"Welcome to Bushland"

Diplomacy: In Brussels, Mainz and Bratislava, the American president tried to placate alienated friends. The unloved visitor was in good spirits and - comparatively - modest. Gerhard Schröder is not the only one who faces losing the image of a hostile enemy. Because in his second term of office George W. Bush, former president of war, intends to become a president of peace and a man who leaves the world new democracies, in other words: freedom. Bush II is convinced that he needs Europe for practical and financial reasons, but also in order to legitimise his policies. Someone who gets on with dictators and has a democratic Europe against him will have trouble explaining how he intends to make the world a more democratic place. So now he is doing what Europe had expected of the Democrat John Kerry: he is taking note of the European Union. When Bush travels, the White House travels with him. One sometimes forgets that the White House is not concerned with reality, and certainly not with the truth; the White House wants to sell George W. Bush. This creates a reality of its own, a world of its own: Bushland.

"Many People Are Saying: Carry on That Way!"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with the head of Deutsche Bank Josef Ackermann about the public outrage he triggered by simultaneously announcing job cuts and an increase in profits, his controversial strategy and the role of the bank in the necessary restructuring of the German financial industry:

"I'm not happy about the job cuts either. But in order to act socially, you have to be competitive. And the German banking system is no longer competitive. If you want to make Germany strong, you have to ensure that we have a bank which can participate on a global level from within Germany. And if you want that, you have to act now. ... Without revealing any names all I can say is this: Many people wanted us to sell the private clients business. Many people wanted us to go into investment banking even more, to merge with an American investment bank and move our headquarters away from Germany. I find it very strange that the very same people are telling the man who said no to all this that he was not supportive enough of Germany. ... There are three sectors in Germany which are relatively self-contained. The savings banks want to keep to themselves, and so do the cooperative banks. So consolidation is only possible among the private banks. The debate we have been having over our relatively minor job cuts demonstrates just how explosive this issue would be. Because if you take over a bank that is worth 10 to 13 billion on the stock exchange and achieve a very low return on capital, or none at all, tough measures for increasing efficiency would be inevitable."

"The Tower of Abu Dhabi"

Gulf states: The rulers of the wealthy sheikhdoms between Kuwait and Oman are competing with each other, launching huge construction and services projects, in order to expand their small states into centres of power in the Arab world. This week, the German chancellor is travelling to the region. By the time they reach Abu Dhabi, the chancellor and the 40 leading German industrialists who are accompanying him will be asking themselves a number of questions which have recently been occupying more and more visitors to the region: Why are the small Gulf states succeeding at something that appears to be impossible in the rest of the Arab world? Why are the heirs of the Bedouins and pearl fishermen going about the peaceful pursuit of prosperity, while developments in Damascus, Cairo and Riad are impeded by political stagnation and terrorism? The capitalist heartbeat of the Arab world can by now be heard in the small states on the Persian Gulf.

"We Don't Have Any Poor People"

SPIEGEL interview with Sheikh Hamdan ibn Rashid al Maktum about democracy in the Arab world, overcoming the threat of terrorism and the future of the Gulf emirates:

"So far everyone here has been allowed to say and write whatever they like. We live in an open society. There isn't a single political prisoner in the United Arab Emirates. ... In the emirates we don't give potential terrorists any reason to rise up or to strike out. There simply aren't any poor or needy people here. Every citizen is supported by the state."

"A Bitter Lesson"

SPIEGEL interview with Polish foreign minister Adam Rotfeld, 66, about his country's involvement in Ukraine, the European Union's policy towards Eastern Europe and the relationship with the United States:

"It would certainly be wrong to immediately name a date for membership negotiations with Ukraine. However I do see a distinct danger: the political change-over has aroused enormous expectations towards Europe among Ukrainians, and the disappointment could be correspondingly big. ... As a first step we have got to offer something concrete. ... We are not setting out to export the revolution. But we do certainly want to promote democracy. ... The Poles regard the authorities in Brussels as being arrogant. Many have the impression that the EU works according to the principle: he who pays calls the tune. What Berlin says is taken seriously, what Warsaw says much less so."

"The End of all Dreams"

How many criminals, illegal workers and women forced into prostitution entered the country with the help of visas carelessly handed out by German embassies? Public prosecutors all over the country are combing through their records and striking gold. Now the air is becoming even thinner for foreign minister Joschka Fischer. After the question as to what Fischer knew and when, the decisive battle of the coming weeks will be over the question as to whether this is what happens when you let the Greens take care of national security; and both sides are practising deception and trickery on this front.

"The Loving Ape"

SPIEGEL cover story: Scientists are deciphering the biology of love - explaining one's choice of partner, infidelity and jealousy as being dictated by hormones. Men and women alike are not made for marriage. Is mankind returning to its phylogenetic roots? Is serial fidelity the model of the future?

"The Strongest Drive in the World"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with US anthropologist Helen Fisher about love hormones, marriage with an expiry date, and the connection between the feeling of being in love and walking upright:

"Our ancestors were very probably promiscuous [...] They walked on four legs, lived in trees. The females carried their young on their backs, had both hands free and didn't need males to protect and support them. Six or seven million years ago, however, our ancestors invented the upright gait. [...] Now the females had to carry their young in their arms. I can't imagine how an early hominid female would have been able to transport the equivalent of a bowling ball on one arm, while searching for food and defending herself with the other. She needed a partner in order to raise her child. ... And monogamy was an advantage for the males too. They were probably overstretched trying to look after several females."

"Only Rock 'n' Roll Offers Consolation"

SPIEGEL interview with musician Billy Idol about his sufferings because of the world, years of drug use, and his latest album 'Devil's Playground':

"When you are famous in L.A., there are always people who want to pin something on you. What was really crazy was the time that I read in the morning paper that I was dead. I had no end of trouble explaining to all my relatives that I was still alive. ... I stupidly tried to solve my problems through excessive drug use. I reached my lowest ebb in 1994. At that point I had been painting the town red non-stop for almost 20 years. It was only the thought of my two children that eventually brought me to my senses. ... The title is more of a comment about the state of the world."

"Rare Good Fortune"

Cars: Peugeot and Citroën have won over the quality world champion Toyota for a joint small-car project - a fearsome alliance from the point of view of their competitors. The central key to Toyota's success is the company's uncompromising quality management. Toyota's vehicles are without exception among the most reliable in the world. Since the cars of all three manufacturers will be leaving the same assembly line subject to the same conditions, this statement will in future also apply to the entry-level models of Peugeot and Citroën.

"Supermarket on the Edge of the Jungle"

Wildlife: Monkey meat from the bush is considered a delicacy in Africa. Now researchers want to teach people to breed tasty rats instead, because the trade in so-called bush meat has become one of the biggest threats to African wildlife. Another problem that the African Cane Rats could help to alleviate, according to researchers at the University of Ghana in Accra, is the shortage of high-protein food in Ghana. 200,000 tonnes of meat are consumed every year, 80 percent of which come from abroad. And every year the country's population increases by two percent, and with it the demand for meat - wild animals from the bush certainly won't be sufficient to meet the need.

"Drilled to the Top"

Dancing: A 20-year-old Russian woman is the new star of Berlin's ballet scene. Critics predict that Polina Semyonova is headed for an international career. The petite Russian has won over a eager following of loyal fans dancing with Berlin's State Ballet Company, as Giselle or Brunhilde in Maurice Béjart's version of Wagner's "Ring um den Ring"; and her fans have their own forum in which they discuss her stupendous technique, her natural stage presence and her inimitable elf-like grace on toe-tip. However, she will not be able to launch an international career just from Berlin. London, Paris and New York are the places to go for international fame.