SPIEGEL International

For years, the world has mocked Germany for its love affair with David Hasselhoff. And, for years, Germans have been hoping that the world would forgive and forget. But now that MTV has invited "the ...

The former border crossing at Bornholmer Strasse may have been the spot where the Iron Curtain cracked wide open, but 20 years on there is little in this drab corner of East Berlin to indicate its historic significance. ...

At his first press conference, Germany's new foreign minister insisted that he be asked questions in German, not English. The incident led to serious debate about what skills a foreign minister should have. But it has also resulted in a whole lot of jokes at Guido Westerwelle's expense.

It's a common tale: Man meets penguin, penguin meets man, they fall in love. A German zoo has witnessed a bittersweet love affair between two very unequal partners.

In a SPIEGEL interview, former US vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, 61, discusses Barack Obama's environmental policies, the endless push by lobbyists to derail reforms and his hopes for a global deal at the climate change summit in Copenhagen next month.

In September 2007, Israeli fighter jets destroyed a mysterious complex in the Syrian desert. The incident could have led to war, but it was hushed up by all sides. Was it a nuclear plant and who gave the orders for the strike?

The Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean could disappear by the end of the century. Global warming threatens to raise sea levels, submerging the low-lying archipelago. Newly-elected President Mohamed Nasheed has therefore set himself the task of holding back the tide of climate change.

Everyone remembers the iconic images from the dramatic breaching of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. But the groundwork was laid elsewhere. The fate of Germany and the rest of Europe was decided in Warsaw, Budapest and Moscow.

The financial crisis has mauled Las Vegas like no other city. What was once the land of luxury and excess is now the home of empty houses and broken dreams. While the city and its investors keep hoping for a turnaround, others see long, lean years ahead.

Angela Merkel is blocking aid commitments for climate protection and risking the failure of a global deal in Copenhagen. The chancellor is squandering an opportunity to demonstrate European leadership and show Barack Obama what it really means to be a "citizen of the world."

With the Libson Treaty approaching ratification, the EU needs dynamic and clever people to fill the roles of Council president and foreign minister. However, the old habits of tactical maneuvering by the national leaders risk jeopardizing what should be a fresh start for the EU.

A Berlin woman is waging a lone campaign against neo-Nazi graffiti, armed with a scraper and nail-varnish remover. Irmela Mensah-Schramm, 63, removes swastikas and racist stickers from lampposts and walls across the city. ...

Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to submit to a run-off election against his challenger Abdullah Abdullah. But many are worried that a second vote might be just as marred by corruption as the first. ...

In a SPIEGEL interview, Charles Krauthammer, the leading voice of America's conservative intellectuals, discusses Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, the president's failures and the state of the United Nations and the international community.