventually, the entire country is meant to become as western and peaceful as things are here; but outside the Zone, everyday life is ruled by gangster capitalism.

"We Never Killed without Reason"

SPIEGEL interview with Nejmiye Hoxha, 82, widow of Albania's former communist dictator Enver Hoxha, about her husband's regime and the future of the crisis-ridden province Kosovo:

"We couldn't be liberal, because we faced threats from the air, from land and from sea. Our foreign enemies forged an alliance with our adversaries in our own country. For that reason we had to destroy their families, and we expelled the grumblers from Tirana along with their relatives and turned them into hostages. ... Kosovo must gain independence as quickly as possible. As for a future connection with Albania, it must either be for ever or else it needn't happen at all."

"The Khmer Rouge as Tourist Guides"

Cambodia: The murderous Khmer Rouge are being left largely untroubled: now tourists are going on pilgrimages following in the footsteps of the Stone Age communists.

"Poison for the Location"

SPIEGEL interview with the head of General Electric Germany, Thomas Limberger, about transferring German jobs to low-wage countries, and manager patriotism:

"As a technology company we carry out our development where the resources are - in China and in India, but also in Germany. Comparing it on an international level, fundamental research is still outstanding in this country. I am also starting to become annoyed at the way numerous top managers keep speaking deprecatingly about Germany as a business location. It's far better than its reputation. ... When it comes to research, the typical German issues like the backlog in the reforms or the high additional wage costs are of only limited relevance. I'm looking for attractive locations. The ones that are attractive are those where the necessary experts are available. You won't get top people for low wages anywhere in the world. ... You should definitely have a feeling for the market in which you are active - and have a healthy relationship to the country you work in. My job is to generate growth for GE in Germany, Austria and Switzerland."

"Berlin Bash"

Expenses: The head of the German Federal bank Ernst Welteke enjoys being invited out frequently by other banks. Germany's best-paid civil servant considers that to be perfectly normal.

"Underwater Lighthouses"

Oceanography: All over the world, tens of thousands of extinct volcanoes rise kilometres above the ocean floor. Covered by forests of coral, their slopes are home to sharks, squid and ancient deep-sea fish. Fishing and the mining of mineral resources now threaten to destroy the variety even before it has been studied. All over the world, new expeditions are setting out to visit these subsea giants, some of which tower up to 4000 metres above the floor of the ocean. What drives the researchers on is their fear for some of the last untouched ecosystems on Earth. Because the sea floor is not a single desolate plain: valleys, jagged gorges, sharp ridges, steep slopes and high peaks lie beneath the waves, covered with a magical forest of sea pens, coral and marine ferns, inhabited by creatures that look as if they came from a different world.

"My Subconscious Mind Wanted the Scandal"

SPIEGEL interview with British singer George Michael about private tragedies and his writer's block, the struggle for artistic independence and his latest album "Patience":

"I had writer's block. After the death of my mother in 1997 I developed severe depressions. I myself wouldn't have thought it would take me so long to get over it. ... I try to draw a line between private matters and my separate public existence. As George Michael I have only been present in video clips over the past few years; alongside that there's Yog, as my friends call me. ... At some point I realised that I'm not the innovative type. I prefer to vary elements of rhythm and blues, jazz and folk to create songs with which I can move an audience. ... In future, my new music will only be available on my Internet website."

"Pugnacity and Devotion"

Authors: The correspondence between Ernst Jünger and Gerhard Nebel is bringing a forgotten writer back into public awareness; and offers a somewhat shuddering glimpse of the post-war era.

"Triumphal March of Kraut Art"

Art market: Young German art is currently an export hit. Gallery owners and art buyers in London and New York are particularly enthusiastic about the paintings of Jonathan Meese, Thoralf Knobloch, Tim Eitel and their colleagues. However, the White Cube, the most important gallery in the art and finance centre London, is still undecided whether or not to dedicate its next big summer show to the Germans. In the museums of the world, the younger artistic Germany is also represented by video artists and the inventors of cryptic installations; private customers, on the other hand, demonstratively favour the trend towards paintings from post-reunification Germany.