The German newspaper Der Spiegel is reporting that the government there has quietly launched an investigation into whether US agents kidnapped a German citizen and illegally took him to Afghanistan. The Sunday Times of London reported last week that officials in Italy are conducting a similar investigation over the disappearance of an Egyptian man on the streets of Milan. Both cases appear to be connected to what the United States calls extraordinary rendition. The Bush administration claims it has the legal authority to pick up wanted individuals anywhere in the world and detain them for interrogation.