When Uwe Mai thinks about his childhood, he sees the Saale River. Bending gently, it flowed past his parents' home in Calbe just south of Magdeburg. He only had to dash across the road and down some steps to reach the riverbank, lined with big old trees to climb and rocks to skip across the water.Mai says that he and his little brother Thomas played down by the river every day when his parents were working their shifts. His father was a steelworker in a nearby factory that was a major supplier of pig iron in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), as East Germany was officially known. His...…When Uwe Mai thinks about his childhood, he sees the Saale River. Bending gently, it flowed past his parents' home in Calbe just south of Magdeburg. He only had to dash across the road and down some steps to reach the riverbank, lined with big old trees to climb and rocks to skip across the water.Mai says that he and his little brother Thomas played down by the river every day when his parents were working their shifts. His father was a steelworker in a nearby factory that was a major supplier of pig iron in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), as East Germany was officially known. His...WW…

Mullah Niazi sits on top of his mountain and waits -- waits for news from his commanders, waits for his fighters and waits for victory. He's been living up here in his mountaintop fortress -- where the shacks are as brown as the mountain and where no motorcycle, car or tank can travel -- for two-and-a-half years. He is waiting for God's rule to once again take hold on the streets of Afghanistan's, just like when he was a spokesman for Taliban founder, Mullah Omar. His patience seems to be paying off.Slowly, Niazi's fighters, who are taking us to him, ascend the final slope. The air is still...…Mullah Niazi sits on top of his mountain and waits -- waits for news from his commanders, waits for his fighters and waits for victory. He's been living up here in his mountaintop fortress -- where the shacks are as brown as the mountain and where no motorcycle, car or tank can travel -- for two-and-a-half years. He is waiting for God's rule to once again take hold on the streets of Afghanistan's, just like when he was a spokesman for Taliban founder, Mullah Omar. His patience seems to be paying off.Slowly, Niazi's fighters, who are taking us to him, ascend the final slope. The air is still...WW…

Shortly before the end of his journalistic career, misery and glamor crossed paths in the life of Claas Relotius. On the evening of Monday, Dec. 3, Relotius, who had worked for DER SPIEGEL for seven years and had been employed as an editor for the past year and a half, was called onto a stage in Berlin. The jury for the 2018 German Reporter Prize was once again of the opinion that he had written the best feature story of the year, this one about a Syrian boy who lived with the belief that he had contributed to the country's civil war through a graffito he had daubed onto a wall in Daraa....…Shortly before the end of his journalistic career, misery and glamor crossed paths in the life of Claas Relotius. On the evening of Monday, Dec. 3, Relotius, who had worked for DER SPIEGEL for seven years and had been employed as an editor for the past year and a half, was called onto a stage in Berlin. The jury for the 2018 German Reporter Prize was once again of the opinion that he had written the best feature story of the year, this one about a Syrian boy who lived with the belief that he had contributed to the country's civil war through a graffito he had daubed onto a wall in Daraa....WW…

FotostreckePhoto Gallery: Bayer's Elephant in the RoomFoto: Photothek / Getty ImagesIn Werner Baumann's world, the truth is one-dimensional, as he likes to put it, based on facts and scientific findings, studies and expert opinions. That's why the head of Germany's Bayer Group has no doubts about the safety of glyphosate. He says he would acquire Monsanto, the American manufacturer of the controversial crop herbicide at any time, "without any ifs, ands or buts."But the world outside Bayer Group views things differently. A large segment of the public considers glyphosate to be toxic and...…FotostreckePhoto Gallery: Bayer's Elephant in the RoomFoto: Photothek / Getty ImagesIn Werner Baumann's world, the truth is one-dimensional, as he likes to put it, based on facts and scientific findings, studies and expert opinions. That's why the head of Germany's Bayer Group has no doubts about the safety of glyphosate. He says he would acquire Monsanto, the American manufacturer of the controversial crop herbicide at any time, "without any ifs, ands or buts."But the world outside Bayer Group views things differently. A large segment of the public considers glyphosate to be toxic and...WW…

In these days before Christmas, it's very cold and windy in Fergus Falls, a town of around 14,000 inhabitants in the state of Minnesota. There's also a bit of snow on the ground. Claas Relotius published a very long feature article about the small town and its inhabitants in DER SPIEGEL in March 2017. When I read it at the time, I thought to myself: It seems really, really long.The story carried the headline, "In a Small Town," and was intended as an attempt to describe and better grasp Trump voters. As we now know, the writer largely invented the events and characters portrayed in the...…In these days before Christmas, it's very cold and windy in Fergus Falls, a town of around 14,000 inhabitants in the state of Minnesota. There's also a bit of snow on the ground. Claas Relotius published a very long feature article about the small town and its inhabitants in DER SPIEGEL in March 2017. When I read it at the time, I thought to myself: It seems really, really long.The story carried the headline, "In a Small Town," and was intended as an attempt to describe and better grasp Trump voters. As we now know, the writer largely invented the events and characters portrayed in the...WW…