Cover story: Is the first global catastrophe to hit both the First and the Third World heightening our awareness for a "single world", and is it making countries all over the world move closer together?

"The Heirs of the Deluge"

On the island of Phuket, Asia's version of Mallorca, hotels, bars and prostitutes are struggling with the consequences of the shock wave. It not only brought death and destruction but also the realisation that the new beginning must dispel the excesses of the past. The beer stalls and cheap restaurants along the beaches should not be rebuilt, and illegal resorts should remain closed. A spokeswoman for the Tourist Authority of Thailand demands that "the tragic event should be used to reorganise the property along the beaches and to create a better environment."

"The Final Service"

Crime experts: They probably have the toughest job in the world just now - experts with the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) are identifying victims of the flood in Thailand, and searching for Germans. It is probably the biggest forensic project of all times, and the toughest job in the world - pure Hell. Their only help is a precise protocol that forensic doctors follow when examining a body. Anyone volunteering for the commission has to come from a stable background.

"Missionaries of the Jihad"

Extremists: In numerous terrorism trials, evidence has pointed to the preachers of the Tablighi Jamaat group. In Germany, too, followers of this Islamist sect are recruiting fighters for the Holy War. Investigators are convinced that the careers of Islamist terrorists are increasingly beginning with the sermons of the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) missionaries, the world's largest international Islamist movement. The head of the German intelligence services BND has already warned the Chancellery about the religious group, because an analysis by the security authorities has revealed that in almost all German proceedings against terrorism, there are trails leading to Tablighi Jamaat. For a long time, the messengers of Allah were viewed as simply a Muslim version of Jehovah's Witnesses, whose slogan was "Turning Muslims into better Muslims!" Their uncompromising apartheid policy towards non-Muslims and their extremely conservative, literal interpretation of the Koran have made the movement, founded in India in 1927, extremely popular internationally. Today, up to twelve million Muslims throughout the world are considered to be Tabligh followers.

"The Curse of Diversity"

Car industry: In the prestigious duel between Mercedes-Benz and BMW, the Munich car makers have overtaken their Stuttgart rivals. Headed by its new boss, Eckhard Cordes, Mercedes is facing a small cultural revolution. 2004 saw its largest drop in profits for a long time. According to inside estimates, the so-called operating profit of the Mercedes-Benz Car Group, which also includes Smart and Maybach, dropped by some 40 percent, to 1.9 billion euros. The return on investment was thus below four percent. Competitor BMW achieved double that figure. Quality issues, in particular, have harmed the image of the make. Mercedes-Benz has been tailing in consumer polls for some time now. Although the new models are said to be distinctly better, the company will still have to invest several hundred million euros in 2005 in order to put right cars that have already been delivered.

"The Victory of Terror"

Iraq: For the time being, Washington and Baghdad are still intending to hold elections at the end of January. But Prime Minister Alawi's nerves have been shaken; terrorism is on the increase, and the calls to postpone the elections are becoming louder. Even influential tribal leaders are capitulating in the face of the Islamists - an open war is raging all around Baghdad.

"We Know Nothing about Each Other"

Middle East: There are few signs of hope for a new peace on the border between Israel and Palestine following the death of Yassir Arafat. Israel's barrier dominates people's everyday lives here and keeps the two societies apart. For the first time since the start of the second intifada, the Israelis feel safer once again. Apart from the assassin who crept under the wall through the sewers of Kalkilya in July 2003, the 600 kilometre long barrier, 200 km of which have been completed, appears to be showing an effect. The government in Jerusalem is already describing the anti-terror barrier as a success. The number of victims of terrorist attacks in the protected areas has, it claims, dropped by 84 percent. Thousands of Palestinian immigrant workers still cross the border into Israel illegally every night. For them, an independent Palestinian state can only be a temporary fulfilment of their dreams. Secretly they are hoping for a joint state with the Israelis, in which everyone enjoys the same rights and which can ensure their continued survival.

"Therapy in a Fog"

Medicine: Two expensive new drugs are supposed to provide relief against psoriasis. But how good are these remedies from the genetic laboratories really? A course of treatment using the so-called biologicals "Raptiva" (active substance: efalizumab) or "Enbrel" (active substance: etanercept), which have recently been introduced against psoriasis, costs about 1350 or 1800 euros a month respectively. That is a huge amount in the field of dermatology, where creams and ointments for just a few euros can often help. It is still not known what exactly accelerates the lifecycle of the skin cells. What is certain though is that an incorrect response by the immune defence plays a key role. Treatments so far provide relief for many sufferers of psoriasis, but cannot be used on all patients, while with others they show no effect. These are the patients on whom the new drugs are to be used. They are antibodies manufactured using genetic engineering, and they are supposed to have a much more specific effect on the disrupted immune system than conventional agents. The fact that the biologicals cannot work miracles against psoriasis is perhaps also due to the fact that the defective immune defence only partially accounts for the disease.