"Major Diplomatic Offensive"

Foreign policy: Almost 60 years after the end of the war, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is urging that Germany be given a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. Foreign minister Joschka Fischer is holding discreet talks in search of allies.

"Shot into the Pit"

Nazi crimes: A former member of the SS, Friedrich Engel, is to go unpunished. The Federal Supreme Court has reversed the decision of the Hamburg District Court which had sentenced him for the murder of 59 Italian prisoners .

"Everyone Eyeing Everyone Else"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Rolf Breuer, president of the German banking association, about Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's attempt at restructuring the German financial industry, national champions, and the fear of foreign conquerors:

"Politics should create the framework but should not become active itself. With one exception: it should part with its own property in the financial industry. … Last year's plight in terms of revenues was for the most part home-made. Nevertheless, a consolidation presupposes that all those involved are free to enter into discussions with each other. In our case that freedom is restricted by the law. Private banks cannot have a share in public-sector ones, whereas public-sector ones can very well have shares in private ones. This is a structural fault which has a direct influence on consolidation. … Even as a European-wide bank, one would not deny one's origins. Virtually every successful bank has a strong home market. It needs that too, in order to be successful and credible abroad. But this doesn't mean that the headquarters have to be situated in the home market. … It is not necessary to first consolidate in Germany before turning to European tasks. I could imagine doing things the other way round too. … But I'm more worried about the Americans. … Because not all conquerors [Editor's note: major American banks] share our market-economical spirit. They are much more open towards political influence than is desirable."

"Russia Is Not Opec"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Alexey Miller, the board chairman of Gazprom, about his group's intended entry into the petroleum business, the construction of a gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea, and the allegations of corruption raised against his management:

"We want to expand Gazprom to become an international energy company which also deals in oil and electric power. … We will establish a wholly-owned subsidiary which is to put up to 45 million tonnes of oil a year on the market. … The project is scheduled to take four years, two for planning and two for construction. We don't want to arrive in Europe too soon with our gas, nor too late."

"Crime Pays"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with French philosopher André Glucksmann about torture, America's war in Iraq, the battle against evil and the duty to interfere in the name of human rights:

"Torture is morally insupportable, politically counterproductive, strategically absurd and despicable in humanitarian terms. These are crimes which must be condemned unreservedly. I am logically consistent with myself in this, since I condoned the invasion by the United States in the name of human rights, and not for the fantastic reasons which were officially put forward. Many of those who are now shouting out loudly against America's relapse into barbarism remained silent about Saddam Hussein's far worse methods of torture, or at least accepted them in the name of peace - their own peace - so that the terrible crimes of a fascist dictatorship were able to continue. … A people has the right to be liberated if it cannot liberated itself by its own efforts. This corresponds to a right and a duty on the part of the liberators. … The principle of interference has existed for at least 60 years. What was the landing in Normandy if not a form of interference, which the Germans incidentally called an invasion? … Whether a war is just, is ultimately a theological question. But there are undoubtedly wars which are necessary - such as the one against Hitler. … Military interventions must only be carried out nowadays to prevent or fight inhumanity. They are a continuation of humanitarian interventions by different means."

"Sharon Recognises the Pressure of Reality"

SPIEGEL interview with Israeli justice minister Tommy Lapid about the intended withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, his criticism of the destruction of houses and the debate with the head of government:

"In fact Sharon has got to end the revolution within his own party. And ultimately the Labour Party will enter into a coalition with us after all, because that is in the best interest of their own peace policies. We need a broad majority within society in order to cope with the traumatic experience of a withdrawal from Gaza. … It has always been clear that the large settlement blocks on the West Bank will remain. We are never going to evacuate a town like Ariel with 18,000 inhabitants. … Terrorists fire shots from some houses. In that case you have the right to shoot back, maybe even tear down some houses. But a large-scale destruction is certainly not permissible. There are limits beyond which one must not go. … [Sharon] insists that there must be no negotiations before terrorism has been wiped out. But we will never achieve a state of complete quiet. I therefore think we should also negotiate at the same time as we are fighting against terrorism."

"More Security Is Unattainable"

SPIEGEL interview with Greek foreign minister Georgios Voulgarakis about the cost explosion and the security situation at the Olympic Games:

"No country has profited immediately by hosting the Games. The benefit will only come in the future. Greece's tourism will profit by the gain in prestige, the economy and the people will benefit by the investments into the modernisation of our infrastructure right through to the security measures. … We know that the world and the threat have changed since September 11, 2001, since Bali, Istanbul and Madrid. This is why we have on each occasion increased the budget for security measures a little bit more."

"Red Sun"

China: Beijing's boldest artists' colony is threatened by closure. Now the Communist Party is to save its art from the advance of capital and commerce. The state-run conglomerate "Seven Star Huandian Group" wants to rebuild the artists' colony as a high-tech zone. Should commercial interests win through over art, not only will a centre of the avant-garde disappear, but also a piece of socialist industrial history. The production sheds, for example, are modelled on the Bauhaus style of architecture. It would also mark the end of a place which unites the opposite poles of the new China better than any other in Beijing.

"Toothless Tiger"

Kosovo: Following the riots in March, the West wants to avoid any further mishaps. But there are increasing doubts about the peace-keeping soldiers. Are the wrong troops on site? To ensure that soldiers are better prepared for crisis situations in future, experts are calling for a general "strategic reorientation" of the German armed forces on overseas missions.

"Singing Yes, Speaking No"

Psychology: A psychologist from Braunschweig has documented the life of the autistic 19-year-old Samantha with the help of 1000 photographs, 70 hours of video footage and diaries covering a period of many years. She does not speak a single word - yet she has discovered the world of melodies, harmonies and songs for herself.

"Atomic Clock for Your Wrist"

Physics: A new type of clock is to make GPS devices even more accurate, and the Internet even faster. Though as tiny as a microchip, it nevertheless keeps time to within one second over thousands of years. Inexpensive precision watches could make the exchange of information faster, more efficient, cheaper and more resistant to disruption - particularly when such miniature atomic clocks can be built into mobile devices like cell-phones. GPS navigation in cars would also become much simpler with the help of integrated atomic clocks.

The Leopard with the Big Paw"

Literature: Whisperings of scandal which preceded the new edition of "The Leopard", one of the great novels of the past century, have faded away again. Yet the book is proof of the lonely position of its author, Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, the story of whose life a British biographer has been following up. It is the product of a quiet, inconspicuous man who felt destined by his social standing and upbringing to the life of a aesthetic idler, but then wrote the most famous Italian novel of the twentieth century in the last two and a half years of his life, as though he were suddenly breaking free from himself: an epochal novel about the "decline of a family", a family of Sicilian princes which bore an unmistakable resemblance to his own - even up to the central figure of the great-grandfather.

"The Gold-Diggers of Baghdad"

Iraq: While the trigger-happy struggle for political power rages in Iraq, Iraqi clans and foreign pioneers are busy arming the country economically. They lack power, money and security, but one day they hope to emerge as the winners of the war. The clans between the Euphrates and the Tigris are joined by friendships and enmities that have developed over generations. They are a power against whose will no one can build a new Iraq. While a murderous battle for power continues in Baghdad, those who are speculating on the future have quietly divided up the country between them. The new masters are old clans such as the Bunnias, powerful invaders like Halliburton and Bechtel.

Empire Strikes Back"

Internet: The film industry is blaming piracy for the decline in turnover and audience numbers - and has hired private investigators to hunt the perpetrators. Their first success: the leading pirate copiers have been caught, and fewer and fewer new movies are making it to the swapping sites on the Internet.

"Unloved Hero"

Cycle racing: The American Lance Armstrong wants to become the first cyclist to win the Tour de France six times - the French are afraid of the desecration of a national legend.

"Slow, Static, Desperate"

Interview with France's technical director Aimé Jacquet, former coach of the world champion soccer team, about modern fast play, the courage to do crazy things and the shortcomings of the Germans:

"There is a trend towards increasingly simpler and faster play. Anyone who is not in full control of the ball, cannot keep up. The demands have increased so much that players have to be capable of extraordinary actions even in a limited amount of space. What we are seeing today is the progress of football. Things I was able to do at the age of 18 are now mastered by 13-year-olds. … Germany's elimination from the tournament reflects the current state of its soccer. It lacks young guys with their craziness. But that's precisely what it's going to need if it wants to recover its former importance."