Abstract:   In close collisions of relativistic heavy ions one expects to learn
about the possible formation of a quark gluon plasma. On the other hand, in distant collisions the large nuclear charges, together with Lorentz contraction, leads to high probabilities for one- and two-photon  exchange processes and for the  possibility of studying  new aspects of nuclear structure, particle physics, and  of nuclear astrophysics. The latest experimental and theoretical developments in this field will be discussed.