| SPIEGEL ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER |
| Compiled on September 04, 2013, 07:23 PM CET |
| GERMANY'S ENERGY POVERTY How Electricity Became a Luxury Good Germany's agressive and reckless expansion of wind and solar power has come with a hefty price tag for consumers, and the costs often fall disproportionately on the poor. Government advisors are calling for a completely new start. |
| 'UNRELIABLE' IN A CRISIS SPD Demands an Apology from Merkel The SPD is unreliable when it comes to the euro crisis? Merkel has said as much in a television documentary, but her challenger Peer Steinbrück is furious. The SPD, after all, has backed the chancellor in several crucial crisis votes -- and is now demanding an apology. |
| SYRIAN HELL Why We Must Not Forget the Lessons from Bosnia Opponents of an intervention in Syria like to point to the sobering experiences of Afghanistan and Iraq. But the Bosnian wars of the 1990s provide a more accurate model. As long as Assad feels he has the upper hand, he's not going to negotiate earnestly. |
| CHEMICAL EVIDENCE German Lab to Analyze Samples from Syria Samples collected by UN chemical weapons experts in Syria have been brought to Germany for analysis, according to a German newspaper. The information comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will not rule out military action against Syria. |
| THE DOMINO DEFECT Five Years After Crisis, Banks No Better Off The collapse of Lehman Brothers shook the global financial system to its core five years ago. Nevertheless, lawmakers continue to shy away from making the necessary reforms. |
| HEADED FOR PARLIAMENT? Euroskeptic Party Nears 5 Percent Hurdle Support for the euroskeptic Alternative for Germany party rose to an unprecedented high of 4 percent on Wednesday, raising the possibility that it could win seats in the Bundestag, the federal parliament. |
| A DIFFICULT GUEST Reforms Top German President's France Visit On Wednesday, President Joachim Gauck will be the first German head of state to visit the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, the site of a massacre perpetrated by German troops in WWII. But he also has a message for the French: He'd like to see more economic reform. |
| TRYING ITS LUCK Slovakia Fights Corruption with Sales Tax Lottery The Slovakian government has had trouble enforcing payment of sales tax for years now, leading to hundreds of millions of euros in tax shortfall. It now has an idea that is relatively novel in Europe: Bratislava wants to convert sales reciepts into lottery tickets. |
| SPY GAMES Photos Reveal the Stasi Art of Disguise East Germany's feared secret police had a bit of a sartorial flair, photos found by artist Simon Menner in the Stasi archive reveal. The images, which offer a glimpse into the clandestine world of phony facial hair and the all-important hat, are set to be published in a book this fall. |
| PICTURE THIS Bullish Protest |
