Special Reports

Special reports - Europe
The burqa wars
Belgium has banned the burqa and face-covering veils known as niqabs. In France, a Muslim woman was recently arrested for veiling her face. And Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries are considering similar prohibitions, with some calling for continent-wide rules. From the banning of minarets to an all-out war against Islamic clothing, are European governments increasingly using legal means to enforce integration, regardless of what that means for freedom of religion?
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L'Aquila, Italy
The ghost town
A year after an earthquake devastated the historic Italian city, thousands of residents remain in hotels while others have moved out. The city is still overflowing with rubble and politics and bureaucracy are hindering relief and reconstruction. In a year of devastating earthquakes around the world, L'Aquila offers some lessons on what to do – and not do – in the aftermath.
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Zarqa, Jordan
The terror factory
The Jordanian city of Zarqa has given the world two of its most notorious terrorists in recent years, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and double-agent Humam al-Bilawi. This dense, dirty city of one million people has also produced countless jihadis and suicide bombers who have been active in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Former Yugoslavia
A Balkans report card
Thirty years since the death of Tito and 15 years after the massacre at Srbrenica, which spurred the international community to end the bloodshed in Bosnia, the Balkan countries are moving forward while taking steps toward European integration.
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German reunification
United Germany?
We are the people! It was the mantra during demonstrations in Leipzig that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. But two decades after reunification, one in seven East Germans say they want the division back. To what extent have the Germanies been sewn together?
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