the love and respect ah ah w news and these are our top stories. the government of haiti has asked the united states to send troops to protect that crucial infrastructure after the assassination of president jovan in the us and columbia. that there investigators would travel to haiti to help probe the killing, 17 suspect, have been arrested, including colombian and us national. 3 others were killed and fighting with security forces and 8 are still on the run. the united

nations security council has voted to extend a vital lifeline to syria. russia oppose a resolution allowing international aid to cross through turkey into the rebel health ne of the country. moscow says the 8 operation violates theory and sovereignty. lithuania, the military has begun building a 550 kilometer long razor wire fence on its border with bella roof. between, you know, 40 acute minutes of allowing hundreds of migrants to enter the european union illegally. bella ruth allowed crossings and retaliation for a new sanctions imposed after min diverted a flight to arrest a dissident journalist. steve w. news from berlin. there is a lot more on our website. that's d w dot com. the world. ah, the,

the, the new aesthetic spoon of exuberant hope and self confidence. it's much more than a passing trend, and it's leaving its mark on artistic expression from film to fashion, from literature, to music. welcome to arts and culture. this edition is dedicated to africa futurism. the term was coined in the 1900 ninety's, but the cultural trend described date box to at least the civil rights era. the 1900 fifties and sixties, when african american musician, sun ra, made a link between the ancient egyptians and the space age. the term itself refers to a reimagining of a high tech future through a black hole through lens. counteracting euro centric traditions that have acquainted blackness with being primitive around the world, africa, futurism is inspiring and redefining the work of an increasing number of artists.

they fall off the seat belt and get ready for a journey through a brave and colorful you. whoa. opinion artist cyrus can bureau breeze new life and do started. technology abandon radios become space, age communication devices, rusting, fixed geared bicycles called black mumbles. i turned into sculptures that could have been left here by an alien civilization. bureau had been making are for years before a gallery in italy, gave it a label, acro future. i didn't know about for future. that's my 1st time. here, there was a series of eyeglasses called c standards to make a brew famous constructed from crash collected on his travels, or masha book,

different cultural traditions. to me, that is a feature like it's a combination of different cultures. listen to different from like global. but it's something that you can see more us and more asia know, it's more for future labels. with black panther, hollywood finally gave the world a new perspective on africa, the superhero movie set and the high tech african land of what conduct brought afo, future them into the mainstream. a world away from hollywood in a booty nigeria, apple futurism is also taking root. a new generation of african artists is looking at their own culture from a new angle, comic book artist. i use a g ma, kinda credits black panther aqua card before. no, i've been known to be for about the a 3rd world country. and then black links to

the phone as a low power that is completely loaded with that loads. it wasn't my bluetooth africans everywhere were wow. in this comics mckindoe's uses sy fi and fantasy to address real world issues of political power, corruption and abuse. lucky lou set in 2050 a. d. a matches africa as a world power battling on the global stage alongside china and the u. s. space ships modeled on, senegalese fishing boats, a post apocalyptic world, inspired by west african folklore, a zimbabwe and super hero. just some of the comics published by golly media, which brings the best an afro futurist art and animation to the world. so well,

that is the same price we just saw much in there could be $1.00, it will be a waste if it was different. disney is listening. the hollywood giant is backing. he watches a sy fi animated series created by golly, the details of the plot are still secret pretty much because that patients story taking place in the leg was that the critics club inequality and other fields. i'm very careful. yeah, yeah, that's all i can figure out whether in comics, movies, or design the art of afro futurism combines tradition with imagination. provision a brighter future for africa and the world the author of that report is scott rock spar and he's with me in the studio. welcome scott. now you spent some time looking into this, the term for a future ism,

in decades old already, but right now it seems to be enjoying a revival. yeah, as you mentioned, i mean the idea of this, the stylist, a combination of african traditions and miss with, with sort of science fiction motifs around maybe since the 50s or sixties. but it really enjoyed a new or mainstream revival with, with black panther. and i think a lot of the credit there has to go to the costume designer, the oscar winning costing designer back build ruth carter. because what she did was combine sort of really ancient african designs with sort of a futuristic a style and. and by making this combination, she was able to create a vision of africa that with both super high tech, but also true to african history. and this film and her designs were hugely inspirational. also were african artists because the 1st time they were showing a hollywood film that imagined africans as superheroes and not as of history. and one of those african artists is photographer osborne materia, he's been called

a master creating all turn it back universes. tell us more about him. yeah, i was going to try is past that he's, he's a photographer. and what he does is he uses sort of science by motifs to reinterpret both african history and the african a present of. here's a photo. here's for example, that reimagine can use mouth mile independent spiders, and he matches them as high tech opticians resides, fi, fi, glasses, in order to fight the british colonialism. and much re told me that he deliberately works against the sort of negative images that he also sees western media of africa and tries to take members outside from the outskirts of society and, and put them in the new in a new light. one of my favorite works of his is nairobi underground, fight club, which imagines short stature people as, as warriors as members and sort of a global of fight club. basically what i tell you what's to do is to retell african history and to sort of recapture it from the distortions of the western view of

africa. okay. quote. as well as inspiring art. after futurism has played a huge role in empowering black artists to tell their own story, even imagine their own futures. does it also have a political agenda? i think for a lot of artists, it does have a very political agenda, especially on african artists because we're talking about communities and cultures in which have often their history of often been distorted or even destroyed by colonialism or, or by slavery. and so for a lot of the features artists by using these motifs of science fiction, they're able to sort of reimagine their own path and project it into a sort of utopian future. and to tell their own story in their, for their own perspective in a way that doesn't, isn't district shape are distorted by the, this sort of western view. ok. so roads for thanks so much for coming in and showing your insights now after, oh, futurism has also played a huge role in music, in the 1900 seventy's,

george clinton on lisa p. funk on the world with futuristic lyrics and album covers and live set before him descending to the stage from a space ship. well, recently beyond say, revived the theme with her visual album, black is king. and here in berlin, nigerian born neo soul artist wayne snow is also combining the futuristic with the traditional for him to his african heritage. is a major inspiration. future for me is just the tools we use and the app for official reason african means that it is rooted in tradition. wayne snow won't be put in a box ha. ah, i his blend sole pump and electronic sounds makes it easy listening,

but it requires hard work in the studio. yeah, so we mix in sound. nina. we recorded live with the whole band with no gigs last year. musicians have been promoting them you think by making live versions of that song to put on line when you record it. like take this last take here, i think. right inside the books in. ringback ringback ringback me, when usually puts a lot of thoughts into his visuals, he often visits art galleries, inspiration, both but his videos and for the music itself, which he says he can actually see i have a bit of a finished asian. that is when i hear sounds follows like goes with follows. so

i've always tried to express a visual part of the music. that is what i make, that sound. i try to be all show people the colors that go with it. if i were to do a music create, here are definitely influenced by this call is around as well as a connection between sound and vision. the nigerian artist wants to show his funds a different image of africa. this me was quite important for me to show people that well, you can have things very beautiful things come in from africa as well. and you will have the impression that they were made anywhere else. so it was really, really something i wanted to just show this how natural it is. and on my 1st video said one thing, the idea was to show like this traditional way of work and which is on this game. i

had black here and we use the same kind of way approach that duty for the places inspired by a firm future. isn't this meeting a future and tradition is a core theme in his music? ah, when you say look for sure what the experience people told me they had was that future, what are the same kind of failure was rooted strong tradition ah, as huge like somewhat into like this camera feel me me also we use some like traditional options when they meet it, create a future wayne is looking to the future hit and then the artists we feature that just

a few of the many his work is being inspired by afro futurism. i'll leave you with one of the artists credited with taking the movement into the mainstream. janelle monet's science fiction infused poetry and song. often through the eyes of the female android alter ego takes effort futurism to another level. see you next time the. the the with the the

nico is in germany to learn german eligibility. why not learn with him online? on your mobile and free e w e learning course, eco's vague women in asia in speaking on me for them all the money and lunch and on the voices. the only way i can be on top is to create my own, the feed, their house standing stories in women in asia this weekend on the w ah,

ah pharmaceutical companies, hiking the prices of drug mars currently is the former ceo of touring pharmaceutical who's responsible for hiking the price of at least $1.00 drug by 5000 percent. are you going to change the price? no. nothing could nipissing new mountain screw. he is a phenomenon healer straits, that the system is broken and that the drug ecosystem is completely money driven in . jimmy became richer and more powerful than ever underpinned by its influence network. the pharmaceutical industry stands unchallenged in its ability to dictate government health policies. the industries power is comparable to that of a state. the pharmaceutical industry, so rich and so powerful, it's law being effects congress greatly and also the f d. a while the industry benefits hugely, from publicly funded research,

it manages to steer health care expenditure towards its most expensive medication. no good idea goes forward without a pharmaceutical company partner. and yet the current pricing is absolutely indispensable. in my opinion. the pharmaceutical industries, main concern is now profit that concerned to shareholders. what patient. it's very cruel. because if you can't pay for it, you don't get the, the battle against the cupboard. 19 pandemic has further wet the pharma companies, appetite has the pharmaceutical industry, thirst for profit become a threat to our public health systems. who's

ah, dera prim is on the world health organization model list of essential medicines and invaluable weapon in the fight against malaria and a serious infection caused by which i v. a young us financier martin squarely manager of a hedge fund investing and health products bought the rights to the drug in the united states. he then bumped up the price of dera, prim from $13.50 to $750.00. a 5000 percent increase the me

martin squarely refused to budge on the price of his medication. now please welcome to the stage martin screwy founder facing the financial press. he tried to defend the indefensible. thanks for coming up here. if you could rewind the clock a few months, i wonder if you would do anything differently. i probably would have raised the price higher. is probably what i would have done. i. i think health care prices are inelastic. i could have raised that higher and made more problems, which is my primary. and again, no one wants to say, no one is proud of it. but you know, this is a capitalist society, capital system, and capitalist rules. and my investors expect me to back to my profit not to minimize them or go half or go 70 percent, but to go to 100 percent and immoral increase maybe. but perfectly legal

as part of an investigation into the scandal of unchecked drug prices. martin scrolly was summoned to appear before a u. s. congressional committee. what do you stated that stigma? pregnant women who might have a no income? she needs therapy for him in order to survive. but what do you say to her when she has to make that choice? would you say donna, on the advice of counsel, i invoke my 5th amendment privilege against self incrimination and respectfully decline answer question. somebody's ban if the taxpayers end up paying for some of them. i know you're smiling, but i'm very serious. are you? so i asked now that the committee skews the witness from the table without, without objection, so order will pause for a moment as mister scaly escorted out. ah, ah, martin. crawley were soon dubbed the most hated man in america.

sometime later, he was arrested by the f. b i and convicted by a federal court on securities fraud. he was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison . beyond his individual case squarely became the embodiment of the excesses of the pharmaceutical industry. and the embodiment of its cynicism. the price of derek has never returned to its original level. ah, you can either to show them some useful fools attract attention by their behavior. which while cynical is actually very useful in giving a clear picture of what these people and their abuses of the system represent. the candidates, even social over

the past 10 years, the landscape of the drug industry has dramatically changed. a handful of pharmaceutical companies manufacturers, the vast majority of drugs, the me, one of the world's top 5 is swiss company. novartis, having acquired a host of smaller companies, it boasts an annual turnover of $45000000000.00, and now holds some promising patents and treatments for cancer and other rare diseases. the 2 american giants, pfizer and johnson, and johnson, have also bought dozens of rival firms to expand their market. another top 5 company is rush a swiss drug manufacturer, which is acquired $25.00 competing therapies. the and the french giant, son of fi, has an annual turnover of more than $40000000000.00 to has bought

a dozen pharmaceutical laboratories in europe and north america with each having $100000.00 employees. these multi nationals make up the global market, commonly known as big pharma. ah, to maintain their monopoly on certain diseases. large laboratories are accused of playing down or hiding from the health authorities. some of the results of their clinical trials. me, the upshot is that some of the drugs released on the market triggers serious side effects in the patients. they are supposed to be treating like media tar, a drug produced by saturday, g laboratories from friends and withdrawn from the market 30 years after launch, amid a major scandal or depth, keen, and epilepsy treatment,

one of the world's most widely distributed drugs in the last 50 years made by the french giant santo see the drug while effective is at the center of a huge health scandal in europe. its use has been proved to be extremely dangerous for the unborn child in pregnant women. 2 2 time i often compare my condition to the fact that vine them can shock, like a shore. okay, and then the electric to everything, disconnect me back. when i lose consciousness, i suffer convulsions and come round a few minutes or a few hours. the fear of never waking up is a constant for while the for me, medication is vital. no question about it without medication, because i wouldn't be here today. slip at home. yes, i was well prepared for my pregnancy and i knew i had to consult my doctor. first i

asked my family physician if it's suitable for pregnant women. i was told it was fine. we're like, i'm a college as the neurologist told me, the same thing when the login mentally in. i don't know. so nathan was born with a you origin is laughter. morality does he? i'm went on and nathan passed the age when he should have started talking and sitting out. he didn't either. denise marino and her husband became increasingly worried. they filmed their son, natalie to document his delayed development as evidence to doctors. an abnormally common child, he did not smile, lacked muscle tone, and exhibited signs of language, delay and relationship disorders. and i was told he wasn't late developer, it was a disorder. natal suffers from severe neurological

shaquilla, marine must embarked on an extensive investigation into the side effects of the drug. deborah keen, eventually becoming a whistleblower, and filing a complaint against a no fee in a bid to have the company's responsibility recognized. she's created an advocacy group with thousands of victims in france and switzerland. several individual law suits and a class action are currently underway against tennessee. the firm is under investigation for aggravated deceit and accidental injuries. it was, he wanted to hide behind the show. it was also a way for me to make amends. risk. the guilt was overwhelm your heats. when you take medication every day, twice a day, in my case, even poison your baby. so difficult for me now. if she don't for me, how the process of making a manners and exposing no face to think that was essential. hudson. oh he,

i couldn't have left with myself response. i had to help the other families, asia do 70 for the shootings. the back in the team. fucking. what about the victims grievance is that they will not forewarned about the risks of taking the drug during pregnancy and please dismiss him up on august this according to the health authorities. since the drug was 1st marketed in 1967, tens of thousands of children in europe have suffered birth defects and mental impairment. i. and i bought a pharmaceutical authority that doesn't play the information game and fails to communicate with the information that has to the health authorities. they may not have been 100 percent. sure. but we know that the lab wrote in 2003 that it had been aware of the issues since 970 laborin reply, isn't it?

yes. but the risk seem to slide 70. santa fi is one of the main big pharma companies, the biggest in france, in terms of research and development of new drugs, with branches in a 100 country worldwide. their slogan is empowering life. after weeks of negotiations, their management agreed to an interview. under one condition fee refused to discuss the ongoing legal proceedings in the cases of marine mcdowell and victims associations in europe due to how long have those in charge. it's been aware of dep again, serious side effects. you can to answer your question 1st. the fucking is used in the treatment of epilepsy. we can use the therapy for which we will license to sell the product. on the remember, epilepsy is a serious condition. to know if he has been rigorous in monitoring and supplying

information to the health authorities, going to the medical profession. and patients in the health authorities say your application like to detail and your warnings were fully explained. multi path new. i don't think we are vague. we report all the information we have in our possession and potential. let's picture the 1st will show the inspector general of social affairs carried up the lower examination of the depak in case you can use it . a larger shot had since concluded in 2016 that it was scientifically impossible given the dates are available at the time to conclude a direct correlation between vouch for it and neuro development, probably 2004. so the point is, if you wanted to long term, you can, we approached the health authorities in 2003 children underneath medicaid to cause byte everything. how do you explain your failure to convince the health authorities

to act faster and informing medical professionals and above all patients who might be pregnant and it, it was sent through the 17th and i thought it is the responsibility of our company to ensure at all times that the information we gather about the use of this product, pharmaca vigilance, scientific developments to be constantly transmitted to the health authorities. so that's all duty. and we do that regularly, systematically, and transparently, and physical cause panel. while the evidence was piling up on the link between the drug depth of keen and serious disorders affecting children, it took another 11 years for patients to be alerted me in 2015. sophie finally came to an agreement with the n s. m. the official body that licenses drugs in france, the patient package insert supplied with keys was amended to clearly indicate the

significant risk of deformity and developmental problems. almost 50 years after the drug was 1st launched, despite all of the warnings fit, the warning in the patient package insert was finally included in 2015 and extremely precise terms. would you mind reading the 1st hard hitting paragraph? no, no. you'd rather i did it. yes. go ahead. so no fees, patient package insert is now very clear in all languages dep, akin can seriously harm and unborn baby when taken during pregnancy. expose children are at high risk of serious intellectual and motor development disorders, and up to 30 to 40 percent of cases and or deformities in around 10 percent of cases. you're not guessing your argument is the state license me to sell this product. so don't blame me between the in the volkswagen diesel gate scandal, the government in the cause roadworthy,

but it is volkswagens responsibility to pay for their lives and the defects in their cars. not the government to 15. it's absurd. manufacturers are responsible for their products. i need to find what assistance with depak in the authorities were a mess, but the main responsibility lies with the manufacturer. oh, only after a 2 year battle was able to ensure a warning would be fixed on the death of keen label. like those found on alcoholic drinks. mm. the, all pharmaceutical companies are looking for what they call a blockbuster, a drug that treats widespread diseases and can be marketed worldwide. to preserve exclusive rights, big pharma companies have developed some powerful strategies. this

is the story of a revolutionary treatment for a m d age related macular degeneration, a severely disabling i disease that can lead to blindness. millions of patients are effected worldwide me. it's also the story of the competition between 2 equally effective drugs. one costing 40 times more than the other until 2005, there was no effective treatment. and many patients lost their site, you know, cache on invoice you waited in quite to the for me or see if there's some people who want somebody to do some pretty, pretty symptoms in d and allow you to understand, reduces the mailer not on the path then came a new drug that significantly slows the progression of the disease. liquid injected

directly into the i i. the therapy had been developed in the united states and was said to revolutionize treatment of the disease. several major off the mala, just launched clinical trials on thousands of patients. they were unable to treat. so it's the leading cause of permanent blindness and people over the age of $65.00 . in fact, perhaps for any disease worldwide, there is a role for pharmaceutical companies, particularly in research and development of, of new medications. they, they invest many years and, and a lot of dollars. that being said, you know, they are for profit company. and their objective is to, is to find what they call the blockbuster drug that they can sell a lot up to a large population. which is why there is a lot of r, n d, or research and development. going into macular degeneration. because it is such

a common disorder. i, this 1st treatment was developed by the american laboratory genentech. it was called of athens newly licensed by the f d. a in america. the drug was officially used to treat colon cancer. then by accident, an american professor discovered that it properties significantly delay the development of a m d, and improve activate generation slowly and the causes legal belie, rosenfeld began experimenting with interveners. they've asked him for the treatment of the asked re m d. there was really no studies done by the pharmaceutical company to do that. it was really some a doctor and a pharmacist who work together to come up with what might be the optimal dosing of

of asked and in the i the, the treatment worked flawlessly. professor rosen felt presented his results at the annual awesome ology conference in the results were like nothing that ever seen before. every retina specialist that i know who was at that meeting our jobs were on the floor. because the 1st time we had seen an improvement and visual acuity, whereas every treatment that came before it had a decline and vision over one year period. we've never seen that before. and because of asking this price to be given for cancer was inexpensive. so for the 1st 6 to 12 months, everyone all over the world with using a vast and to treat these patients until the meanwhile,

austell monte researchers at the very same american genentech, pharmaceutical laboratory, that manufactured of asked and for cancer. we're developing a new treatment, specifically for a m d who sent us introducing lou center, a breakthrough in neo vascular a. m b move centers, redefines efficacy and the all the studies show that the 2 treatments were identical except the new lou center treatment was much, much more expensive for a vast. and that would make a vast and about $50.00 an injection. and then when lou center comes out a single dose in the eye is $2000.00. meanwhile, in france, pharmacists and hospitals were becoming interested in treating the i condition with the vast and used for cancer. the after

is dosed in bottles for injection into the i. pharmacists had to re package it in syringes at a lower dose tank a file, a small bottle containing 16 millimeters, then use it to fill a number of syringes, maybe a batch of 50 off. now my logical injection reach me it contains 3 packaging, the contents of the bottle into an injectable form form so long as me. oh, really important thing is to ensure the preparation is completely sterile before delivering it to the administration by the off m ologist. the syringe must be up there on the, on the me to meant we could make syringes

for around 50 euros each. going to hope you have to include stuff costs and testing costs, plus the premises and equipment have to be paid for the material. when it is over, the cost for us was $20.00 times less than it was for lou centers, which cost around a $1000.00 euros, a serene visa, all assigned in europe, while expensive. the cost of the new centers i. treatment was still only half what it was in the united states, where prices are not controlled. the drug was marketed by swiss laboratory novartis of ashton is sold by the other big swiss laboratory rush, which bought out the american company, jeanette tech. ah, she knew that move was she novartis and rush especially, rush, don't like it when products they sell to treat us the different condition i used by

us to treat other medical conditions. it will do for purposes other than those designated size, of course, and we get to distinguish novartis and rush, then concocted a strategy to prevent doctors from using of asked him to treat conditions and convince them to inject lose center. is will you visited by representatives of nevada, so rush at that time about that treatment? well absolutely, yeah. they came to say they didn't understand why we were using of us in a cancer treatment to treat or found. the logical condition that provides from cornerstone really is in the sixty's of the i had a meeting with the general manager of nevada who came to the hospital to ask me why i insisted on making these vast in syringes when lu census was

a likeness treatment. so i guess there was no consensus of, you know, there's so many sort of l. c. those would be expired. so i explained my thinking which was how best to serve the public and patient. so here's what i lied to. he cannot make and health considerations. it doesn't look like conversation was mostly about the potential danger to patients. this all of this, all those in the pursuit very do you think about it with putting pressure on you sees it in question. if it was pressure it carried no threatens. so enough. ah, since all international studies demonstrated the equal effectiveness of the 2 treatments hospital pharmacists naturally favored the least expensive option the to laboratories rush and novartis launched a long legal procedure against the french state. the maneuver was doomed to fail.

of aston was eventually authorized for use in france, but it was too late. lady, she could do all the policies them do. so the problem now for the health system is that it has a set up that is so complex optimal to manage. the basically of the mood and everyone is give enough to remove the boulder name. thus, almost all patience treated for a m d, or a given an injection of the more expensive products, including the one made by novartis, the in italy, in 2014 rush, and novartis were find some 180000000 euros for listed price fixing of the to drugs in late 2020 friends find rush and of artist 444000000 euros

the there were people in the play i'll make community who really liked using lu sentence. it's a great drug. i have the utmost respect for the role. the pharmaceutical industry plays in our field. no good idea goes forward without a pharmaceutical company partner. and yet the pricing to me, particularly when you've got a $50.00 disruptor that's equally effective. the current pricing is absolutely indefensible. in my opinion, it's estimated that the u. s. saves $3000000000.00 a year by using a vast, as instead of the centers. according to the regulations, the french medicines agency cannot force rush to manufacture of asked in syringes for the treatment of a m. d. just by 2 months of negotiations,

the multinational rush refused to be interviewed. it's legal department told us, we do not wish to speak or be filmed on this subject, but are more than willing to answer any questions you may have in writing. question . why does the laboratory refuse to manufacture of aston syringes for the treatment of a m d. answer. rush develops drugs only for medical needs not covered by existing drugs, where there are no therapeutic alternatives. me rushed then says no. and the public authorities are powerless to force their hand. lobbying has paid off. the cheaper alternative is rarely used. the big winner is novartis, which coincidentally owns a 3rd of rush in

the united states, the price of drugs is completely unregulated. as soon as the f d, a approved the drug, the pharmaceutical companies are free to impose their prices, elected officials, democrats and republicans alike persist in trying to force manufacturers to lower the cost of new treatments in vain. one recent medication has changed the health economy, an overpriced treatment that has launched a new scramble for profit between the biggest pharmaceutical companies. this is a major american discovery, a new treatment against hepatitis c. it helps cure the often deadly chronic liver disease by eradicating the virus.