SPIEGEL ONLINE

YIKES

The Historian Who Invented 22 Holocaust Victims

1 digg SPIEGEL ONLINE World 11h

A German blogger living in Dublin and pretending to be Jewish spread fictitious stories about her family's Holocaust history, even submitting false claims to the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem. But it was all made up.

SAVING FACE

Head Implants, Eyelid Surgery: The Pressure To Be Beautiful In South Korea

Lips plumped up during the lunch break, implants for a rounder head: Cosmetic surgery is extremely common in South Korea, even among men. The pressure to look good in the country is immense.

NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE

The Suicide Bomber Who Survived

4 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE World 3w

Halima was supposed to die at a market in Chad. And her mission was to take as many people as possible with her — a mission forced upon her by the terror group Boko Haram. But she survived, and the 20-year-old is now learning how to live again.

'ALWAYS JUST THE PLAYER, NEVER THE PERSON'

The Dark Side Of The Dream

3 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Sports 21 Mar 2018

After 15 years as a professional soccer player, Arsenal player Per Mertesacker is hanging up his boots. Plagued by injuries and stressed by the game, he argues that it's time for people to understand its human cost.

HE'S GOT A REPTILIAN BRIDGE TO SELL YOU

A Visit To The Infowars Studios Of Alex Jones

19 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Curious 28 Feb 2017

Right-wing radio host Alex Jones is America's top conspiracy theorist. He has millions of listeners, but his most powerful one happens to be the president of the United States.

THEIR WORD IS A JUNK BOND

The Self Destruction Of Deutsche Bank

32 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Long Reads Business 31 Oct 2016

For most of its 146 years, Deutsche Bank was the embodiment of German values: reliable and safe. Now, the once-proud institution is facing the abyss.

JUST A BUMP IN THE ROAD

How A Viral Video Transformed A Syrian Refugee's Fate

18 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Internet Long Reads Politics World 13 Jan 2016

One kick was all it took to make Osama Mohsen, a professional soccer coach from Syria, into one of the most famous refugees to arrive in Europe last year. After a Hungarian camerawoman sent Mohsen tumbling, his life took an unexpected turn.

UNDER THE WIRE

Asylum's Dark Side: The Deadly Business Of Human Smuggling

9 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Human Nature Crime Law World 8 Sep 2015

Every day, thousands of refugees entrust their lives to human smugglers as they make their way to Europe — and many of them die en route. The smugglers, meanwhile, are making handsome profits and aren't particularly concerned about safety.

'I'M NOT A BUTCHER'

An Interview With The Islamic State's Architect Of Death

15 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE World 16 Jul 2015

For one and a half years, Abu Abdullah was responsible for organizing Islamic State's suicide bombings in Baghdad. He is one of the organization's rare leading figures to be captured alive.

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME

Investigation Into Rhino Poaching Turns Into Kidnapping

16 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Animals Crime World 12 Mar 2015

"We traveled to Mozambique to report a story about the region's destructive and illegal trade in rhinoceros horns. But when photographer Toby Selander and I were taken captive by poachers, we found ourselves staring death in the face."

HOLES IN THE NET

Inside The NSA's War On Internet Security

17 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Technology 29 Dec 2014

U.S. and British intelligence agencies undertake every effort imaginable to crack all types of encrypted Internet communication. The cloud, it seems, is full of holes. The good news: New Snowden documents show that some forms of encryption still cause problems for the NSA.

COKED UP IN THE AIR

A Charter Pilot's Run-In With Venezuelan Drug Lords

18 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Aviation Crime Drugs 25 Dec 2014

It started as a routine charter flight. But when the business jet landed in Venezuela, armed men loaded 47 sacks of cocaine on board and forced the crew to fly the cargo back across the Atlantic. Since then, the German pilot has been living under an assumed identity.

THE END OF TOLERANCE?

Anti-Muslim Movement Rattles Germany

8 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE World Beliefs 22 Dec 2014

Disenchanted German citizens and right-wing extremists are joining forces to form a protest movement to fight what they see as the Islamization of the West. Is this the end of the long-praised tolerance of postwar Germany?

CHILDREN OF CONFLICT

The War In Syria As Seen From A Playground In Aleppo

8 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Warfare Long Reads World 27 Nov 2014

Every day, children from the Salaheddin district of Aleppo meet at the local playground. They play war as the real one rages just a few meters away. But the graves are slowly encroaching.

A FATAL BLOW

The Death That Could Kill Lethal Injection

37 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Politics Crime 20 Sep 2014

The horrific execution of Clayton Lockett by lethal injection this spring in Oklahoma took an astonishing 43 minutes to complete. Together with other botched killings, the incident has focused attention on the inexperience and incompetence that now accompanies many executions in America.

TREASURE MAP

The NSA Breach Of Telekom And Other German Firms

16 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Business Politics Technology World 14 Sep 2014

According to top-secret documents from the NSA and the British agency GCHQ, the intelligence agencies are seeking to map the entire Internet, including end-user devices. In pursuing that goal, they have broken into networks belonging to Deutsche Telekom.

MONUMENTS MEN

How Archaelogists Are Trying To Save Syrian Artifacts

15 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Art Warfare World 6 Aug 2014

While the civil war in Syria has killed tens of thousands of people, it has also destroyed countless of the country's ancient treasures. Now a number of Syrians are trying to save what artifacts they can — and are risking their lives to do so.

A DAMNED PARADISE

Does Haiti Need Tourism?

17 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE World Economics Long Reads 18 Jul 2014

Human rights attorney Mario Joseph and Tourism Minister Stéphanie Villedrouin are both trying to improve Haiti, but they are following radically different paths. The one wants justice, the other wants tourism.

EL DORADO IN THE AMAZON

A Deluded German And Three Dead Bodies

39 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Curious Crime World 11 Jul 2014

Günther Hauck has lived in the Amazon, his legend growing, since the 1960s. Originally from Germany, he claims to be the chief of a previously unknown tribe. Jacques Cousteau hired him as a guide. An "Indiana Jones" movie was based on his stories. And three people who made pilgrimages to see him never came home.

THE OPINION MAKERS

How Russia Is Winning The Propaganda War

27 diggs SPIEGEL ONLINE Media Politics World 1 Jun 2014

With the help of news services like RT and Ruptly, the Kremlin is seeking to reshape the way the world thinks about Russia. And it has been highly successful: Vladimir Putin has won the propaganda war over Ukraine and the West is divided.