"A Touch of the Teutonic"

Terrorism: The suspected mastermind behind the attacks in Madrid lived in the Saarland for two years – at that time he was already thought to be an Islamist.

"Close, So Close to Paradise"

Israel: The apprentice Mahmud, the student Thaura and the imam Badr all wanted to take as many Israelis as possible into death with them through their suicide attacks. They failed narrowly. The three of them explain why they feel no sense of remorse and are continuing to agitate from prison.

"We Only Make Premium Cars"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with BMW boss Helmut Panke about the dangers of rising petrol prices for the car industry and the many limits his industry is coming up against - from the complexity of modern-day cars to the old maxim "more speed, more size, more power":

"Of course the price of petrol has risen noticeably over the past months. But that is also a psychological problem. Apart from the weather and the performance of the German national soccer team, we Germans like nothing better than to moan about the high price of petrol. ... Our customers are probably as aggrieved about the high price as the drivers of other makes. But that doesn't make them put off the intended purchase of a car. ... What good is a speed limit meant to be? ... The German car industry "drives" its innovations, and thus its technological advantage, on the local motorways - that's particularly true for car safety. ... It's no longer a matter of buying as many small components as possible in large numbers and hence cheaply. And BMW is big enough to be able to finance the development of new technologies - whereby engines are certainly the most expensive. If for example we use the same six-cylinder engine in all our series, that makes us highly efficient. ... Our experience with Rover led us to the conclusion that one ought to concentrate on one thing. We are only going to be making premium cars: BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce."

"It’s a Question of Credibility"

Interview with Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer about the future role of the alliance in crisis regions like Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.

"Sons of Bitches Everywhere"

Character assassination: Joseph Wilson was a diplomat who served his country quietly - until he caught the government lying about Iraq and someone in the White House exposed his wife as a CIA agent. Now he has become a symbol of the protest against the policies of the US President.

"Vibrant Revolt"

Art: The name Charlotte Salomon is missing from history books about German art; however the powerful cycle of paintings created by this young woman before she was murdered in Auschwitz, are a key work of the 20th century. Now it is being acknowledged here as such. What emerged was an ecstatic work of art, dominated by powerful paintings: the illustrated autobiography of a hunted woman, driven by the fear of not even having enough time to look back on her comparatively short life. Charlotte Salomon spent 18 months working on this retrospective diary. More than 1300 gloriously colourful, vibrant gouaches have been preserved. Everything about the work is surprising: the pictures, which are colourful but far from being arbitrary; the short texts, which give an unusually vivid impression; and the underlying concept behind the life report, that of a musical play - the author herself calls it a "Three-Colour Lyrical Drama"

"America Is Backward"

SPIEGEL interview with US singer Janet Jackson, 38, about her erotic preferences, "Nipplegate", the legal action against her brother Michael and her latest album:

"I was used. The incident was a perfect vehicle for distracting the American public from the catastrophic domestic and foreign political situation. People were supposed to forget that parts of society are becoming more and more impoverished and that the President has lost control of the war in Iraq. That's why I was declared a demon just because of a naked nipple. ... Family support is particularly important, especially in situations like this. I try to remind Michael that I'm his little sister who loves him and is there for him.

"Alone among Men"

Music: The French musician Emmanuelle Haïm is the new star of the classical scene. Now she has taken an important step on her way to a world career: she is conducting at the English operatic Mecca, the Glyndebourne Festival. The harpsichord player and conductor has long been regarded as "one of the hottest numbers" in baroque music; the only woman to stand on the conductor's rostrum. In fact, though, Madame has never actually studied conducting.

"German for Dogs"

Language development: A Border collie is learning new expressions according to a principle that linguists and psychologists had until now thought only human children capable of. Scientists hope that their research with dogs will provide new insights into what is unique about our language skills - and what is not. The first grunts of our direct ancestors are lost forever, so researchers all over the world are trying to understand the evolution of language using animals as a model. The more precisely the linguistic skills of animals are studied, the clearer it will hopefully become what restructuring of the brain and organs of speech ultimately led to man becoming the only creature to develop abstract language.

"Stone Age Weather House"

Climate: The data from ice cores taken in the Antarctic are allowing researchers to look back very precisely at the climate of 800,000 years ago for the first time. They say the next ice age will not come around for another 15,000 years. The socio-political question is: what influence do human beings have on this natural climatic pendulum? Researchers have found no time with higher levels of greenhouse gases in the Dome Concordia ice core than today. Scientists want to use ice cores such as the one taken at Dome Concordia to determine the past climate without human influence as accurately as possible. This should make the effect of human manipulation stand out.