"The Giant of Mediocrity"

Cabinet: To his own astonishment, defence minister Peter Struck is viewed as a potential successor to Gerhard Schröder. He does his job well, but can he do more?

"Time Is Running Out"

SPIEGEL interview with former Iraqi Human Rights Minister, Abdul Basit Turki, about the escalation of violence and the looming failure of the democracy project:

"The hatred for the Americans and for the British is increasing by the hour since the torture practised in the prisons became known, and it could vent itself with great force. ... I also stepped down because the Americans were constantly attacking Iraqi towns with tanks and aircraft, because they were proceeding inhumanely in their house-to-house searches, because they were stealing and violating the dignity of the people. It had become clear to me that the Americans didn't want a peaceful solution to the problems. ... [Asked by DER SPIEGEL whether he reported the deplorable state of affairs in Abu Ghraib prison to US governor Paul Bremer early on:] That's correct: last December. After that he did intervene and ensure a better treatment of female prisoners. But other than that the Army didn't want to listen to the civil administrator Bremer, and simply carried on."

"The Rich Must Sacrifice More"

Interview with Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim about his country's new role in the bloc of newly-industrialised countries, European protectionism and the cooler relations with the United States:

"Europeans are humming and hawing, their offers are not particularly transparent. But I'm optimistic. The agreement is of political as well of economic significance: we want to promote multipolarity. ... It was only the trust between Brazil, South Africa and India that made it possible for us to establish a common bloc of agricultural nations in the World Trade Organisation. Since then, the Europeans and Americans have been treating us with more respect. ... Prior to the Brazilian reaction, the USA believed they could push through the tightening of regulations about entering the country without protest. Now the US press is writing: let's fight terrorists not tourists."

"A Strong Headwind Everywhere"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with the head of Boss, Bruno Sälzer, about his solitary battle against the discount mania, the opportunities and limitations of Germany as a company location, his desire to expand and the question as to when the global enterprise from Metzingen will finally come round to understanding female customers:

"I explained to the retailers that if they throw us on the cheap goods table they are ultimately destroying their own businesses. If we as the market leader had slipped down, the entire segment would have come apart. Once you have forfeited your standards, you can never go back again. ... If we hadn't internationalised early on, we would no longer have been able to afford many of our jobs in Germany today. ... In the long run you cannot play in the world league of fashion without women. Our women's business grew by 30 percent last year. In ten years' time, Boss should be achieving about a third of its turnover with women's fashion."

"Bell the Cat"

SPIEGEL interview with head of Siemens Heinrich von Pierer about Siemens's location policy:

"Our aim is to safeguard as many jobs as possible in Germany. This is not a contradiction to our having to be close to customers and the know-how of locals specialists in markets that are undergoing dynamic growth, such as China. Our competitors have led the way in that respect. If we didn't do it we would be harming our world-wide competitiveness. And if that happened, we'd be risking far more jobs here in Germany."

"Do You Know What Pain Is?"

Afghanistan: "Zar", "zamin" and "zan" - gold, land and women - are still the proudest possessions of men in Afghanistan; even two years after the Taliban were ousted. But everywhere women are trying to find small refuges. In the old days, the chief Taliban Mullah Omar took care of things with the help of his religious police; nowadays the men of Kandahar do so themselves: their women are only allowed to leave the house wearing a burka and never without their husbands' permission. Even now, very few girls attend school, and Kandahar University only has a handful of female students. The Pashtun heads of family would rather starve than allow their women to go out and work. What is the meaning of progress in this exhausted country, bled dry by 23 years of war? A roof over your head instead of a damp sheet of plastic from the UNHCR. No longer having to sleep ten to a room. A job and something that will one day belong to you, such as a couple of sheep or a piece of land.

"Garbo Never Forgave Me"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with playwright and author George Tabori about his adventurous life, his meeting with Bertholt Brecht in Hollywood and his forthcoming 90th birthday celebrations:

"Throughout my life, I've always felt that my birthday has less to do with me than with my parents. After all, they made me. ... You mustn't tell me too much about the festivities because otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise any more. ... I met Brecht when a friend of mine was producing "Galileo Galilei" in Los Angeles, which was a crazy affair. Brecht was smoking a stinking cigar. When I was introduced he just nodded at me. Ms. Weigel was very friendly on the other hand. But then I immediately got tied up with her daughter Barbara, who was 16 years old at the time and incredibly cheeky."

"The David from the East"

Medicines: Five pharmaceutical giants are taking legal action against a biotech start-up from the East German town of Halle. The bone of contention is a patent for a diabetes therapy which could make billions. All of them want to use the same method by which Probiodrug is hoping to help diabetics. In Probiodrug's case, the amount of money involved is unusually high. Because each of the pharmaceutical giants is desperately seeking new active substances for the market of adult-onset (type II) diabetes.

"The Bard's Message"

Archaeology: The new film about Troy uses the oldest piece of world literature for an orgy of blood and biceps. Recent research shows that Homer was telling the story of a genuine primeval war between Europe and the Orient. His epic poem contains documents of a battle which marked the end of the Bronze Age.