"Sheikh on the Edge of the Bed"

Secret services: A US operation duped Berlin - German investigators risked a diplomatic row for the sake of a dubious lawsuit. In January 2003, the Yemeni clergyman Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Muajjad was arrested in Frankfurt am Main with the assistance of an FBI informer, and later extradited. To this day, the case is viewed by US intelligence services as proof that, at least when it comes to fighting terrorism, the otherwise unruly Germans can be relied upon. The Yemeni government is still furious with Berlin, it wants to see clear evidence and a fair trial. And for the German security forces, the Muajjad case is a test as to how reliable the information provided by their mighty ally, the United States, really is - and things are not looking very good in that respect. Because it now emerges that the top FBI source (code name CI 1) is, by informant standards, a dubious character. In Yemen a warrant has been issued for his arrest on charges of fraud, while in America he faces charges for writing out cheques that bounced.

"Marriage Scenes"

Space industry: With EADS, a Franco-German joint venture set up in 2000, the Europeans managed to break the decade-long dominance of the US giant Boeing in the aviation industry, becoming the world's market leader for civilian aircraft, helicopters and guided missiles. EADS was already being considered a model for other industries, such as European shipyards. Yet now EADS has become a synonym for intrigue and power struggles involving anonymous dossiers, alleged kickback payments onto secret bank accounts and French counter-espionage activities. It is now emerging at EADS just how difficult collaboration with the French is. German EADS managers know that industrial policy is conducted by rather different means in France, resorting to virtually any means in fact. They believe their phone calls are monitored by the French intelligence service, and therefore throw in the occasional ironic comment such as "Forward this passage straight to Mr Chirac, please."

"Afraid of Frankenstein"

Science policy: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wants to advance embryo research in Germany by keeping quiet about it and promoting selected projects. Schröder believes that the controversial research will only be accepted if successes are forthcoming.

"The Tigers Lied"

SPIEGEL interview with Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kamaratunga, 59, about the right strategy in the fight against terrorism, and her hopes for the end of bloodshed in the tropical tourist paradise:

"Many countries will, under certain conditions, negotiate with groups that are regarded as being terrorists. Otherwise you would be swept into a spiral of violence, from which there would be no escape. My aim is after all to stop the Tamils from engaging in terrorism. And if they are prepared to negotiate, why not?"

"Secretary Kofi, General Annan"

United Nations: He is supposed to protect human rights, to promote peace and not to step on any nation's toes - the Secretary-General of the world organisation has to fight on many fronts. A solitary battle: Kofi Annan, tough but quiet, is the new pet enemy of the American right wing.

"Women Only Pay Attention to Outward Appearances"

Interview with musician Paolo Conte, 67, about the differences between the sexes when it comes to listening to music, the unsuitability of the Italian language for writing songs, and his latest work "Elegia":

"Of course women can be musical too, but only in a superficial way. It's like with cars: men want to look under the bonnet and know everything about them. Women, on the other hand, are only interested in the bodywork. ... Italian is very beautiful when it comes to literature, but it's too unrhythmical for music. It's a language with long, accented words. That makes it hard work for a composer to adapt this language to fit the music."

"The Commissioned City"

Capitalism: A Munich architect is building a metropolis for millions of inhabitants in the provinces of Southern China. It will cover an area of 250 square kilometres, five times the size of Manhattan -an invitation to fairy-tale megalomania. Shangyu, in Zhejiang province, Shaoxing district, is a small town with 130,000 inhabitants, 200 kilometres south of Shanghai, somewhere along the endless Pacific coast; a town that wants to become big - quickly. One million people are to work and live here, in a city on the sea, by the name of Synia, short for Shangyu New Industrial Area. In true European style, the architect Thomas Jocher approached the subject from an abstract angle. His office set out to provide its client with food for discussion, to stimulate new ideas; but they didn't know the Chinese. Their client wanted building plans. Mouse click by mouse click they created their test-tube creation, their theoretical city, a place which will ultimately be able to house 1,052,000 inhabitants, divided up into five broad bands, four of them devoted to trade and industry, separated by green strips, parks and open spaces. A German idea of a Chinese city. And the idea has indeed met with approval.

"Fear of Locusts"

Plagues: African locusts have reached the Canaries and Portugal. Last week experts from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, FAO, met in Rome for an emergency session on the issue. The conclusion they came to was that the situation is even graver than expected. The plague could last several years. The result would be crop failure and famine, unless the winged plant-wreckers can be stopped. "The next four months will be crucial in the battle against the plague," says Keith Cressman of the FAO. "Only if we can prevent a new generation of the creatures from hatching next spring do we stand a chance."

"Miracle Cells from the Nose"

Medicine: A Beijing doctor is treating paraplegics using cells that normally sheathe the olfactory nerves of the nose, which he extracts from aborted foetuses. Patients report a return of some of the feeling in their legs; Western medics are sceptical. What fascinates scientists is the function of the olfactory sheath cells. It appears that they ensure that nerves in the nose are regenerated following injury - which is precisely what the nerves of paraplegics are incapable of doing. Neurosurgeon Huang Hongyun believes that the olfactory sheath cells are able to reactivate the self-healing mechanism. Now scientists from Switzerland and California want to scrutinise the claimed successes.

"Road Blocks and Inner-City Tolls"

Motorists: For years German cities have ignored emissions standards, but as of January the European Union is forcing them to meet them. At first glance it may seem rather an abstract issue, but it could have serious consequences for motor traffic, particularly in large cities. In order to meet the EU directive, transport planners will have to block off roads and even entire districts, they will have to keep diesel cars out of towns or even introduce tolls for the inner cities; and some of these measures may be arriving quite soon. For there is no other way for European conurbations to meet the new, compulsory standards. This is as true of Milan, as it is of Paris or Madrid, and of Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt or Hamburg.

"Sealed-off Business"

Bakeries: "Dresden Stollen" has to come from Dresden. But while the local bakers used to be afraid of counterfeit products from other regions, they are now feuding with each other. It is a matter of quality, business interests and personal credibility. Since 1991 the "Schutzverband Dresdner Stollen e.V.", an association of 150 Stollen manufacturers in Dresden, has awarded a golden quality seal, a proven sales argument which has stood on solid legal ground - until now.

"Old, Dynamic, Criminal"

Prisons: Never before have there been this many aged thieves and felons. More and more old-age pensioners are even ending up in prison. Two German states have already set up detention centres for senior citizens. Though most ageing convicts are not hardened criminals, their numbers have increased threefold within roughly a decade: last year over 1500 elderly people were in jail - whereas the number of teenage and adolescent prisoners up to the age of 20 only doubled to 4500 over the same period. The states of Baden-Württemberg and Hesse have already set up senior citizens divisions with room for some sixty inmates. The main focus of these is the special needs and the protection of the new clientele. In conventional penitentiaries the older inmates, some of whom are already quite rickety, are often oppressed by their younger fellows.