Global Us: What connects us all

A year ago, a powerful earthquake shook Nepal. Nearly 9000 people died. Reconstruction is proceeding slowly in the country's villages. Especially in hard-to-reach regions like the remote Gorkha district, building materials are in short supply and transporting them there is barely possible. So people get wood from the forests. That's a problem, because the forests need protection.

Usually the subject of petroleum production centers on resource-rich giants such as Nigeria and Angola. But Ghana, too, has focused its hopes on black gold for years, and hoped for a long-awaited growth spurt for the economy. The first successful drilling in 2007 gave rise to great expectations: hundreds of thousands of new jobs were to be created. But now little is left of that euphoria.

The subject of petroleum production usually centers on resource-rich giants such as Nigeria and Angola. But Ghana, too, has for years focused its hopes on black gold, and hoped for a long-awaited growth spurt for the economy. Now, little is left of that euphoria.

A powerful earthquake shook Nepal one year ago. Nearly 9000 people died. Reconstruction is proceeding slowly in the country's villages. Especially in regions such as the remote Gorkha district, building materials are in short supply.

87-year-old cemetery gardener George Psailas enjoys cult status. Not only does he care for the graves with great devotion; he was actually born on the cemetery grounds and has already chosen his final resting place there.

Lemurs only exist in Madagascar but they are at risk of extinction. Almost 94 percent of all lemur species are endangered. Professor Peter Kappeler from the German Primate Center and his team conduct research into the primates in the Kirindy reserve. They have also set up an association to help improve the lemurs' chances of survival.When the German Primate Center started working in the west of Madagascar in 1993, researchers discovered the smallest primate in the world: Madame Berthe's mouse lemur is only 9 centimeters long. The lemurs of Madagascar play an important role in the pollination of baobab trees. They are endangered because their habitat is shrinking so fast because of slashing and burning practices. The scientists are also looking into the behavioral patterns of the lemurs to see what impact the changes are having.

Ivan Semenyuk and his wife were evacuated from the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. The authorities resettled them, but they never felt at home there. They have returned, like 150 others, to the 30-kilometer exclusion zone.

The island's forests are disappearing fast. And with them their most iconic inhabitants. Scientists are trying to save the severely endangered primates and their habitat.

For nearly 50 years, the Mergui Archipelago in the far south of Myanmar was cut off from the rest of the world under the country's former military dictatorship.

But following the political transition that has taken place in the country, scientists are now seeking to establish the health of the coral reefs in this region - to find ways of protecting the area's biodiversity and solutions for sustainable development. For decades, there were no tourists to disrupt the archipelago or the lives of the local people - an ethnic minority called the Moken.

At the end of 2013, Uruguay became the first country to fully legalize the production and sale of cannabis. Those wanting to take cannabis now have a number of options: either they can become a member of a so-called cannabis club or they can grow their own plants for personal consumption. And soon there will be a third option of buying up to 10 grams of cannabis a week at the chemist.The only condition is that users have to register and be at least 18 years old. Uruguay's government is convinced the liberal drug policy is the most effective way of stamping out the illegal trade in cannabis.