"Atomic Anachronism"

Foreign policy: The governing Red/Green coalition is vacillating. Having demanded that 15 years after the end of the Cold War the last American nuclear weapons should be removed from German soil, foreign minister Joschka Fischer and interior minister Peter Struck are now faltering - for fear of running into trouble with the USA and with the German chancellor. Experts estimate that some 150 bombs are deployed in Germany alone, and 480 in Europe as a whole. Unperturbed by the fact that the Warsaw Pact has long since crumbled away as an enemy, Nato is, at America's insistence, officially still upholding the doctrine of "nuclear participation" by non-nuclear states such as Germany in the United States's arsenal. Once this was meant to strengthen cohesion and give the partners a say in matters, who were then facing a deadly threat from the East; now it is an absurd relic of bygone days. Superfluous though the nuclear bombs are, disposing of them is a tricky business. The Chancellor, in particularly, is not in the least interested in inciting the Americans' anger. Not over the nuclear bombs. After all, the controversy over Iraq has not yet been forgotten, and furthermore it is clear that without Washington's declared , Berlin stands no chance of getting its much wanted seat on the Security Council.

"Ackermann's World"

Deutsche Bank: Is Germany's largest bank on the brink of a change in management? The spokesman of the board of directors is at odds with the German public, which regards him as the epitome of cold-hearted capitalism. Criticism of Josef Ackermann's strategy is increasing within the supervisory council. The search for a successor has begun.

"The House of the Locusts"

Hedge funds: The heavy-handed activities surrounding Deutsche Börse are having repercussions. Politicians and financial watchdogs are putting pressure on the triumphant portfolio managers. Were there wheelings and dealings behind the scenes?

"NPD instead of LSD"

Right-wing extremism: Right-wing music, right-wing slogans and right-wing clothing are well on their way to becoming mainstream. Silently but relentlessly a dangerous youth culture has developed, to which parents and teachers have no answer. The NPD, the Skinheads and dull-witted thugs are benefiting from a growing collective national pride.

"Puzzle from the Ice"

Climate research: The melting of the glaciers is a well-known fact. But in the days of Ancient Rome, the Alpine glaciers were smaller than they are today; and 7000 years ago they may even have melted away entirely. In their search for the "green Alps", climatologists are recovering the remains of old forests from the ice of the Engadin. The ice masses in the heart of Europe have shrunk back at least 10 times since the end of the last ice age, some 10,000 years ago, so the new theory goes; at some times they all but disappeared. When he crossed the Alps with his elephants Hannibal may well not have caught a glimpse of any ice.

"Cheaper Than an Invasion"

Press: Can a television channel be used to diminish the hatred felt for America? The Bush administration believes it can - and "Al-Hura" is trying to do so with the help of fashion, sports and the semblance of a detached view of Iraq. The Arabic term "Al-Hura" means "someone who is free". The channel is intended as a counterweight to "Al Jazeera", the Qatar-based television network watched by the Islamic world which also takes liberties, but which routinely portrays the United States as a world power that deserves loathing. "Al-Hura" is in excellent shape, the channel is being cosseted. Its lounges sport designer chairs, new flat-screen monitors hang on the walls, its computers are state-of-the-art, and there is no advertising. "Al-Hura" has access to the administration, with its own correspondents in the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department. And the administration has access to "Al-Hura".

"I Will Vote No"

SPIEGEL interview with Danielle Mitterand, 80, widow of former French President François Mitterand, about the argument over the EU constitution and her fight against the excesses of globalisation.

"I'm Exploring My Own Soul"

SPIEGEL interview with Colombian singer Shakira, 28 years old, about her national pride, her enthusiasm for psychoanalysis and her new album, "Fijación Oral":

"I believe that a lot of people in Latin America are proud that one of their own has sold more than three million albums in the USA. ...I've been very lucky in my life, but of course I've seen a lot of people who are worse off in the Barranquillas. ... I really do believe that I never overcame the first psychosexual development stage, the oral phase. ...I think that psychoanalysis is a sort of guided tour of your own self. You explore the map of your own soul: where do you have which problem, how do you deal with it and finally how do you solve it. I think that life is hard enough - why should you refuse help from others to make it a little easier on yourself?"

"The Experimenter from the Ile St. Louis"

Music: Next week, the aged composer Henri Dutilleux will be receiving the 2005 Ernst von Siemens music award, the Nobel prize of the music world. Fans such as Anne-Sophie Mutter revere the outsider as a genius. The French composer's music is played and applauded in all the major concert halls of the world, from Leipzig's Gewandhaus and Berlin's Philharmonie, through to the Avery Fisher Hall in New York and the new Walt Disney Concert hall in Los Angeles: Dutilleux - an outrageous international star.

"Training for Tom Sawyer"

Book market: Unlike girls, boys are regarded as being reluctant readers. Writer Katrin Müller-Walde believes that this is untrue: they enjoy reading, but generally not the books that grown-ups recommend. Katrin Müller-Walde was not prepared to stand by and look on as children's reading skills deteriorated. Based on two surveys involving over 2200 adolescents she wrote a guide for parents and teachers - a ruthless analysis of the adolescents' rejection of books, but more particularly including practical instructions as to how to put an end to the reading crisis. Müller-Walde also offers suggested reading for 12 to 18-year-old young men, selected by the most fussy of all book critics: the youths themselves. Nothing enjoys greater authority among teenagers than the recommendations of their peers.

"Mown Meadow"

Cars: Porsche is planning a sales coup with its Boxter coupé, the Cayman. The hard-top model is to be more expensive than the roadster. Cay-what? Officially, the reference is to a miniature crocodile from tropical South America, which is just as quick to move as it is to bite. Learning from Porsche means learning to economise: this has been the motto since Wendelin Weideking, who became board chairman in 1992, put the auto maker back on its feet with the help of a rigorous cost management programme. The small sports car factory is now one of the most profitable car manufacturers in the world.

"Giants in the Rape Fields"

Nature conservancy: In Mecklenburg-West Pomerania rheas are living in the wild. For some they represent a form of ecological pollution; to others they are an endearing new inhabitant. Three pairs escaped from an enclosure in nearby Groß Grönau in the winter of 2000. The breeders believed the escapees would die out in the wild. But the tough birds survived the winter, reproduced and settled in the nature reserve of the Wakenitz flats. As unusual as the birds may appear amid marshland meadows and rape fields, they are just one of some 1400 non-indigenous animal species living in Germany. But as usual when strangers turn up, fear and distrust are on the rise.