but suddenly life became elish. providing insight. that matters. for minds. of people for information. they want to express. on facebook and twitter today in touch. from the us. this is state of the union africa with a special best stop edition featuring stories brought to us by our spondon coming up on the program the broad say is that brought down and nigerian police unit to say latest corruption the find in tech takes days of back to 1992 but will the end sauce movements the parents of say. these. and the desperate from

discounting because they. faced it on their crops leaving nothing to eat nor sell. the jury is still out on whether this her brand works but these south african farmers say good help begins the spanish flu and that it can help. to walk them to this special edition of the program looking at some of the top stories of 20 twentieth's good to have your company now $22.00 weeks an angry young people in nigeria took so the streets to denounce police arrest meant violence and extortion they say the country's sause units will special and to robbery squad had itself been unlawful and demanded that it be disbanded that was the end but now the protests evolved into. campaigns for police reform and an end to what was called

bad governance in africa's most populous nation now that if it was led on social media it was all stood by accident since it ever sees across the world the government gave in on at least one of those demands but no one's really certain about where the true reform is coming. zob edward is one of the few people behind the top of protest that's brought to nigeria to his town steve tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand an end of police brutality they stood their ground despite our swords by anti-riot police did what is part of his fear of protesters we need to fight for our rights this is not him and you have to want this is not the police police force that you want this is not the kind of good men to be we have to keep that full. comprehensible to nor to new the government special anti-roll but he scored was fos formed in 1902 and

nigerians have been critical of its tactics from years previous attempts to force the government to scrap the police unit never succeeded but in nuri images the movement it muds for 2 weeks in october and pushed the government of president obama do both hurry to dissolve sas and see it will end police brutality see the protests we organize on social media platforms. just get together a local kid or 2 to the police less and mobilize and look let's meet here listen we did this media and also. when edward and the number of local and international celebrity is called for portis joined she says this solace you need and her boyfriend and care for them at gunpoint and this speech will be scored robbing them of all their money it is a day she does not want to remember. it's been really hard. it's been really

tough mentally i could still hear the sound of it going cooking for a long period in my sleep of the day that according to the government to count more than 100 people were killed in 2 weeks as a result of sportiest a probe is ongoing to establish who is behind the violence the keatings fueled anger she was just coming to terms with assault by south i'm just hopeful that nigeria we can see a point where. we can walk on the streets and not be afraid of getting killed by blowing forcemeat. this you need to fall and taking in nigeria's capital used to be a symbol of democracy and free speech but when protesters tried to come even here they were asked to opt and where right up with televised form in the nigerians it's a symbol that democracy is eroding and it's a tonic to

a dictatorship. the ongoing probe looking into the police retired to calm prince well i now see its findings are in next year but it doesn't lead to faith into the process with me because of the ways that people would not expect what is going to continue. and what the hopes to be in nigeria that is free of fear of its own security forces. now these little beasts rights have ravaged the horn of africa of the sea a desert locusts destroyed vegetation resulting in huge economic losses several countries in east africa namely kenya ethiopia uganda and salsa done all still trying to contain what is the worst desert locust invasion that the region has seen in over 70 is not despise governesses aerial spraying of pistis side to prevent

breeding the locus just kept reading un has warned of a looming food crisis in favor revisited some kenyan farmers to try to find out how they had been affected by the 1st infestation. they were only there for one day a mid january bernard my congress was invaded by desert locusts that ate everything from grains to beans and even an entire field of watermelons but that's not all. that. like i do know. normally by this time they're ready for harvest. have destroyed them all. the flowers even the leaves. of the will to seed. the locusts eat everything in their way in a day one square kilometer swarm of locusts can eat as much food as 35000 people.

at this time of year my congress granted these are usually filled to the brim but now they're practically empty. memory now you get to go come on come on it's what i've harvested is very little i expected to get sounds of green grams 15 sacks of maize didn't and i didn't get any beans it's all of that they've all been destroyed. his neighbor is equally devastated and without the harvest he doesn't know what to do. there's nothing left to harvest there's nothing else i don't know how to do it's just this farm that's where i get through it we're afraid my family and friends everyone because that's what i do on my farm limited. this is the worst look at infestation that kenya has seen in 70 years farmers in this region have lost nearly all of their crops some of them have started planting again but they

don't know what they will do if the locusts return. to step up the fight against the locusts kenya has started training its voluntary national youth service while aerial spraying of pesticides is already being used to fight the i don't know just these. trained as ground spray of younger locusts which conflict. for farmers like bernard mcconnell the government effort has come too late he doesn't know how he will make up for his lost crops and he only hopes that his next harvest will survive from a you can reserve board for. now in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic this year the medic actually president launched a herbal covert $900.00 but he and managed prevented people from being infected now the race to find a cure for the corona virus spurred interest in herbal medicines although none has so far proved effective now but we sent our reporter to speak with a group of farmers in south africa who are cashing in at the time on the hype

surrounding african wormwood. in south africa's eastern cape province farmer john obvious sally and his family are picking the herb african war would. be. the everyone that's needed. in a moment also the. something between people both here in portland believe we've got a very very important lake in. the family can pick as many as 10 backs at day. you can find the plant all over the place it has been growing here for a long time and the local farmers have been using it as a traditional medicine but now the demand is going up which is good for business here. back in the village they sell the plant for 4 euro's a back prices have increased along with demand for the herb is a better place you know with many believe warmer which can protect them from the

coronavirus although there's no scientific proof. i give the fed some of these because this is a good look around and. say are you question of being in one chinese knife lands for new things. and events will come flowing into you feel weightless see. who comes clean near you. the rain of you not all of the villagers also believe in warm woods medicinal properties they've been using it for generations even though the village has no electricity no one here has been to the doctor for years one which is prized as one of the most powerful medicinal herb since people here say it clears up a stomach ache and half an hour at a fever in 3 days all of lettuce in your body you can take it to get a. bottle is a good medicine if you put your faith made plain mean i hope you are doing well you know. there's also

a growing demand and. elizabeth an hour's drive from the village the corona virus is spreading rapidly and urban areas despite the lockdown. has been growing warm wood for the last year the grandmother has been taking and for now business is brisk glans we have sold 20 bunches today for one euro each but she doesn't believe it can protect people against corona and i was i was going to turn to them to the sun and damn. i don't need a group of gay. men here there's been a very busy day you have if you don't have the backbone to go but go on. joy in the temp because i must been asking you as well what are your customers that i'm going to get me going over. here but. feel safe from the virus is daily cup of tea has

a bitter taste but he reckons it's worth it. helps his grandmother. because i feel nearly. as interesting i remember we did some fun our conversations and we did have the punch to tell us that now was the time to explore some of these alternatives and that is it for our special edition program. you can catch stories on our website and facebook page today will leave you with pictures of the story still of. us just raising awareness across the continent. and happy holidays.

line to us is on its way to bring you more conservation. how do we make signals greener how can we protect habitats we can make a difference global mind genius fundamental series again global $3000.00 on g.w. and all mine. good use crime fighters are back africa's most successful radio

drama series continues this season the stories focus on hate speech color of prevention and sustainable charcoal production. all of the zones are available online and of course you can share and discuss on africa's facebook page and other social media platforms. crime fighters tune in now. a year of empty city streets and empty theater seats as the world went into lockdown 2020 brought out new forms of creativity. the social distancing concert for instance on this arts and culture a look back at the year when you were prepared for.

the arts and culture people have called 2020 a hot mess of a year and worse and they're not wrong it's been a wild ride to put it mildly with artists and the creative industries had particularly hard after many of us at the beginning of the year were naive enough to think the coronavirus was contained far away it didn't take us long to realize how huge its implications really were for the whole world including for culture. 2020 started really well for some artists. while film and music prizes were being given in the u.s. and europe in 2020 parts of asia were in a state of emergency. in february went according to plan but the new coronaviruses already arrived in europe in berlin the golden bears were given out while the 1st

quarantine signs were being established in north italy in march the w.h.o. officially declared the outbreak of the virus pandemic in many countries public life was shut down and james blunt gave his 1st live stream concert from the empty philharmonie in hamburg from now on nothing was the same everywhere in cultural capitals look the same. empty streets and plazas. theaters have to close in some cities from one day to the next. going to hurry with the middle of a hurstville we had a coffee cup on the table you know everything with still there. is once allowed to perform. clubs such shocks indefinitely festivals concerts all canceled. like this absolutely it was awful it was horrible i was ready to go on tour. it was

a big shock i have to admit that i cried a lot about. museums and galleries were empty for weeks for celebrations of the 150th birthday of the new york metropolitan museum was blown off and while some houses were able to open again in time the crisis will have long lasting effect a real step backwards it will probably take 2 to 3 years to get back to even close to where things were his day out on. joining me today to talk about the impact of the pandemic on culture is do you know what is on scott roxboro scott you are a film expert let's cut to the chase how bad of a year has this been for the movie industry catastrophic i mean you could almost say it's the worst year ever for the film industry i mean it's the industry this year has done worse than did during the depression the great depression worse than the world wars i mean the 2nd world war there were bombs falling in london there were bombs falling here in berlin but the cinemas were still open this year that

the cinemas down almost around around around the world and you've seen some innovation in theaters trying to make do i mean we saw drive in theaters have a real boom during during the pandemic which was which was nice to see is a return to the drive ins but that's just not enough to compensate for really the billions that were lost in box office this year and i mean really since the start of cinema over a century ago the industry's never gone through this kind of crisis before it's almost too broad of the play we're hoping bush saying the theater industry could be on the brink of collapse but there are still movies getting made there are still movies getting shown us the venice film festival for us this year which took place despite and make what was that like very very strange i mean it was interesting i mean you had the socially distanced red carpets you you had everybody wearing masks they took your temperature whenever you wanted to the theater and there was hand gel everywhere but it's still sort of felt like there are real festival and i was

really hopeful after the venice film this could be a model for other festivals going forward but looks like they've kind of got lucky it was held in the summer when the numbers in new york at least were quite low and it looks like now for the winter months it might be much more difficult the sundance film festival takes place in january has already said they're going to do it mostly online and that could be the model going forward until we have proper vaccine until things may be returned to normal. if you and we have to talk about the winners of the coven situation the streaming services they've they've done well during walk down the yeah it's been grammy night i'm sure it was like for you i stream like crazy during the lockdown. and i think a lot of people did and so yeah the stream companies are incredibly well and it's sort of changed the model i mean you see big film studios like disney put their films online instead of taken to theaters warner brothers basically shocked everybody when they made the announcement that all the films coming out late in

2020 and all their films next year will go out simultaneously in theaters and online on their streaming service h.b.o. max so far this is only for the u.s. but big films like wonder woman 1904 will be an online premiere in the us it's never happened before people are already saying this could mean a paradigm shift that will see an end to movie theaters i hope that doesn't happen but it's definitely to be a rough ride. thanks so much. and walk over 1000 impact on the culture sector looks set to last there have been some glimmers of hope over this year and of patients that have kept artists and institutions creative and connected while the virus kept us apart. if you hold the celebration in the middle of a pandemic sure if you go digital musicians from around the world went online this year to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of composer from beethoven.

museums like denmark's national gallery found a way around corona by offering 3 d. virtual tours. performers took to social media actor patrick stewart cited shakespeare sonnets. the pianist. well peter's an opera houses like those here in new york stream the performances around the world. substitute or found new safer locations to party like this gig on a berlin church rooftop. musicians found a way to drezner symphonic orchestra performed on the roof of an apartment block.

held picnics performances with socially distance blankets and the music piped in through headphones. there were even super exclusive concerts with a single musician and an audience of one. of ours didn't stop to salzburg festival which went ahead as planned albeit with fewer people social distancing and new safety measures. this would have been ashamed of our timidness had we cancelled the festival this year because our festival was founded in much more difficult times shortly after the 1st world war when there was great hunger and eat . drink or on other berlinski opera held massive open air concerts for free. i can't wait to share this great music again records all well and good streaming is quite nice because sitting in peru you can be part of the live experience of being the lie. that.

this year thousands of publishers from around the world came together online for a digital edition of the frankfurt book fair it was the 1st such literary event of its kind but everyone hopes it will also be the last. staying connected and the time of social distancing 2020 showed us in so many ways you don't have to be a famous artist to get creative people and walk down spend. hours and even days of reconstructing and posing as their favorite paintings here are some of the best posts we found on instagram. into the wiring actors showed us that the plays of shakespeare make even more sense

inquire into you with a hash tag share your shakespeare. and steps from angola to a south african beat this was the dance craze that spread through the web and the world like wildfire the jerusalem up. to. a year of walk down of dance challenges streaming films and concerts and 2020 was also a year of losses here are some of the great entertainers who left us. we said goodbye to multiple film legends cut douglas died at the age of $103.00.

also died with one of his final big appearances in the series game of thrones. the one who left us the french actor michel because. the italian film composer. and the british director alan parker i run. he made history as the 1st james bond so sean connery died at 90. but he never really liked his role as the iconic british spy. connery made some of his best films just off the 100 in his double 07 badge among them the epic adventure the man who would be king like yourself too and that is our film test for the years and bloody mark. can you

forgive me. he hasn't survived to see his last plans put into action the amazing christo he won't ever be forgotten by germans to his covering of the rush start building in 1905. what. these voices to will have stopped forever in 2020 goodbye from the french club of singing surely at the click of who was married to michelle piccoli for 11 years. the rock guitarist eddie van halen died at 65 with cancer he influenced a whole generation of musicians many songs that he beautified with his solos are milestones in pop music.

equally influential band craft lost one of its founders in 2020 call florian schneider a slave and initially played flute and later concentrated on a stop watching the trademark sound. we've almost made it through 2020 and we hope that you'll let us be part of your new year thanks for watching arts and culture.

the for. the oscars from nigeria you know that's what nollywood stands for. me. centric. brand successful beyond belief. the road this is the way we do it. would. in 15 minutes on d w. in the light of climate. change. africa's most of. what's in store.

for the future. to come for the major cities to the mall to get insight. into. story of prejudice and propaganda. they were called the rhineland bastards. their mothers were germans living in the occupied rhineland their father's soldiers from the french colonies the face half of german children had a hard time and because they were a reminder of the german defeat. they grew up in a climate of national pride and racism to focus european population felt that it was important to be mighty and to stay brighteyes. exclusion and contempt culminated in forced sterilization under the nazis. this documentary examines the few traces that remain of their existence. because of the choke chains

storage to 11th on d.w. . this is you have your news live from berlin london and brussels signed off on the brics a trade deal u.k. prime minister boris johnson thinks the agreement just hours after it gets the necessary signatures from e.u. leaders the accord seals the u.k.'s new relationship with the e.u. . and goes into force on new year's day. also on the program a large explosion that even its national airport leaves more than 20 dead and

dozens wounded the likely target is a plane carrying members of yemen's newly formed unity government.