| SPIEGEL ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER |
| Compiled on January 28, 2013, 06:32 PM CET |
| 'DARKER SIDES' The Vast Islamist Sanctuary of 'Sahelistan' France is advancing quickly against the Islamists in northern Mali, having already made it to Timbuktu. But the Sahel offers a vast sanctuary for the extremists, complete with training camps, lawlessness and plenty of ways to make money. |
| RESISTING ISLAMISM Life on the Front Lines in Mali In mid-January, the strategic town of Konna in central Mali was on the front line of the conflict. First it was occupied by Islamist insurgents advancing towards the capital, then it was bombarded by a French air assault. The locals were caught in the crossfire. |
| ECB EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER ASMUSSEN 'German Interest Rates Will Rise Again' In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, Jörg Asmussen, the German member of the European Central Bank's executive board, predicts that interest rates will rise again, argues that the threat of inflation is lower than many believe and says the EU would be stronger if Britain remained a member. |
| ECB WARNS OF EURO-ZONE RISK Draghi Clashes with Berlin Over Aid to Cyprus The head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, warned German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble last week not to dismiss Cyprus as not being 'systemically relevant' and said a failure to bail out the island nation could threaten the wider euro zone. |
| RADICAL PAST Former Associate Calls Morsi a 'Master of Disguise' Is Mohammed Morsi a peacebroker or a virulent anti-Semite? A former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who has known Morsi for 13 years, believes that behind the Egyptian president's veneer of goodwill towards Israel lies a deep-seated hatred. |
| ELECTIONS IN JORDAN 'The System Is Corrupt' The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, boycotted last week's parliamentary elections in protest at what it sees as a rigged electoral system. SPIEGEL talked to party member Dima Tahboub about the country's political future. |
| MUZZLED Merkel Opponent Put on Short Leash Peer Steinbrück, the SPD candidate running against Chancellor Angela Merkel in a September general election, is still seen as a risk to the party's prospects despite a recent boost from Lower Saxony. Damaged by a string of gaffes, he will be kept on a tighter rein and only have a limited say in campaign strategy. |
| STUTTGART 21 MAY YET FAIL Berlin Alarmed at Surging Cost of Rail Project After news that a massive new train station in Stuttgart would come in at more than 2 billion euros over budget, the German government is now questioning whether the much-contested project can even be concluded. |
| THE WORLD FROM BERLIN Czech Election Won with Nationalism and Populism Is the new Czech president from the left wing or the right wing? Neither, say German commentators. Rather, Milos Zeman is a populist who stopped at nothing, not even at the reopening of historical wounds between his country and Germany, on his way to Prague Castle. |
| PICTURE THIS Caught in the Web |
