| SPIEGEL ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER |
| Compiled on October 23, 2013, 06:50 PM CET |
| FACTORY FARMING The True Price of a Pork Chop Germany slaughters 58 million pigs a year and has built an efficient meat industry second only to the US in pork exports. Its optimized breeding, feeding and killing system churns out wondrously cheap cutlets -- but at a hidden cost to the environment and our health. |
| SPENDING SCANDAL Pope Francis Banishes Bishop of Limburg The Vatican has banished Germany's controversial "Bishop Bling Bling" for an unspecified period of time. In response to accusations of lavish spending, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst will withdraw from his official duties in the bishopric of Limburg while a colleague fills in. |
| 'OVER-BANKED' ECB Tests Set to Reveal German System Flaws The European Central Bank's upcoming review of the euro zone's largest banks could expose weaknesses in the German banking sector. It may also reveal Germany's political role in limiting the scope and efficacy of the Continent's nascent banking union. |
| HOLY LOGIC Computer Scientists 'Prove' God Exists Two scientists have formalized a theorem regarding the existence of God penned by mathematician Kurt Gödel. But the God angle is somewhat of a red herring -- the real step forward is the example it sets of how computers can make scientific progress simpler. |
| PREPARING TO GOVERN Formal Coalition Talks Kick Off in Berlin Official coalition talks began Wednesday in Berlin between Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party. Central topics include energy policy and the minimum wage -- as well as Germany's hotly debated European policy. |
| 'GRAVITY' FACT-CHECK 'Death in Space Is a Cheerful Death' The movie "Gravity" depicts two astronauts fighting to survive while floating in the void of space. German astronaut Ulrich Walter explains what the film got right and wrong -- and what actually happens when you puncture your spacesuit. |
| DINOSAUR ART Images of a Prehistoric World Douglas Henderson is probably the most important living paleoartist. Influenced by 19th-century landscape painting, he depicts a long-disappeared world. He tells SPIEGEL ONLINE about the stigma attached to his art -- and the trouble with ever-changing science. |
| PICTURE THIS Ruined Harvest |
