Transparency International: Corruption is a climate issue

Climate-vulnerable countries such as Brazil had some of the worst scores on the index

Image: Carl de Souza/AFP

Midhat Fatimah

11/02/2025 - 

DW with AFP and AP

Several countries, including Germany, have received their lowest score yet on the global watchdog's "Corruption Perceptions Index."

Corruption is threatening global efforts to tackle climate change, the graft monitor Transparency International warned in a report published on Tuesday.

"Corruption is obstructing effective climate action by hindering the adoption of ambitious policies," a statement from the watchdog said.

Transparency International's "Corruption Perceptions Index" for 2024 shows that many countries, whether they are dealing with rising temperatures or have hosted UN climate summits, have poorer scores than before.

For example, Brazil, which hosts this year's COP30 climate talks, scored 34, its lowest-ever rating — signifying a higher corruption level.

"Corrupt forces not only shape but often dictate policies and dismantle checks and balances," Transparency International CEO Maira Martini said.

Germany falls behind

Germany was also found to be lagging behind in its fight against corruption. In this year's ranking on corruption perception, Germany fell to 15th place out of the 180 countries surveyed. The previous survey had seen Germany in 12th place. A lack of transparency in financing political parties was stated as the main problem.

At the presentation of the report in Berlin, Alexandra Herzog, chairwoman of Transparency Germany, singled out the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the new populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) and their large donations — some from abroad. She cited an Austrian businessman's million-euro donation to the AfD as an example. According to Herzog, this has jeopardized fair political competition and undermined citizens' trust in democracy ahead of Germany's February 23 general election.

How did other countries rank?

Many wealthier countries that have previously taken a leading role in climate talks, including Canada, the United States and New Zealand, also saw their performance slide.

"These nations hold the greatest responsibility to lead on ambitious climate goals, reduce emissions at scale and build resilience worldwide," according to Transparency International.

What causes corruption?  02:31

The annual report gives nations with a higher perceived risk of public sector corruption a lower score on a scale from zero to 100.

According to the 2024 rankings, 85% of the global population is living in countries that scored under 50.

The countries that received the lowest scores are largely gripped by conflict, such as Sudan, Venezuela, Somalia, Syria, Eritrea and Yemen. South Sudan slid to the bottom of the list, while Denmark had the best ranking.

The report also found that 47 of the 180 surveyed countries had their lowest score since the watchdog started using its current methodology for its global ranking in 2012. Those countries included Germany, Austria, Brazil, France, Haiti and Hungary.

Over the past five years, some countries, including Kosovo, the Maldives and Kuwait, have significantly improved their corruption scores.

Protecting climate change aid in Nepal  06:07

Edited by: Natalie Muller
Midhat Fatimah Writer and reporter based in New Delhi

Climate vs. economy: Do German voters need to choose?

Holly Young

11/02/2025 - 

DW

In the run-up to Germany's February election, some experts worry climate action is being pitted against the economy. What risks could this have for both? And does it make sense to play them off against each other?

Climate issues are not as prominent as in Germany's last federal election in 2021

Image: Karina Hessland/REUTERS

Jobs, incomes and Germany's flagging economy are major focuses for the country's political parties ahead of elections this month, with many taking aim at climate-protection measures.

Friedrich Merz — chairman of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and widely tipped to be the country's next chancellor — has said he would wind down coal and gas power plants only if it didn't damage German industry.

Even parties active on climate issues are less vocal on the topic than during 2021's election.

This has left some experts concerned that the economy is taking precedence over the climate, although research from the Climate Alliance, a German coalition of civil society groups, found most of the population would like to see more climate action.

"It is already evident that, in the run-up to the federal elections, the climate and the economy are once again being played off against each other," said Claudia Kemfert, an economist and energy expert at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).

Germany's iconic car industry is facing job losses and shrinking profits

Image: Robert Michael/dpa/picture alliance

Is climate action to blame for Germany's economic woes?

For the first time in decades, Germany's economy, the biggest in Europe, has shrunk for two consecutive years.

Its industrial export-orientated economy has been hit by high energy prices, as well as sluggish domestic demand and weak global trade. At the same time, its car industry — the iconic backbone of its economy — has announced mass layoffs and shrinking sales and profits.

Climate-change mitigation policy isn't driving this economic slump, said Gunnar Luderer, a scientist focusing on energy transition at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. "The German economy's problems are of a structural nature, and they are deeper."

He said a key problem has been Germany's reliance on gas from Russia, which was expensive to transition away from after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and that high energy prices have impacted the economy both by pushing up production costs for energy-intensive industries such as steel and chemicals, and by raising bills for individuals.

Industry aiding the environment — MADE  26:04

Germany's economic model has also proven vulnerable to international competition and pressure from China's expansion into new markets, such as e-mobility, according to Luderer. "German car manufacturers were quite slow and actually too late to move on this new trend," he said, adding that the country is now paying for it.

While Europe and the US have seen waning sales of electric vehicles, in China they are booming, accounting for almost 50% of all cars sold.

Jobs and overlooked opportunities

"The general claim that climate-protection measures in Germany have a negative impact on the economy is not true," said Kemfert, who argues that clever climate-protection measures create enormous economic advantages that are often underestimated.

Expanding renewables, electromobility, energy-efficient renovation and energy efficiency in the industrial sector are all measures that demand investments, which creates "value and jobs," said Kemfert.

German jobs in solar energy have increased sharply in recent years

Image: Martin Schutt/dpa/picture alliance

She highlighted that the renewable energy sector has so far created almost 400,000 jobs in Germany. Employment in the sector rose almost 15% between 2021 and 2022, with the solar and heat pump sectors expanding the fastest.

"If Germany plays the economy off against the climate, there is a risk of job losses, a loss of competitiveness and high fossil-fuel costs," Kemfert said.

Given the German economy's strength in manufacturing, machinery and the automotive sector, there are lots of economic opportunities in becoming a lead player in green technologies — such as wind power, heat pumps, e-mobility, or smart control technology to increase flexibility in energy demands, said Luderer.

The Federation of German Industry (BDI), an association that counts chemical, engineering and electrical companies amongst its members, has itself voiced support for climate policies, arguing green technologies will be pivotal to Germany's future industrial success.

Green technologies are key to Germany's future economic success, say experts

Image: Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance

Experts also say the presence of renewables in the energy mix has meant the price of electricity has not risen as sharply as would have been expected, given recent skyrocketing gas prices.

Niklas Höhne, a scientist and founder of the German research nonprofit NewClimate Institute, explains that electricity prices are pushed up by the most expensive power source in the energy mix, which are usually gas plants, while renewables continue to drop in cost around the world.

"So it's really our dependency on fossil fuels that drives electricity prices up rather than the expansion of renewables," he said.

Energy efficient renovation such as installing heat pumps could create jobs, say experts

Image: Bosch

The costs of uncertainty and inaction

Several political parties have stated they would reverse Germany's controversial building energy act to phase out fossil-fuel heating systems, which came into force at the beginning of last year, as well as challenge the ban on new combustion engine cars in the EU by 2035.

This political uncertainty is hindering planning security for businesses, said Stefanie Langkamp, executive director of politics at Climate Alliance. "Whenever you talk to industry, whenever you talk to trade unions, they say that this is one of the most important things for them to set their ways for the future."

She highlights the heat pump industry, which has already hired and trained new skilled craftspeople, as well as procured resources to ramp up its capacity.

"If you do not invest in climate action today, then you face really huge consequences, both regarding the economy and also the cost of climate change," said Langkamp.

Extreme weather such as last year's flooding is already costing Germany billions of euros annually

Image: Armin Weigel/dpa/picture alliance

The economic damage caused globally by climate change is estimated to be six times higher than the money needed to invest in measures to cut emissions and keep global heating below 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, according to a study published in the scientific journal Nature. In Germany, extreme weather such as storms and floods is estimated to have caused €7 billion ($7.2 billion) worth of damage in 2024 alone.

The world is shifting towards a climate-neutral economy in the next decades, and many advances in renewables, heat pumps, electric vehicles have already been made, said Langkamp.

"There might be different paces within some countries or some industries, but still this is a worldwide movement and it will not stop. So this is why if you do not invest into climate action now, then you will have competitiveness problems later."

"The only option for the German economy is really to proactively embrace the challenges and opportunities of the green transition," said Luderer. "There is no way back. And the greatest risk to the German economy is to slow down the transition or to rely too heavily on old business models that are no longer viable."

Edited by: Jennifer Collins and Tamsin Walker
Holly Young is a climate reporter on DW’s Environment desk based in Berlin, Germany.

Left Party gains confidence as German election nears

Marcel Fürstenau

02/10/2025
DW

With rising poll numbers and renewed purpose, the socialist Left Party is increasingly confident of making it back into the Bundestag. It's a turnaround that few predicted.

The Left Party are making a comeback in the polls

Image: Chris Emil Janssen/picture alliance


Last year was a political nightmare for the Left Party: In January, 2024, their former parliamentary group leader Sahra Wagenknecht founded her own eponymous party, then they saw their European Union representation cut in half to just 2.7%. The 2024 state elections were also a disaster, with the party losing its traditional foothold in the east. Their only state premier failed to hang on in Thuringia, while they barely made it into Saxony's state parliament and were kicked out of Brandenburg entirely.

Little wonder that few believed that the Left Party, known as Die Linke in German, would have much success in the upcoming parliamentary elections on February 23.

But the tide seems to be turning.

Renegade offshoot loses steam

Recent polls suggest the Left Party could clear the 5% hurdle needed to enter the Bundestag as the renegade Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) loses support.

The shift is likely due to a change in party leadership last October, with Jan van Aken and Ines Schwerdtner replacing Janine Wissler and Martin Schirdewan, who were unable to halt the party's steady loss in support.

The party's new leadership could be helping to turn around the party's fortunes

Image: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa/picture alliance

The duo had only been in office a few weeks when Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed, forcing a vote of no confidence that saw him call for an early election. Without their now estranged coalition partner, the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the environmentalist Green Party were unable to form a majority in the Bundestag.

Fierce criticism of the SPD and Greens

In the wake of the government collapse last November, the Left Party quickly presented an election program focused on social and economic policy, which was adopted at its party conference in January. They accuse the SPD and Greens of having done nothing to combat the mounting affordability crisis in recent years. "People realize that the Left Party is credibly fighting for social issues, that no one else is doing it, that we are the only ones taking on the rich," party co-leader Ines Schwerdtner told DW.

To reduce poverty, she has proposed abolishing value-added tax on basic foodstuffs, hygiene products and public transport tickets. Currently, up to 19% VAT is charged on these items — almost a fifth of their total price.

Wealth tax to combat inequality

To finance these plans, the party wants to increase state revenue with a graduated wealth tax: 1% for people in possession of €1 million, 5% from €50 million and 12% from €1 billion.

"Millions of hard-working people have created this extreme wealth," party co-leader Jan van Aken told conference goers. "We have to get it back so that we can all live well again." There is enough money to go around, it is just being misallocated, he added.

Germany's economic dilemma: spend or save?  02:37

To allow Germany to borrow more again, the Left Party also wants to reform the debt brake enshrined in the constitution. This would enable the modernization of crumbling infrastructure with an additional €200 billion. Financially ailing companies would also receive state support in exchange for long-term job guarantees and collective agreements, in addition to agreeing to keep their locations in Germany.

Clear stance against the far-right

The party regards the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as its main opponent in the Bundestag elections. "Not an inch for the fascists," van Aken said at the recent convention in Berlin. "We on the left always oppose attempts to divide our society and incitement against migrants," he added.

A former United Nations biological weapons inspector, van Aken also addressed Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine as a violation of international law: "We on the left are against all war and stand for peace," he said, but made a distinction between militarization and other potential routes to end the conflict. "We need more diplomacy in Ukraine, not more weapons," he said. "Without freedom and democracy in Ukraine, there will be no peace."

Elders to the rescue

Even if the Left Party fails to clear the 5% hurdle, it may still enter parliament thanks to Mission Silberlocke ("Mission Silver Locks"). Launched by party patriarch Gregor Gysiwith two other prominent Left Party elders, the campaign seizes on a detail of German electoral law, by which a party may still enter parliament with at least three direct mandates. The party already benefited from this rule in the 2021 Bundestag elections.

Gysi, who celebrated his 77th birthday in January, is once again running for a direct mandate. The Berliner has won his constituency eight times already and has no doubts about defending his mandate.

 

The politicians behind "Mission Silver Locks" are Gregor Gysi, Bodo Ramelow and Dietmar Bartsch (from left)

Image: Marcel Fürstenau/DW

Gysi also hopes the party will gain at least 5%. Co-chair Ines Schwerdtner is also confident, despite the loss of many voters to the BSW following Sahra Wagenknecht's departure. "We want to win back all the voters who once voted for the Left Party," Schwerdtner told DW.

After years of internal disputes, the party is once again united and fighting for the same electoral goal. And Gysi has a personal goal, too: If voters choose him once again, he would likely be the longest-serving member of the Bundestag — racking up 32 years, save for a brief interruption. His dream is to open the first session of the next German Bundestag with a speech as the Alterspräsident (president by seniority).

This article was originally published in German.

Marcel Fürstenau Berlin author and reporter on current politics and society.

Gaza: The Trump family's Middle East business interests

Arthur Sullivan

02/10/2025

DW

US President Donald Trump's comments about developing Gaza for real estate purposes are not new. For years, his family has viewed the Middle East as key to its business ambitions.

Gaza is a beautiful strip of land, but inhabited by the wrong people, according to Trump

Image: Mohammed Salem/REUTERS

US President Donald Trump's comments on February 4 about Gaza revived an idea previously touted by both him and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

His latest plan positions Gaza in terms of real estate potential, rather than the humanitarian or political situation for its inhabitants. After claiming that the US would "take over the Gaza Strip" and "own it," Donald Trump said:

"We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I don't want to be cute. I don't want to be a wise guy. But the 'Riviera of the Middle East,' this could be something that could be so, this could be so magnificent."

It echoes sentiments expressed by Kushner in an interview at Harvard University in February 2024 when he said Gaza's waterfront property could be "very valuable if people would focus on building up livelihoods." He added that from Israel's perspective he would do his best to "move the people out and then clean it up."

Trump made his original remarks about Gaza alongside Benjamin Netanyahu

Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump has since doubled down, even suggesting that Palestinians wouldn't be allowed return to Gaza, "because they're going to have much better housing," he told Fox News on February 10.

It's a reminder that for Trump and his family, the Middle East is as much a business interest as anything else.

Does the US have any legal authority to 'take over' Gaza?  04:47

What are Trump's business interests in the Middle East?

The region has become a growing focus for The Trump Organization, the real estate and hospitality conglomerate currently run by Trump's sons Eric and Donald Junior.

In the last few years, The Trump Organization has struck several agreements with Saudi Arabian real estate company Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi Arabia's Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company.

A luxury Trump-branded hotel and golf resort in Oman is in development, while The Trump Organization and Dar Global have announced plans for two Trump Tower projects, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

A previous Trump Tower for Dubai, comprising of a hotel and apartments, was announced in October 2005. However, the project was cancelled in 2011 due to the global financial crisis.

Trump already owns a golf club in Dubai, which was opened in 2017. The Dubai golf club was built in partnership with DAMAC Properties, run by Hussain Sajwani. In January 2025, Sajwani appeared alongside Trump at a press conference where it was announced that DAMAC would invest "at least" $20 billion (€19.39 billion) to build new data centres across the US.

LIV Golf is tied to Trump's Middle East business links

Image: Seth Wenig/AP Photo/picture alliance

The new agreements in Oman, Jeddah and Dubai will see The Trump Organization design, manage and brand the towers and the luxury resort. The deals are primarily about branding rather than ownership, earning the family millions in exchange for using their name.

Trump and his relatives have repeatedly spoken of the Middle East's growing relevance to their business interests.

Shortly before the Jeddah deal was announced, Eric Trump told the British financial newspaper Financial Times: "We will definitely be doing other projects in this region. This region has explosive growth, and that's not stopping anytime soon."

What about Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East, is increasingly central to the Trump family interests there.

As well as the Dar Global goals, the Trump Organization has also collaborated closely with LIV Golf, one of the kingdom's much vaunted and controversial sports investments. The Trump Organization owns many golf courses around the world and has been paid by LIV to host several tournaments at its venues in the US.

Meanwhile, Kushner's own private equity firm, Affinity Partners, which is separate to the Trump Organization, has courted close ties with Saudi Arabia and its sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has received huge investments from Saudi Arabia

Image: Doug Mills/ Consolidated News Photos/picture alliance

The PIF, which is chaired by Saudi crown price and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, has invested $2 billion in Affinity. Several other major Gulf investors have also poured money into Kushner's project, including the Qatar Investment Authority and the Abu Dhabi-based asset manager Lunate.

Kushner also has substantial investments in Israel, particularly the insurance company Phoenix Holdings and the Shlomo Group.

Is there a conflict of interest for Trump?

The extensive business interests have led to criticisms that there could be multiple conflict of interests arising for Trump when dealing with issues in the region.

Although Donald Trump resigned from all management roles in his businesses when first elected to the presidency in 2016, his family have remained prominent in his political activities and campaigns despite their continuing roles in the business.

Kushner meanwhile has leveraged contacts he made during his previous role as an adviser in the first Trump administration to build up his investment portfolio in the Middle East. That has been criticized, particularly his close relationship with the Saudi royal family.

Trump's Gaza 'plan' has prompted angry reactions from Palestinians

Image: Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images/picture alliance

However, he defended himself in early 2024 in an interview with US news website Axios, saying: "If you ask me about the work that we did in the White House, for my critics, what I say is: point to a single decision we made that wasn't in the interest of America."
Does Trump genuinely view Gaza as a potential real estate deal?

Both Trump and Kushner are clearly keen on the idea of developing Gaza in terms of a real estate project, rather than as a home for the more than 2 million Palestinians who currently live there.

"The world's people will be living there," Trump said. "Make that into an international, unbelievable place. The potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable."

Trump's comments provoked furious reactions from Palestinians and swift condemnations from a wide range of governments around the world. There are huge doubts over its viability on multiple levels.

However, given The Trump Organization's growing real estate business interests in the region, and the unambiguous comments from both Trump and his son-in-law, it appears they, at least, are serious about the idea.

Edited by: Uwe Hessler

Arthur Sullivan Reporter and senior editor focused on global economic stories with a geopolitical angle.

Is US bird flu outbreak in cattle a global risk to humans?

Matthew Ward Agius

DW

 updated February 11, 2025

A second subtype of H5 bird flu, known as D1.1, was detected in dairy cattle and infected one worker in the US state of Nevada. Will it spread further among people?

Hundreds of cattle farms, mainly in California, have been infected by H5N1 bird flu

Image: Robert F. Bukaty/AP/picture alliance

What you need to know:

On February 10, 2025, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data showing the new D1.1 genotype of avian influenza H5N1 had infected 15 people in five states, including in Nevada, where D1.1 was only recently detected in dairy cattle

The CDC believes the risk to humans remains low

Infections have also been detected outside the US, in the United Kingdom

European authorities are monitoring the North American outbreak

US authorities have said the detection of a different strain of avian influenza, the D1.1 genotype, in dairy cows in January proves that bird flu has now spread from wild birds into cattle twice in an outbreak that started in late 2023.

The genotype refers to the genetic makeup of a virus within a group of virus types. In this case, it is the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A H5N1.

In March 2024, authorities in the US confirmed the outbreak had originated from genotype B3.13. That type has infected over 950 cattle herds in 16 US states and spread to Canada.

D1.1 was detected in milk collected as part of a surveillance program launched in December 2024.

Is bird flu spreading internationally?

Yes, it appears that bird flu from the current US outbreak may have spread beyond North America.

In January, UK authorities confirmed a second human case of H5N1 avian influenza. The first was detected in 2022, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

"The risk of avian flu to the public remains very low despite this confirmed case," said Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, in a statement on January 27.

However, many governments have been buying up vaccine stocks and ramping up precautionary measures in response to the circulating virus.

The bird flu variant outbreak has mainly affected the US, with infections among cattle, people and pets.

Though no direct, human-to-human transmission cases were recorded up to January 2025, there are concerns the H5N1 variant could be one mutation away from becoming a major public health concern.

A study published in the journal Science in December 2024 found that a single genetic change to the circulating H5N1 had enabled it to jump more easily from other mammals to humans.

"We're particularly worried about pigs because we know from many other outbreaks that pigs are a mixing vessel for influenza viruses," Meghan Davis, an environmental health researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told DW's Science Unscripted podcast.

Is another pandemic brewing? The current bird flu situation  29:59

Is a new pandemic brewing?

Before the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, health scientists warned there was a risk of an emerging pandemic.

Ultimately, it was a novel coronavirus, not an influenza strain, that triggered the pandemic. But the chance of a global influenza-driven event was — and is — cause for concern.

"With H5N1, there's a big unknown," Peter Jay Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in the US state of Texas, told Science Unscripted.

"We know there's a likelihood that there could be a significant bird flu pandemic, maybe resembling the 1918 flu pandemic," Hotez said, "but we can't say when that will be."

Other nations are increasing surveillance and precautionary measures. The UK government is known to have ordered at least 5 million doses of an H5 influenza vaccine. In November 2024, one case of H5N1 was confirmed at a poultry farm in Cornwall, in the southwest of England.

"I agree with what the UK did because it's not like you can press a button and suddenly have millions of doses of [H5 vaccine] appear," Hotez said. "Making flu vaccines in the traditional way is a slow process."

Hotez described the rate of pandemic threats as having a "regular cadence," pointing to SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, which were dangerous but did not balloon to a global scale.

A pandemic was declared due to H1N1 influenza in 2009, though its impact didn't match that of COVID-19.

"We have to get ready for H5N1. We've also got this rise in Ebola and other filovirus [severe hemorrhagic] infections that we're seeing — we have to be ready for that," Hotez said. "And we're starting to see [a rise in] mosquito-transmitted virus infections like dengue and chikungunya and then Zika virus infections both in Southern Europe and the southern United States."

California stopped the sale of raw milk from the brand Raw Farm after bird flu was detected in the company’s products

Image: JoNel Aleccia/AP/picture alliance

Trump's health advisers are 'contrarians, activists'

Scientists and health experts in the United States have expressed concern about several choices that President Donald Trump has made for his new administration.

Among Trump's picks are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and Dave Weldon for the top job of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy and Weldon are known for their opposition to vaccination.

Although Trump was president at the outset of the COVID pandemic and led massive investments in vaccine supply security through programs such as Operation Warp Speed, Hotez said the absence of people with established experience in health issues in Trump's new administration is concerning.

"[In Trump's first administration] they were pretty mainstream public health physicians and public health scientists, but this new round is something that's quite different — they're contrarians, they're activists, they've openly campaigned against vaccines and interventions," Hotez said.

Health experts in other nations are closely watching how H5N1 is handled in North America.

"The current incidence of infection in the US demands we closely study samples of viruses from humans and other animals," said Martin Schwemmle, a virologist at Freiburg University Medical Center.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a November 2024 report that it was continuing to monitor the US and Canadian situations "together with partner organizations in Europe and will continue to update its assessment of the risk for humans ... as new information becomes available."

It also recommended increased surveillance and monitoring of people exposed to avian influenza and that doctors and nurses ask patients whether they have had any contact with animals.

Edited by: Zulfikar Abbany

Sources:

USDA Reported H5N1 Bird Flu Detections in Poultry, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/data-map-commercial.html

H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html

Global Avian Influenza Viruses with Zoonotic Potential situation update, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization https://www.fao.org/animal-health/situation-updates/global-aiv-with-zoonotic-potential/en

This article was originally published on December 6, 2024, and last updated on February 11, 2025.


Matthew Ward Agius Journalist with a background reporting on history, science, health, climate and environment.

Why African nations may turn to EU as Trump slashes aid

Abubakar Said Saad

DW

11/02/2025 - 

The Trump administration's decision to exit the Paris Climate Agreement and World Health Organization, and shutter USAID, may be a chance for the European Union to build better relations with African nations.

The European Union may look to deepen partnerships with African nations like Cyril Ramaphosa's South Africa

Image: Tobias Schwarz/REUTERS

President Donald Trump wasted no time in signing executive orders to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Agreement. Along with billionaire aide Elon Musk, he has also been trying to shut down USAID, the United States Agency for International Development.

The US has long been a leading investor in global health, climate action and development aid. But Trump’s sudden directives to reverse the status quo may allow for other powers to expand geopolitical reach by investing heavily in health and climate initiatives, particularly across Africa.

A crucial moment for the EU

When Trump's administration cut WHO funding in 2020, Germany stepped in to fill the financial gap. The European Union could take a similar approach — but the bigger question is if the EU is ready to play a bigger role in Africa's future on health, climate, and geopolitics.

“In the long term all of us, not just the European Union but also countries in the global South, can use this as an opportunity to facilitate and enable a changing world order, a real multipolar world," Shada Islam, an EU analyst and commentator, told DW.

She adds that "there was a tendency in Europe to look to Washington DC to get the general trend of what they should be doing."

"The era of the EU, US, or Canada going in to determine the parameters of what happens in terms of global cooperation are long gone," she explains.

"The EU can only become an important power if it works in cooperation with the Global South and if it decolonizes its policies and actions."

Trump signs string of executive orders  02:12

The EU's ambitions are already clear: It aims to mobilize up to €300 billion in sustainable investments by 2027, half of that in Africa.

According to Nigeria-based Chukwumerije Okereke, who directs the Center for Climate and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Europe’s "historic and strategic connection" to Africa presents a massive opportunity.

"It’s not all about morality or saving Africa, it is in the strategic economic interest of the EU to invest in Africy," he told DW.

EU makes progress

Despite the geopolitical stakes, the European Commission remains optimistic. "The EU has a clear strategy in place to boost smart, clean, and secure links in digital, energy, and transport sectors, while also strengthening global health," spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said during a recent press briefing.

The European Union has increased investment across Africa, particularly through the Global Gateway initiative. This effort is part of a broader strategy to engage with partner countries around the world by investing in key sectors such as healthcare, clean energy, transportation, education, and climate action.

However, it took five years after Trump's first withdrawal in 2017 (from the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation) for the EU to launch the Global Gateway. Meanwhile, China wasted no time in increasing funding for climate projects in developing countries. According to the Washington-based World Resources Institute, China's investment skyrocketed to $7.12 billion in climate finance.

Today, as many analysts point out, China stands as Africa's largest single-country investor, while the EU lags behind.

Beijing is not hesitating this time, either. Within days of Trump's executive order to withdraw from the WHO, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun reaffirmed China's support for the WHO, pledging to deepen international public health cooperation and strengthen global health governance.

Trump has followed an "America First" policy in his second term as president

Image: Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS

Why Trump’s foreign policy shift matters for African nations

Trump's foreign policy shakeup and tariff threats have sent a chill through European diplomatic circles. But for Africa nations, the repercussions could be more severe.

"The impact of climate change in Africa will worsen," Okereke said. African nations stand at the epicenter of climate impact, with droughts, floods, and rising sea levels already a problem. An American exit from the Paris Agreement could weaken efforts to cap global temperatures at a critical 1.5°C threshold.

Washington's withdrawal from the WHO means less funding for essential healthcare programs. The US spent $1.28 billion during the 2022–2023 period. Faced with this shortfall, African governments may turn to other partners.
US halts foreign aid

The Trump administration’s shuttering of USAID leaves some Africa-based aid programs battling to find alternatives to sustain pressing humanitarian and development plans.

The shuttering of USAID has been met with protests in the United States

Image: J. Scott Applewhite/AP/picture alliance

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the US was the largest contributor to international foreign aid among its members in 2023, accounting for approximately 64.69 percent of total contributions, followed by Germany.

"The EU must step up," argued Okereke, not only for Africa's health, climate and aid interests at this crucial time, but also for "its own strategic and political influence on the continent."

Edited by: Cai Nebe

Abubakar Said Saad is Nigerian writer and multimedia journalist currently based in Germany.@saidsaadwrites

South Africa: The aftermath of land reforms

Bouba Jalloh

DW

11/02/2025 - 

US President Donald Trump has claimed that South Africa's new land laws will lead to the takeover of white-owned farms. Pretoria denies the claims as "misinformation." Trump retaliated with sanctions. What happend next?

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa (r.) shakes the hand of DA party leader John Steenhuisen - though the two do not always see eye-to-eye

Image: South African GCIS/AP/picture alliance


Land reform law met with questions

Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still being owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid. Some Afrikaner farmers believe that the land reform laws under the new Expropriation Act could lead to the confiscation of white-owned farms, as was the case in the early 2000s in neighboring Zimbabwe. The second largest party in South Africa's government of national unity coalition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), on Monday launched a court bid to annul the land law, saying it was in breach of the South African Constitution.

Black farmers battle for land rights  02:39

A diplomatic row with US

The Expropriation Act also led to a diplomatic row between Pretoria and US President Donald Trump. The White House also appears to believe that the new laws will lead to the takeover of white-owned farms in South Africa, run mainly by the Afrikaner minority, who are descendants of European colonists mainly of Dutch extraction. English and Afrikaner colonists ruled South Africa for centuries until 1994, depriving the black majority of political and economic rights. This culminated in the 20th century in the brutal system of segregation known as apartheid.

Trump's executive order to stop aid

Last week, Trump froze all US aid to South Africa in response to the latest developments. The decision may have been influenced by Trump's top advisor, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who for years has accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's government of having "openly racist ownership laws" and has even made remarks in support of a consipricy theory alleging that there is a "genocide" against white South Africans.

Malema versus Musk

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, Julius Malema, who is known as a major proponent of the land reforms laws, also appears to be in Musk's cross-hairs as part of the ongoing row. Musk wrote on his platform X, formally Twitter, that Malema should be sanctioned and that an international arrest warrant ought to be issued against him for his open support of land expropriation without compensation. Malema responded to Musk's charges by saying that he was fighting on behalf of black Africans.

'Misinformation' at the heart of issue

Crispin Phiri, spokesperson for the South African government, told DW meanwhile that much of the global backlash to the Expropriation Act was in fact was based on misinformation. Phiri said it was "not a land seizure law at all," stressing that "The act that we are referring to ... is similar to the eminent domain laws." The spokeswomon also said that South Africa did not "plan to retaliate [against the US] in any way" in response to the ongoing disagreement.

South Africa: US aid cut order 'based on misinformation'  05:36

Asylum for white South Africans only

Trump meanwhile attracted even further attention by asking his Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination." There were no details of how the plan to accept such Afrikaner refugees would be enacted, however, as Trump has also halted all asylum procedures as one of his first acts taking office.

Black South Africans, who make up nearly 80% of the South African population, own only 4% of the land

Image: Adrian Kriesch/DW

White exodus?

Following Trump's order, more than 20,000 queries reached the South African Chamber of Commerce (SACCUSA) in the United States, crashing its servers. "Given the scale of interest, SACCUSA estimates that this figure could represent over 50,000 individuals looking to leave South Africa and seek resettlement in the United States," Neil Diamond, head of SACCUSA told AFP. However, at the same time many groups, including right-wing movements like Afri-Forum and the Orania Movement in South Africa, have released statements that they did not wish to leave their homeland and instead would welcome help form the US in South Africa.

Relics of apartheid today

South Africa's foreign ministry has said Trump's order "lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognize South Africa's profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid." In a statement, the ministry said that it was "ironic" that Trump's "executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship."

US to boycott G20 summit

The diplomatic stand-off reached another level when US Secretary of State Rubio announced that he would skip the upcoming G20 talks of foreign ministers in Johannesburg, scheduled for February 20 and 21. Rubio accused the host government of having an "anti-American" agenda despite repeated assurances from Pretoria that this is not the case. Earlier this week, the European Union meanwhile offered its "full support" to South Africa ahead of the G20 meeting, with European Council chief Antonio Costa speaking to President Ramaphosa by phone directly to give further reassurances.

Edited by: Sertan Sanderson

No land confiscation in South Africa: DW's Dianne Hawker  03:56

Is Bangladesh plunging into political chaos once again?

Anupam Deb Kanunjna

11/02/2025 - 

DW

Six months after ex-PM Sheikh Hasina's ouster, Bangladesh faces fresh violence and political unrest amid reports of extremist elements exerting force. Can the interim government handle this crisis?

The Office of the Chief Adviser has condemned violent incidents and warned of strict action to prevent any kind of chaos

Image: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/REUTERS

Police in Bangladesh have arrested more than 1,500 people since Saturday amid reports of mob violence across the country and a security crackdown.

The arrests came six months after Bangladesh's embattled ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a student-led revolution.

The police action was part of Operation Devil Hunt, a joint initiative by army troops and police to target groups behind a series of violent incidents that have taken place in recent months, committed both by groups connected to the ousted premier and groups which opposed her.

On Monday, police took publisher Shatabdi Bhaba into protective custody after dozens of furious Islamist students surrounded his stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in the capital, Dhaka, which was selling works by exiled feminist author Taslima Nasrin.

"They had been campaigning to vandalize the book stall," said Sanjana Mehran, who alongside Bhaba co-founded Sabyasachi Publishers, according to AFP news agency.

Interim leader condemns chaos

Secretary-general of the country's powerful opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP), Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, met the country's interim leader, Muhammed Yunus, late on Monday to "raise concerns over the incidents that have swept across the country," reported the AFP.

Bangladesh seeks India's extradition of ousted PM 02:08

The Office of the Chief Adviser also condemned the incident and warned of strict action to prevent any kind of chaos.

Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Chowdhury told reporters that Operation Devil Hunt would continue "until the devils are eliminated."

Political analyst Dr. Zahed Ur Rahman told DW that the interim government only makes statements, rather than preventing attacks or taking further action against perpetrators of the attacks.

"This is a huge failure for the Bangladesh government and a message that even after six months, the government has not been able to ensure good governance," Rahman said.

Nur Khan Liton, a human rights activist and member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, which was set up by the interim government, believes there may be a special political motive behind these incidents.

"This time," he told DW, "different forces worked together in the mass uprising." Khan said, "There were many small forces among them who basically believe in extremism."

He noted that these factors could impact the country's journey towards democracy and the upcoming elections.
Rising political tensions

In September, the government initiated a joint operation by the police and army. Although many illegal weapons were recovered and arrests made, human rights concerns have surfaced.

Turmoil in Bangladesh  20:06

In early February, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a Bangladeshi human rights organization that documents attacks on minority communities, reported that 17 people had died in law enforcement custody during the first five months of the interim government. Among them was a leader of the BNP.

Nur Khan believes the crisis is worsening because the army is handling police work.

"The data shows that extrajudicial killings are increasing. This is a gross violation of human rights. We don't expect this to happen under this government," he told DW.

Khan added that the army lacks experience in handling civilians, "leading to accusations of involvement in crimes such as robbery, kidnapping, house grabbing, and human trafficking."

In response to the growing concerns, Yunus asserted that the reports of rights violations were widely exaggerated, the AP news agency reported.

Fresh protests erupted last week, sparked by a live speech on social media from Hasina, who had taken refuge in India.

In response, protesters bulldozed the historic house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of Hasina's Awami League and her father, who led the country's war of independence.

Offices of the Awami League and allied parties in 35 districts, as well as the homes of leaders and activists, were also set on fire.

An attack occurred on the house of A.K.M. Mozammel Haque, the Awami government's Minister for Liberation War Affairs, in Gazipur district near Dhaka, injuring several students in a counterattack by locals.
Government's strict stance

The government announced Operation Devil Hunt on Saturday in response to the unrest.

Bangladesh's cartoonists enjoy return of creative freedom  02:39

"We are not conducting a drive against any political party or its leaders or activists. Our drive is against criminals and miscreants," said Nazmul Karim, the police commissioner of Gazipur.

Although the government did not provide specific information, Nur Khan claimed that most of the thousands arrested in the operation were Awami League leaders and activists.

He believes that "this does not seem to be an exception compared to the experience of such operations in the past" and doubts that such operations will restore order in the country.

The press wing of the chief advisor did not respond to a request for comment.

However, on Monday, advisor Mahfuz Alam hinted at the government's strict stance in a Facebook post. He wrote, "If you support the uprising, stop mobbing, and if you engage in mob actions, you will also be treated as devils."

He further emphasized that the government will deal with the "so-called movements" and "mob activities" with a strong hand from now on. "Any attempt to render the state ineffective and failed will not be tolerated," he wrote.

Edited by: Keith Walker


Anupam Deb Kanunjna

Multimedia journalist focusing on migration, environment and human rights.

World powers fail to reach climate targets as UN deadline passes

As the deadline for submitting updated carbon reduction targets passed on Monday, the majority of nations – including major emitters such as China, India, and the EU – missed the cut-off point, reflecting the ongoing difficulties of international cooperation regarding climate change.


Issued on: 10/02/2025 - RFI

Smoke and steam billow from Belchatow Power Station, Europe's largest coal-fired power plant powered by lignite, operated by Polish utility PGE, in Rogowiec. On 10 February a majority of nations, including major emitters such as China, India, and the EU, missed a key UN climate change deadline. © Kacper Pempel / Reuters

The United Nations' deadline for submitting updated carbon reduction targets passed on 10 February, with nearly all nations failing to deliver their revised commitments on time.

According to a UN database, only 10 out of nearly 200 countries met the cut-off, leaving major polluters – including China, India, and the European Union – absent from the list.

"It's clear there are some broad geopolitical shifts underway that are proving to be a challenge when it comes to international cooperation, especially on big issues like climate change," said Ebony Holland of the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, each nation was expected to propose more ambitious climate goals for 2035, detailing how they would achieve them.

Despite this requirement, most G20 countries failed to meet the deadline.

Among the few exceptions were the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. The American pledge was largely symbolic, however, having been made before President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement.

"The US retreat from Cop21 was clearly a setback," Holland noted, highlighting the broader uncertainty surrounding international climate commitments.

Trump withdraws US from Paris climate agreement for second time
France lags in climate commitments

France – despite being a central player in European climate policy – has struggled to align its ambitions with concrete results.

In 2023, the government announced a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

While this roadmap included steps such as promoting electric vehicles and shifting freight transport off the roads, the country had only managed a 25 percent reduction at the time, indicating the challenge ahead.

More recently, reports of an almost six percent drop in emissions in 2023 was met with scepticism from environmental groups, who argued that the decline was due to temporary factors – such as increased nuclear energy production – rather than lasting policy changes.

On a broader scale, the European Union has seen mixed progress in its climate goals.

By 2023, the bloc had reduced its emissions by 37 percent from 1990 levels.

However, the European Commission has warned that based on existing policies, the EU is only on track to achieve a 51 percent reduction by 2030 – falling short of its legally binding 55 percent target.

Sectors such as agriculture, heating, and road transport have proven significant obstacles to meeting this goal.

How bolder targets, treaties and talks will steer a defining year for climate
September deadline set

The lack of timely submissions and the failure to hit existing climate targets raise concerns about the ability of nations to meet their Paris Agreement commitments.

The UN climate chief, Simon Stiell, recently described this round of climate pledges as "the most important policy documents of this century".

Yet, with the slow response from major economies and geopolitical uncertainties complicating efforts, the global fight against climate change faces an uphill battle.

As countries now work toward a revised September deadline, there remains hope that delayed submissions will still push ambitious policies forward.

A European Commission has confirmed that the EU intends to submit its updated targets "well ahead" of the Cop30 summit being hosted by Brazil in November.

Meanwhile, analysts predict that China – the world’s largest polluter and a major investor in renewables – will release its long-anticipated climate plan later in the year.

(with newswires)

WHO launches plan for free child cancer medicines in low-income countries

The World Health Organization launched on Tuesday a new platform providing cost-free cancer medicines for thousands of children living in low- and middle-income countries, in a bid to improve lagging survival rates.

Palestinian children suffering from cancer receive treatment at a hospital in Gaza City on 13 February, 2018 AFP

By: RFI
11/02/2025 - 

The first medicines were being delivered to Mongolia and Uzbekistan, the WHO said, with further shipments planned for Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal and Zambia, as part of the project's pilot phase.

The treatments are expected to reach around 5,000 children with cancer this year across at least 30 hospitals in those six nations.

"Countries in the pilot phase will receive an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured childhood cancer medicines at no cost," the UN health agency said in a statement.

The WHO said that childhood cancer survival rates in low- and middle-income countries were often below 30 percent, compared with around 80 percent in high-income countries.

"For too long, children with cancer have lacked access to life-saving medicines," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

A further six countries have been invited to join the platform, which hopes to reach 50 countries in the next five to seven years, providing medicines for approximately 120,000 children.

UN report warns 1.1 billion people are living in acute poverty

Long term plans

An estimated 400,000 children worldwide develop cancer every year, most of them living in resource-limited settings, the WHO said.

"It is estimated that 70 percent of the children from these settings die from cancer due to factors such as lack of appropriate treatment, treatment disruptions or low-quality medicines," it said.

African healthcare at a crossroads after United States pulls WHO funding

The WHO said cost-free provision would continue beyond the pilot phase, and the platform is working on developing its sustainability over the longer term.

The plan to establish the platform was first announced in December 2021.

It is a joint enterprise between the WHO and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in the United States.

The non-profit paediatric treatment and research institution has committed $200 million (€193 million) to its launch, the WHO said.

(with AFP)