"Mine-infested Territory"

Foreign Office: German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, already weakened by the visa affair in Ukraine, is losing control over his house. Diplomats in office are rebelling against the minister with undiplomatic methods.

"Robust Mandate"

German government: Gerhard Schröder is playing the role of the curt chancellor in his policy toward China. Being brusque, after all, seldom did him harm in his dealings with his own parliamentary faction.

"We'll Turn it Around"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with DaimlerChrysler boss Jürgen Schrempp about progress and setbacks in implementing his strategy of a World Inc., dissatisfied shareholders and his colleagues on the board, who outvoted him in the debate about funding Mitsubishi:

"If you look at 2004 objectively, our development was good. We clearly increased profits to 5.8 billion euros, and our balance is completely healthy. ...In a large corporation, challenges can always arise in its individual divisions. The deciding factor is the ability to find a clean solution."

"A Sense of Realism Is Coming to Washington"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with former American security advisor Brent Scowcroft about the new democratic movement in the Middle East and the improved cooperation with the Europeans:

"It [Editor's note: the new democratic movement] has already been around for some time. Its elements are the change-over of generations within the Arab leading classes, and in addition the general unrest in the region. Of course, the words of the President have also encouraged many people who until now suffered under the authoritarian governments without any hope of change. To a certain extent, spring has indeed arrived. ... He [Editor's note: Bush] has come round to understanding, better than he did in his first term of office, that the differences between us and Europe are not that fundamental at all. They are an annoyance which has been blown up on both sides to become emotional hostility, and that is counterproductive whichever way you look at it. Progress is only possible if the United States and its allies work together. And there is a growing realisation with us that we need help to achieve our aims - a lot of help. We have different perspectives, but our aims are practically the same. ... A regime change in Iran has to be brought about by the Iranians themselves. If the Iranian people get the impression that they are being forced into something, we could actually further strengthen the role of the mullahs. So I believe that cooperation with the Europeans offers the best opportunity for resolving this issue."

"Living Like a Lord"

China: The Communist Party is appealing to the honour of its functionaries - because many corrupt cadres are making off with their spoils. Communist Party inspectors estimate that more than 4000 bankers, local politicians or managers of state-owned enterprises have left the country over the years - though not without the key to a bank safe on the Virgin Islands or access to a Swiss bank account. The damage to the national economy amounts to some 50 billion dollars.

"The Colour of the Night"

Russia: Following the coup d'etat in the Kirghiz capital of Bishkek, disappointment with the increasingly luckless politician Vladimir Putin is becoming more and more widespread. It is generally taken for granted that the germ of revolution will soon spread to other former Soviet republics - what remains controversial is how it should be met. Following the Bishkek coup, the CIS - the commonwealth of former Soviet republics, with whose help Russia had hoped to rise to become an empire once more, and at whose head Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin would have liked to put himself at the end of his second term in office - is incontrovertibly dead. The former KGB officer will have to weight up his alternatives carefully, because the television pictures from Tblisi, Kiev and Bishkek have had an impact in Russia too. In the (Muslim) sub-republic Bashkiria, 20,000 protestors threatened to storm the seat of government on 26 March, and in the Ingush republic in the central Caucasus protesters have demanded the abdication of the regional lord. Also, Putin's dilettantish social reforms recently drove hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets throughout the country, for the first time in many years.

"He Who Loves the Wrong Woman"

United Kingdom: The wedding of Prince Charles, through which the unloved Camilla Parker Bowles will be turned into the future queen, is being viewed with increasing displeasure in the country. The ageing couple is unable to rid itself of the shadow that hangs over it: Lady Diana. In an ideal world, two elderly people who have loved each other for 35 years would be getting married in the Windsor registry office beneath a painting of Queen Victoria. But this is fairyland, and the fairly tale is an evil one. Here it is a question of the possible accession to the throne by a mistress who once brought misfortune upon the Princess of the Hearts. With disparaging looks and a chilly smile, the austere fruits of a forbidden relationship will be enjoyed this weekend, amid mocking catcalls from the tabloids and a growing storm of discontent and aggressive disinterest.

"We'll Get Them All"

Internet crime: Two representatives of state parliaments in Germany stand accused of consuming child pornography. The police are becoming increasingly adept at pursuing perpetrators in online networks.

"The East Is Striking Up"

Urban development: In spite of the financial difficulties surrounding Leipzig's World Cup stadium, Magdeburg, Halle and Dresden also want to build new football arenas for their second-league soccer clubs. The calculated optimism of Magdeburg's stadium builders is very much in keeping with the latest trend: the citizens in the East, who have had a rough time with the Hartz IV social welfare programme, are to be collectively soothed with the help of bread and games - the class itself has long ceased to matter.

"The Eternal Rebel"

Intellectuals: Jean-Paul Sartre was hated by many and lately seemed to have been almost forgotten. But as his 100th birthday approaches, France's cultural establishment is rediscovering the philosopher and poet - and helping the great, mysterious man to make a surprising comeback from purgatory. As it turns its attention to Sartre once again, beyond blind obedience or vitriolic opposition, he is being rediscovered, reinterpreted and for the most part rehabilitated.

"Build-up of Neanderthal Urges"

Anthropology: 7000-year-old pornographic statues from Saxony and a temple of eroticism including clay breasts are provoking a debate about the love life of Stone Age man. Did our ancestors carry on as uninhibitedly as bonobos? Or was sex already strictly regulated by means of ritualistic acts? Such helplessness is typical; the flow of the experts' thoughts falters when it comes to diluvial love-life. Adam and Eve's bedchamber is shrouded in mist. But gradually thing are starting to move forwards on the sex front.

"The Dust of Destruction"

Monuments: The artist Ekkeland Götze wants to use soil from concentration camps to print memorial frescoes, and is hoping to do good business with this "memorial art". Ekkeland Götze dries and sieves the soil and then applies the paste by means of a silk-screen printing press. "The soil contains the soul." Over the coming months, the soil collector wants to go digging at 26 sites of Jewish extermination, including Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. If Charlotte Knobloch, Vice-President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, has her way, the 26 murals which Götze promises to make are to be hung in the new Centre of the Jewish Community in Munich.

"Help from the Skies"

Aviation: The fear inspired by mountains appears to be waning. Using their mobile phones, people in distress can simply call a rescue helicopter at any time. As a result, tourists are becoming more reckless and rescue operations more hazardous. Helicopter rescue is still an extremely ticklish business. Every gust of wind knocks the aircraft back and forth; climbing in an out and recovering patients by winch is a truly acrobatic feat. The people who call for assistance are usually unaware of how tricky flying conditions can be in the mountains. Their boundless faith in the technical possibilities means that rescue pilots are increasingly having to capitulate: "We have to set out on foot more and more often," say rescue team leader Bruno Jelk.

"Cunning Party Nightmare"

Art: Gianni Motti is considered a joker of the art world. He has smuggled himself into a meeting of the United Nations assembly and gate-crashed a soccer match. Now he is appearing at "Art Basel" and at the Venice Film Festival. Motti has become famous, among other things, for his appearances as a surprise guest - especially where he is particularly unwelcome. He is proud of being in the wrong place at the right time. He is like a party nightmare operating on a global scale - a talented pain in the neck. All of Motti's projects are documented in the form of photographs, sometimes also as videos or news reports. Motti is interested in good stories and irritation, not so much in truth. The artist's pranks are like a clever parody on the politically charged action art of the 1960s and 70s. However, Motti himself insists that he is "not really interested" in the history of art at all.