there's blood on it from the rooms that have you feel. what should be done with the stone or from africa. this is being hotly debated on both continents. the stone sore on g.w. . this is due to be news africa on the program today the very real threats facing africa's in the pit conservationists have warned that some species of the giant mammals a step away from extinction coaching is the name of it. and we will bring you the story behind the giant frisco that has been painted on this beach in beneath.

hello i'm christine wonder why it's good to have you have any africa's in offense in trouble and humans ought to blame conservationists say increased poaching and then also habitats have devastated innocent populations across the continent now 50 years ago africa was home to one in the hof 1000000 in offense today there are just 415000 of them that's a decline of 2 the now the forests in defense which mostly occupied the tropical forests off west and central africa have been listed as critically endangered and the savannah in offense which roam all over sub-saharan africa but almost be found in southern africa have been listed as endangered now i'll be all skin a leading cause of asian is what can be done to reverse the trend off to this report. gentle giants under threat yet again leading experts are racing the alarm too little is done to save the african

elephant one reason is the environment where the elephants live its strength king the african population is growing fast and saw the cities across the continent this leaves less space for the animals to roam but experts point to one single factor for its decline poaching. the solution is not in catching the branches but the lines in this. there's so many get criminal words that are responsible or. ivory out of africa. even. while. new and more detailed research into the african elephant also shows that not all african elephants are the same as previously thought scientists say there's a difference between the west african species the forest elephant. and

the savannah elephant that lives elsewhere on the continent the 2 species have previously been group as one and classified as vulnerable but by categorizing them as 2 they have found a disturbing picture the population of the savannah elephant drop by at least 60 percent in the past 50 years but the numbers for the forest elephants drop by over 80 percent the international union for conservation of nature there are you c.n. says is now critically endangered. it's more vulnerable to portion because of the kind of area where it inhabits a mysterious i think it is that you find armed militia groups hiding it is that unfortunates can find really difficult to go in and and then for small so the fear that these animals could become extinct is very real.

and for more on the story live invited dr paul accountable onto the program she's an award winning wildlife conservation estate in kenya where she leaves the hands of our innocence campaign which aims to restore kenyan leadership in elephant conservation welcome to the program at home but it in your own words how bad is the situation is the threat of extinction a real reality for africa's innocence. absolutely africa's elephants have been declining now continuously for several decades so long as we continue on this path downwards there is a real risk and don't forget animals don't just decline slowly slowly over time they reach a point where they reach a threshold and then populations can completely collapse and blink out we're seeing this happening already in west africa where many populations have already disappeared completely ok so so this is this is very daunting and poaching is one

of the reasons why we're losing so many elephants according to this report that's just come up while we struggling in africa to protect these animals. i think we shouldn't just look at africa as the problem continent where the poaching is taking place the poaching the sticking place because there is demand for ivory in other countries particularly in asia and the far east so so long as there is demand for these products that the price of these products are very high there will be poaching there will be corruption there will be disruption of the normal force meant facilities to my country kenya for example there is a fantastic level of law enforcement on the ground there's very little pushing ticking please but kenya continues to be a conduit of ivory coming out of central and other parts of africa through our country and out through our borders it's very difficult for the continent to crack down on this kind of crime happening over the entire continent just because of the

demand for products in one of 2 places we need to address the demand as a major part of this campaign ducks a cold war there is a bad on the global trade of ivory countries like zimbabwe and botswana save they have too many elephants in their territory and they've been calling for that band to be lifted they say that the trade of ivory than legal trade of ivory will also give them the money that they need to invest in conservation to look after the offense as you say has been done in kenya could that be a solution lies in the trade of ivory. well we're the reason why we're in a crisis today is because of what those countries did in 20200829 that is when they actually did sell their ivory to china and japan promising that those funds would be used to protect africa's opens well i'm sorry it didn't happen instead africa's elephants are being pushed to the brink of extinction it is not

a solution it's never been a solution and it's time we got a little bit more creative about where we get the money to support elephant conservation it doesn't have to come from the killing of animals on the sale of their key so dr campbell what do you then suggest should be done what immediate action needs to be taken. oh it's really exciting the opportunities that there are for saving elephants in africa 1st many of our elephant populations are cross boundary elephants for example in southern kenya between tanzania and kenya you have these huge populations of elephants between morrow and serengeti and also in the amber surly and down in the south in tanzania in in their protected areas so here is an opportunity for the region to work together for the countries to support each other and to protect open populations on an ecosystem level and i'll give you an example of the challenges we're facing today it's not just poaching but in southern kenya at the foot of mount kilimanjaro there are important elephant

corridors that allow elephants to move between protected areas in kenya elephants must move from under 30 to solve a eco system which is 200 kilometers away and in between that is a land which is a matrix of people who do pastoralism but increasingly agricultural development is taking up that space today what we need is proper engagement with african governments to better manage how the land is going to be used where the protected areas are going to be and how they will be connected to each other to prevent this conflict between agriculture and wildlife areas for animals like elephants and i do think this is possible and i think it's an important part of the solution it has to be done you know really quickly that stuff support a couple and they're talking to us there thank you very much for that. let's take a look at some other stories making news across the continent now more than 1000

people are homeless after a fire gutted one of the biggest snubs in the sierra leonean caps in freetown no one was reported killed in the blaze but around 400 homes have been destroyed. in investigation the force of the fire which broke on wednesday. and experts in africa are warning of a vaccine you all over the access to chavez the director of the africa center for disease control and prevention that's dr john stossel said he hoped the wisdom would prevail as the whole of humanity would lose out if such a conflict which he is going to. see and people get the one last time to pay their respects to tanzania as former president john. for a burial service and he's village of chouteau. was one of africa's most prominent covert 19th skeptics the government said he died of heart failure that critics say

he succumbed to complications from covert 1000. now the french artist. has to create the world's largest human chain off interlaced has reaching around the globe. his aim is to create a symbol that bridges people and culture through his office his latest creation was recently unveiled at a special location in west africa. not the usual canvas but a sandy beach in been mean the project is titled beyond walls and the brainchild of french artist. also known simply as c.p. he's made it his trademark to produce giant outdoor artworks in unusual places but all with a purpose he says he's creating paintings with a human chain of hands around the globe which carries

a universal message of friendship and togetherness. and they want to do i always say i really believe that only together can humanity respond to the different challenges that has to overcome and it was from this convention that this project was born. creations are done with biodegradable paint so there is no pollution his project started a few years ago in paris and has since traveled around the world to 10 cities from belin to walk to istanbul and cape town before arriving here in gone v. and we die places tragically marked by the african slave trade. name for the image to be striking one must find in a static and also a story the 2 histories are gone we are unfortunately you know my opinion marked by the period of slavery but there are also sites that are incredible in terms of us betting on this so i thought it was a good mix that would create something special. there is also the fact that cites

the meaning that we have attached to it i believe also allows us to raise the profile of the region and the country and i think that this is interesting for the local people. see peace message of friendship and togetherness seems to resonate with the people here in. the artwork of tatas that it is necessary to be united to go hand in hand and to love one's neighbor. god advocates these values and that is why we accepted this work. it's a beautiful home. i know and love the woman is doing well has a positive repercussions for us the tough and people because it will help our community as well as the village of gold. after almost 2 years c.p. has visited 3 call incidents and spray painted 37 pairs of hands on nearly 80000 square meters of land. isn't that just standing well

that is it for our program today be sure to check out the stories that's on the top com forward slash africa we're always interested to know what you think about the stories that we cover here on the program the stories that we should be also on facebook and interesting at the left if we can see an extract. in the puzzle yourself it's not easy to go to another country you know nothing about the wife of i don't do this because we can't stay on venezuela i know. that. closely global news that matters. made for minds. to children to come to it's. one giant problem and we're near an

enormous you. live in a city leading the change in the mood in a fuel economy. how will climate change affect us and our children. and e.w. dot com slash water. welcome to arts and culture on this edition. an artist puts a contemporary spin on old portraits by moss being the subjects faces. and an architect and travel lover turned beta manages to combine all 3 of her passions. but 1st beethoven famously said that music can change the world that's nowhere more evident than in a new exhibition at the german history museum in bonn it charts the course of

popular music through germany's post-war history and highlights how over the years it's co-existed with and influenced politics. music is history the 1980s were political a young german woman encapsulated what people were feeling. this was the time when the big question of whether nuclear weapons should be stationed in germany was at the for a question that didn't only interest young people in germany i mean it's antiwar song 99 red balloons wasn't for many all around the world. you know it was an overnight sensation. in the 1950s germany tapped its feet to us walking no music from the likes of elvis presley. and bill haley.

the music captured the sight geist the music was kanchi too but 1st and foremost it captured a way of life you'd hear a great song and then you'd go out and you'd buy the record and listen to it and play it at the next party then. the 9060s rock and revolution german concerts by the beatles and the rolling stones often got a little out of hand. punk rock arrived in the 1970 s. . ruled the german roost. lindenberg ventured into east west politics in the eighty's the west german rockers got to perform in communist east germany. us rock musician

bruce springsteen his $988.00 gig in east berlin was the biggest opening concert of the germany's 40 year history. after the agent germany had the crazy idea that if we let the big question in to play concerts that would satisfy our young people and help us control them. the idea was doomed to failure the burning wall fell in november 1909 and $1.00 song became the band of german reunification. called on the. down. and for a trip down memory lane my colleague adrian kennedy is in the studio with me and

ambitious exhibition adrian so what does popular music tell us about german history well a recurring topic is of course german unity we had. been able to put on a one off concert in east germany in 1903 but they're off that he was not allowed back and he have to wait until after the wall fell to fulfill his dream of a form of eastern germany an emotional show in the light seeking $990.00 parts of the exhibition and we heard nina's famous antiwar anthem that that presented a new face of germany to the world it did. also a year earlier nicole had had a surprise victory in the your vision song contest with a little piece i remember it quite well because it was number one in the u.k. during the falklands war but these 2 songs to kind of a stamp edition new idea of the german as i'm usually birkenstocks sandal

wearing peacenik do you think that those songs played a big role in changing germany's international image where they at least reflected the change that was going on. up until then most people's only encounter with german pop had been craft a very different image of the german they checked in a crap rather cold emotion although we have to remember that in the music of. of craftwork it's quite sentimental and has a lot of war at its core right and i didn't i had that it was an encounter with jabba music that actually brought you to ballad yes i was inspired by a. noise about. this was a west berlin band that made music with cement mixes pneumatic drills and metal pipes the concert was dubbed the best gig since the crucifix haitian crucifix crucifixion story and it really quite believe my mind and prompted me to jump on

about and get over to west berlin to find out what was going on and we're very glad you did and the rest as they say music and history thank you very much my colleague adrian kennedy thank you some other news now brazil's christ the redeemer statue is getting a facelift ahead of its 90th anniversary celebrations in october dozens of engineers architects and geologists are scaling it 38 meters to remove rust and replace weakened rock before the pandemic some 2000000 people visited the statue every year. scotland's aberdeen university is to become the 1st institution to return a benny and bronze sculpture to nigeria the university said the work depicting a king was acquired in reprehensible circumstances bush stole just destroyed by any city in the late 19th century looting thousands of treasures from the palace the

move raises pressure on other establishments including the british museum to follow suit. well dozens of german museums still have been in bronze as to the culture minister monica glitters has called a special summit to discuss restitution we'll have more on germany's role in looted african arts next week here on arts and culture. now to an artist who takes what's gone before and really interprets it painter for her hair mass has a love of the old masters and their portraits he's particularly interested in the clues they offer about their subjects and the times they lived in and he's found a unique way to reveal their secrets. europe's museums are filled with paintings like leaves the rich and famous of centuries past. portraits painted to exude high status

and noble character. artist foca hamm as looks to portraits of the past for inspiration. he takes the paintings of old masters and reworks them digitally with one big twist. the subject faces are veil and. cameras presents them in a way that modern viewers can't so easily ignore. countries or who go there it can break down the hurdle to these works if you just had a humorous aspect which at the same time highlights important features of the image without overwhelming it. by masking

hammers aims to unmask he takes elements already present in the works and multiplies them. the idea is to exaggerate visual codes already built into the paintings because that people at the time would have understood but that viewers today need help decoding. the luminous wigs for instance one stood for great wealth for the hamma satirizes the conventions of past era us masking the actual faces to refocus the attention. and interest. in the region by removing this individuality the faces and blocking our access to them as a business it's almost as if we were standing in front of the painting and holding one hand up to it so we can concentrate more other areas and sinker. so the incredible diversity of these pictures revealed becomes far more pronounced when i

take away the faces of the. parents has been creating these hidden portraits now for around a decade last year he began posting them on instagram and became a global sensation perhaps because so many of us can relate to wearing masks. maria trott sky and studied architecture in moscow in paris in 2012 she discovered baking and it became a passion now she mixes her fields of interest making desserts and even taste like famous. this skyline of copenhagen the eiffel tower in paris the sydney opera house these edible works of art are the creations of maria trying to stay on. here but i'm primarily interested in the

artistic aspect it's a kind of performance for. her copenhagen berlin cake is especially elaborate and took 3 days to complete it's made of short crust pastry with nuts chocolate sponge without flour coffee mousse and a glossy glaze made from salted caramel the optical highlight is the chocolate skyline. boots on what's important is that the landmarks of both cities are recognizable and will when i am one of the it was a special request from a customer who loved both european capitals. version of st basil's cathedral of her hometown moscow was up course a must see the shape of a cake is just as essential to her as its taste each recalls the flavors of the respective country was a was moscow tastes like the typically eastern european blend of spices but combined with something light and fluffy like a butter cream it doesn't seem to bother her that her artistic creations end up

being devoured. from america that's the most important part of the taste is everything. and i didn't leave a slice for me. you can find more on all those stories on our website that's d w dot com slash culture and as venice celebrates its 1601st day i'll leave you with just at the very days la traviata sung by francesca dato at last the nikkei opera house the same venue of its 853 premiere from the whole team from arts and culture in berlin even dead she. oh yeah.

man. yeah. boy. oh boy. clear.

to the point of strong opinions clear positions international perspectives. labeling vladimir putin a killer accusing china of genocide against the weak or people the biden administration confronts russia and china become the us when that's our topic on to the point. to the point that not go. through this on t w go up. the fight against the coronavirus. pandemic. how has the rate of infection been developing. measures are being taken. what does the latest research say. information and context.

the coronavirus up to cope with special monday to friday on. w.'s crime fighters are back ever goes most successful radio drama series continues this season the stories focus on hate speech color of her pension and sustainable charcoal production. all of a sow's 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 for. we're all set. to go beyond t.l.c.'s. take on the world. and this is where all of the stories that matter to you.

and me. we are yours actually on fire made some claims. this is news and these are our top stories. experts say it could take weeks to dislodge a huge container ship blocking egypt's suez canal some 200 vessels are waiting to enter what is one of the key shipping routes. taking a much longer route around africa closure will impact global trade. u.s. president joe biden says.