International

▣ Germany's Queen Mum: Nostalgia for the Merkel Era Alive and Well

With every blunder from Chancellor Friedrich Merz, longing for the purported good, old days of Angela Merkel grows in Germany. Many miss her tone, her presence. Has Germany's Queen Mum noticed?

▣ Director Nadav Lapid on Israel after Gaza: It Was Our Duty to Scream

Israeli society failed to stop the killing in Gaza. And we as artists were complicit, write Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid.

▣ "You've Had Her Long Enough": Egypt Says It's Time for Nefertiti to Come Home

With the Grand Egyptian Museum now finished in Giza, pressure is mounting on Germany to finally return the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti. Berlin says it was acquired legally. But that argument isn't persuading the Egyptians.

▣ Donald Trump's Achilles Heel: The Epstein Curse Continues to Loom Large

Reality is sometimes even more shocking than conspiracy theories - as demonstrated by the Jeffrey Epstein case. U.S. President Donald Trump wants it to go away, but his erstwhile friendship with the sexual predator continues to overshadow his presidency. And even his followers are demanding that he release the files.

▣ Billions for the Military: Germany's Economy Pins Its Hopes on the Defense Industry

Increased defense spending is a boon for Germany's ailing industrial sector. Numerous companies, even those with no previous military experience, are now hoping to get in on the act.

▣ Austria: The Rising Power of Right-Wing Fraternities

FPÖ politician Walter Rosenkranz occupies Austria's second-highest political office despite his membership in a German-nationalist fraternity. Such organizations have recently been gaining in power in Austria. And Germany as well.

▣ Winners and Losers of the AI Revolution: Artificial Intelligence Is Radically Changing the Employment Landscape

Artificial intelligence is becoming a permanent element in the world of work, with Silicon Valley calling it the dawning of a new age. Many people are afraid of losing their job, but Germany is well-prepared.

▣ China's Mongolian Minority Facing Increased Pressure to Assimilate

Beijing long allowed Mongols in China to live out their cultural identity. That, though, is now over. Xi Jinping has decided that they must assimilate into the culture of the Chinese majority.

▣ Operation Porcupine: Ukraine Develops New Tactics for the Never-Ending War

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears uninterested in peace in Ukraine, and there is no end to the war in sight. Kyiv has increasingly reached the conclusion that the country must do all it can to guarantee its own security.

▣ Growing Anti-Semitism: How Jews in Germany Are Dealing with a Changed Reality

Life has changed for Jews in Germany since the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu's vicious war in Gaza has led to rising anti-Semitism and increased fear in the Jewish community. Three members of that community describe what it's like.

▣ America's Teetering Democracy: Trump's Thought Police Hit Their Stride

The murder of Charlie Kirk has fanned the flames of the Trump administration's lust for thought control. The hunt for his enemies and dissenters, long since begun, has entered a new and dangerous phase.

▣ Trump's Crusaders: Christian Nationalists Are Gaining a Solid Foothold in Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump has opened the doors of power to far-right Christian nationalists. Their goal: an American theocracy. The separation of church and state in America is at risk.

▣ In and Out at the FSB: A Window into the Moscow Life of Wirecard's Jan Marsalek

German police have been searching for years for Jan Marsalek, who is suspected of having embezzled billions of euros through Wirecard and thought to be working as an agent for the Russian intelligence agency FSB. DER SPIEGEL tracked him down in Moscow.

▣ Drones over Poland: NATO and the EU Seek a Convincing Response to Russian Aggression

Russia has continued to provoke NATO and the EU. The drone incursion into Polish airspace earlier this month has Western leaders scrambling for answers. Putin, meanwhile, has made it clear he won't be backing down any time soon.

▣ Expedition to the North Pole: Polar Researchers Fear an Ecological Collapse in the Arctic

The research ship Polarstern spent two months in the ice of the Arctic this summer. What they found could be evidence of an ecological collapse.

▣ Critiquing DER SPIEGEL: The Four Dilemmas Facing Quality Journalism

Media is changing. Rapidly. Not only that, but information is suddenly everywhere, people are losing trust in news outlets and there is a growing exhaustion with crisis reporting. Serious journalism is under greater pressure than ever before. How is DER SPIEGEL reacting? A guest essay by Bernhard Poerksen

▣ Trump's Prisoners in El Salvador: Returning Home from Hell

Donald Trump deported the makeup artist Andry Hernández out of the U.S. and into a Salvadorian high-security prison. He has since been freed - and become a symbol for the erosion of the rule of law in the United States.

▣ Killings of Civilians in Gaza: How DER SPIEGEL Reported on a Suspected War Crime

Munich native Daniel G. is suspected of killing unarmed civilians in the Gaza Strip as a soldier in the Israeli army, thus committing war crimes. Here, DER SPIEGEL reveals how it reported on the case.