Article – Melanie Hall

Digitalization in Africa: ‘We aren’t thinking any more in the conventional way’

Melanie Hall — Tue, 14 May 2019 13:21:51 +0000

From solar panels to apps that cut food waste, green tech is helping transform Africa. But its success rests on the continent’s digitalization. In my interview with Smart Africa’s new Director General Lacina Koné for Deutsche Welle, he told me why connectivity is key. Link to the article on Deutsche Welle: https://p.dw.com/p/3FmOK

Photo credit: Lacina Koné

Water wars: Are India and Pakistan heading for climate change-induced conflict? – Deutsche Welle

Melanie Hall — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 20:04:35 +0000

Excerpt of article written for Deutsche Welle, published on January 25, 2019:

Across the world, climate change is sparking conflict as people struggle over dwindling resources. The fight over water could quickly escalate between India and Pakistan — and both have nuclear arms.

Read more here

Photo credit: Aasif Iqbal J

‘We need nature, but nature doesn’t need us’ – Deutsche Welle

Melanie Hall — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 19:56:48 +0000

Excerpt of article written for Deutsche Welle, published on November 19, 2018:

Belgium-based singer Lala Njava’s native Madagascar is facing a barrage of environmental problems threatening its unique biodiversity. She tells DW why she’s made it her mission to alert people to the dangers.

Read more here

Should there be a ‘meat tax’ to fight climate change? – Deutsche Welle

Melanie Hall — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 19:43:56 +0000

Excerpt of article written for Deutsche Welle, published on October 16, 2018:

Meat would actually cost about triple its current market price if we factored in its environmental impact. Could a “meat tax” cut consumption and help do what needs to be done to fight climate change?

Read more here

Photo credit: DrHobo

100 days of Trump: An environmental disaster? – Deutsche Welle

Melanie Hall — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 17:47:33 +0000

Excerpt of article written for Deutsche Welle, published on April 26, 2017:

After 100 days of Donald Trump as US president, how much impact have his policies had on the environment? Will a growing global consensus and technological innovation be enough to stem their potential damage?

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Emmanuel Macron, Europe’s climate hero? – Deutsche Welle

Melanie Hall — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 17:43:48 +0000

Excerpt of article written for Deutsche Welle, published on June 21, 2017:

French President Emmanuel Macron is following through on his vow to “make our planet great again” by pledging 30 million euros for climate research. DW asked two prominent French climate scientists what it’s all about.

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Several injured in axe attack at Dusseldorf station – The Daily Telegraph

Melanie Hall — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 10:50:56 +0000

Excerpt of article written for The Daily Telegraph, published on March 10, 2017:

An elderly man was attacked with a machete in Dusseldorf on Friday, hours after a similar attack by a mentally ill asylum seeker wielding an axe left nine people injured at the city’s train station.

The 80-year-old machete victim, who has not been named, was rushed to hospital after being assaulted in a car park on the northern outskirts of Dusseldorf. His attacker remains at large.

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German finance minister calls Greek leaders’ behaviour ‘incomprehensible’

Melanie Hall — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 19:47:00 +0000

Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble denounced the Greek government for destroying trust in “incomprehensible ways” when he joined a tense meeting of eurozone finance ministers earlier this month.

Mr Schäuble, arriving in Brussels for talks on the new proposals from Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras in July, had said: “We will certainly not be able to rely on promises.

“In recent months, during the last few hours, the trust has been destroyed in incomprehensible ways. We are determined to not make calculations that everyone knows can’t be trusted. We will have exceptionally difficult negotiations. I don’t think we will reach an easy decision.”

Here is a piece I wrote for the Daily Telegraph on the Greek crisis.

‘Bookkeeper of Auschwitz’ shouldn’t have been jailed, says Holocaust survivor

Melanie Hall — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 19:39:00 +0000

A Holocaust survivor criticised a German court for jailing a 94-year-old man dubbed the “Bookkeeper of Auschwitz” for four years for complicity in the murder of 300,000 Hungarian Jews.

Eva Mozes Kor, 81, who is one of 70 co-plaintiffs, said it would provide greater value to society if convicted Oskar Gröning “can lecture two to four times per month to German students”.

“Every time he lectures to a group of students, he will testify about it and will relive those experiences,” she said. “I don’t think it is an easy thing for him to deal with. In jail he doesn’t have to talk about it – he can just rot away.” Here’s the piece I wrote for the Daily Telegraph when I reported on the verdict.

Angela Merkel looks forward to Queen’s state visit to Berlin – will UK’s EU referendum come up in conversation?

Melanie Hall — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 09:39:00 +0000

The Queen will be making her fifth state visit to Germany in more than 60 years on the throne this week, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she’s looking forward to what she describes as always a “big event” for the country.

But will the thorny subject of the UK’s referendum on the EU come up? Conversations with the Queen are supposed to remain private, and so of course the German government is remaining tight-lipped about whether two of the world’s most powerful women will broach the subject – here’s a piece I wrote for the Daily Telegraph on the forthcoming visit this week.