A long pontificate comes to an end - John Paul II dies. His successor Benedict XVI. inspires the church youth of the world in Cologne. Bomb attacks in London, terror reaches Europe - and the wave of violence in Iraq continues. More hurricanes than ever before bring suffering, death and devastation - and the tsunami catastrophe in Southeast Asia claims hundreds of thousands of lives. The EU constitution fails - and the dispute over Turkey's accession threatens to divide the community. 60 years after the end of the war, a German chancellor stands in the middle of the ranks of the victors - and the Holocaust Memorial is opened in Berlin. Simonis and Steinbrück pay for the reform policies of the Schröder government - the new elections bring Germany its first female chancellor. Charles and Camilla are finally allowed to marry - and with Max Schmeling, a great sportsman leaves.