you know the game of work and money to come to. the most important resource. checking how long the each play at the whim there is to be believed that renewable energy nuclear important dream in the future. to educate the us to start to. talk. hello and a warm welcome to focus on europe glad to have you with us here in europe the number of syrian refugees arriving has dramatically declined after nearly eight years of civil war fighting has ceased in most parts of syria well the so-called

islamic state has lost vast swathes of territory and u.s. backed troops are close to recapturing the terror group's last remaining stronghold of bad news germany is home to some seven hundred thousand syrians many of whom came here to find refuge from the war well even though the war appears to be drawing to a close many syrians don't expect to find peace upon their return there a brutal regime of bashar al assad is by all accounts still in power and many syrians in europe are worried about what prizes the government will take against those who fled the war one of them is i mean but for german authorities the threat he may face from damascus and its secret service doesn't make him a new to the rules. this syrian family lives in a small apartment somewhere in germany we won't say where exactly nor use their

real names. the father lives in fear of the regime in syria which they fled in two thousand and seventeen. i'm wanted for military service and syria is not a safe place. it's difficult very difficult really. the father says you can be sent to jail for dodging military service in syria we'll call him i mean he says he's seen too much fighting and dying in his home city of day it is sort of seeing pictures of it brings back the memories. with him for her to do what i remember what happened in syria the shelling seeing children dying when bombs were dropped on my hometown digging the children out from underneath the rubble. with these scenes remind me of the horrible things in my past. and how my children would hide under the stairs or in the cupboards if they saw a plane in the sky ready to drop bombs at all but the they become but the fact that

my children have witnessed horrible things. i mean has no proof that he was to be drafted he says he lost the papers on the way to europe along with his old passport. it's one reason his application for asylum was rejected. but he and his family can stay in germany as war refugees until the fighting in syria ends no the german authorities want them to apply for valid syrian passports at the syrian embassy then they can receive longer residence permits in german travel documents but i mean refuses to go on i'm up in that i can't go to the embassy even if there's no immediate danger and that if i'm wanted for conscription and i can't go to the embassy because that would endanger the lives of my family. hundreds of people do go to the syrian embassy in berlin every day for travel documents many of them like i mean are war refugees with no right to asylum the legal term is persons with subsidiary protection status german

legal experts say they can be expected to go to the embassy. i don't believe anyone with subsidiary protection status has anything to fear for him before they're not being persecuted personally. if they were allowed to be here because a civil war is raging in syria united brewery through to its own house with syrian human rights lawyer on where albany says many who come here are afraid also for their relatives back in syria especially if they belong to the opposition syrian intelligence tries to glean information about contacts with the regime's opponents from embassy visitors. if someone refuses to answer questions them tonight a passport. so that the people. knows. about them. who. send this information. going to syria so it's

a problem for that if yours is there then say it's appropriate for that but that's in syria who still. it is the embassy in berlin operating on behalf of syria's secret service we confronted its head of mission with the allegations he denied them health i'm at morton's who has any syrian who's been here so far stated that he was questioned about anything beyond his own passport matter sides. we don't do that oh we don't collect any personal information we only require the documents that are needed to establish the applicant's identity. of house. i mean doesn't believe that he wants no contact with syrian authorities whether for passports or any other documents for himself or his family even if it means serious problems with finding work in germany or traveling. i wouldn't know what to do with the foreigners registration office or didn't renew my

residency or give me german travel documents a month i still wouldn't go to the embassy. so i means in his family's future in germany is uncertain their greatest fear is having to return to syria even after the fighting is over because the old regime may still be in power. the great city of el use this was once a sacred site of antiquity located beside the mediterranean sea it is home to one of the country's greatest archaeological sites well today it's known as l.f. zina and is now famous for the dozens of abandoned ships that litter the coastline and its port it will be a herculean task for port manager shah alam both to restore its ferrety and while hercules fought monsters sharia law has to contend with something equally as

frightening bureaucracy. these ships once carry passengers oil grain or contraband cigarettes when they were no longer see where they there were abandoned here illegally. the gulf of any of siena is the ugly junkyard of greece a country that looks back over a long seafaring tradition. here are numbers go getters has been head of ever seen as port authority for most a year now. but he feels immense frustration because his port is still a graveyard with dozens of rusty wrecks. will be sprawled they couldn't work anymore or defy the issues yet we belong. to come here and they were just living. there more than forty wrecks lying dormant offin of ciena most above water but sun submerged. and many of them carry toxic cargoes of

waste oil and tar that threaten to pollute the gulf for years to come. now the greek government has promised to act and appointed good actors to head the clean up big ownership of these foods they don't have any more legal. owners the abilities of bill would come from they don't exist for all of these don't exist or relatives say they don't want to have anything to do the books to go with these boards cutting them and send them to. the for scrap from of the big. environmental activists christers christakis says greece has no suitable salvage for cillit. he's watching the current flurry of activity with suspicion he has fought for years to end the disfigurement of this section of the coast but says the authorities not only ignore the problem but even dubbed chips here themselves. after. a hard meet is the nor one

it was detained by the coast guard in two thousand and fourteen with more than two tons of heroin on board. so forth back then that was the biggest drug haul in europe. it was confiscated and then they just left it there. if the ships are dismantled now i fear it will be done without consideration for the environment in the past ships were taken apart myspace and the remains just covered with sand. christakis used to go swimming here when he was a child he asks is it credible that officials will really dispose of these colossal wrecks if they can't even clear the garbage off the beach. this is he's mejor gets a color says the end of scene and used to be an important industrial site with jobs for the entire region. since greece's financial crisis the situation on land isn't

much better than in the water one industrial ruin after another. but these ruins at least give the mayor some hope for the city's future and of siena has been named one of the european capitals of culture for twenty twenty one. so colors ones to stage theatre productions and art shows on these grounds and by then he wants the rex to big on. the we intend to follow the example of the rural region in germany. are there of the selection as capital of culture lead to the old industrial areas being turned into a ribbon of green spaces with many cultural attractions. going to. many but what we don't want to see. is new rex dumped here now for the celebrations are over to. put direct to god it has says that it's the responsibility of the

coast guard. he is still struggling through a mountain of paperwork to finally dispose of the first wreck. result you could see is this paper on the table here. and from above you can understand that this. is a. four to five months of the people here who are twelve fourteen hours but the fifteen hours to take all the. projects ready. one problem is that many of these abandoned ships are not registered in greece but in panama or the bahamas that means a world wide search for the only use. so it may be years before the gulf of end of siena gets its old spark. imagine opening a letter one day that says you are going to receive five hundred sixty euros every

month from the government no strings attached it's yours to spend as you please well that's precisely what happened to you how you have been in finland he was invited to take part in the country's basic income experiment two years ago we join you and his family at the start of the groundbreaking project well it has now come to an end and the government is reviewing the data so can money buy happiness is a question you have has been called to answer. on the outside this old school house in western finland presents a picturesque nordic winter scene. inside it's the setting for a social experiment on a grand scale. you high you have been in has been receiving a basic monthly income from the state for two years now he's headed for helsinki to tell about his experiences in a panel discussion at the finnish parliament. wherever he goes he takes his camera

but with a basic income oh my land i. am actually quite open to everything. and when i'm on the train all have to think about what i want to say. and how i can make the best use of the fifteen minutes i'm allowed to speak. so i can leave the audience with a little food for thought since then i saw them on the other. we visited you half for the first time some two years ago at his home near could. he specializes in hand carving and crafting mines drums at that time it was more a hobby than a trade. to get one of the cool of his wife is a nurse they live with six children and a dog. we were interested to see how life had changed for them since that day in autumn twenty sixteen when this letter arrived. and i hauled in. i was waiting for the mail nine nine when i saw the letter even before i opened it i

knew it was from the social security agency only got a moment to help a letter in my hands i really started cheering. for you hard getting a basic income was like winning the lottery he had plans to start an agency for accommodation and studios for artists called art b. and b. but it hasn't been very successful so far as you hussies it you have to try things out and the basic income gave him the freedom to do just that. now sinking back in january twenty seventeen finland's government selected two thousand people to receive five hundred sixty euros a month for two years as an experiment that made world headlines. and the panel discussion you had needs i learned another recipient she and the others will. interviewed over the coming months by the social security agency it's

really interesting to hear the pats fans of the experience because we researched this were not the contacts first people so everything i know what they have been through i threat from newspapers and heard from them so it's really interesting and different kind of stories there's two thousand participants everybody has a very unique story for the recipients are here this evening to tell their stories is up first she's long term unemployed and suffering from cancer now she dreads having to live without the basic income. the normal part in a matter of my life is changed for the worse now i'm treated like this again like i was two years ago. i have to beg for everything and everything takes forever. the payments used to come on the first of the month now the money arrives whenever. so let off. by law says the basic income had restored some sense of dignity for her that's over now. with

a. speech touch me the most. she really has to struggle to get by every single day. especially now that she's been officially listed as unemployed again since early january. now it's all starting over again for her all this bureaucracy. back in you has workshop the basic income experiment was controversial the government's already trying a new experiment where the monthly allowance only goes to people who are active if only in community service so in a sense you how we'll have to live for his drums but he's optimistic. you know during the two years with the basic income i was able to invest in new tools. now i can make the drums ten times span. mr than i could two years ago. when his wife

said work you have looks after the children a steady job wouldn't be much help to him he has to be able to put the drums aside to prepare meals for everyone you have doesn't believe money buys happiness anyway in such an isolated spot you can live very modestly it is a colossal online afraid the future looks fairly uncertain for my children that's another reason why i want to do something to ensure they in particular and the coming generations in general will have a somewhat better future hospitals. been made and our generation is responsible for finding solutions because we have a family. the initial basic income experiment is over as far as you have is concerned it was successful he's now working toward getting by without money from the state but how about the other recipients the finnish government will be assessing the results until the end of this year to find out.

now to a russian horror fairy tale that's how the experimental electronic band i speak describes their work their lyrics are political their videos are provocative and that has put the band on the kremlin's radar president vladimir putin is cracking down on music critical of his government bans like i speak are popular with teenagers in provincial russia who longed for more freedom and opportunities we caught up with i speak in rozanne as they wrapped up their latest tour. their rebellious and popular i speak is on stage and it is on for the final concert of their russia tour the song the bitch is clearly an audience favorite here was. it's an anthem against elites and conformism songs like this one have made the author already is in russia suspicious of i speak the band say they shut down more

than half of their concerts on their recent russia tour the musicians were searched and question several times. usually are still in the journal it felt completely surreal we sing a few songs from the secret services chase us through the whole city teachers who misuse the yes some of our songs do have a political message she misses you but the political stuff is such a small percentage of our work she reports so you think to yourself what would happen if we were actually a political group which means we're just that they wouldn't let us perform at all. kerosene and to my eyes the whole of russia is watching me let it burn lyrics and videos like this one are intentionally provocative here the duo poses in front of the seat of the russian government and on the shoulders of the riot police. and i

speak isn't the only young group that has had problems with the off the words last year over forty concerts were canceled it's a crackdown that has shaken the russian music scene but also created a huge sense of solidarity at the end of two thousand and eighteen dozens of musicians took to the stage in moscow to protest against the tough stance of the kremlin. the capsule if these absurd things can happen to other musicians they can easily happen to any of us. lately there seems to be an unspoken rule for musicians if you so much as touch on politics you'll have a problem. this situation would make any musician want to write about it it politicizes people who otherwise wouldn't be interested in political protest at all . by the mere putin seems to have understood that as well and has signaled a change in the kremlin strategy the russian president wants his administration to come up with new plans to support youth culture by september. which of the round

another modern music is based on three pillars are sex drugs and protest but i just know the drugs are our biggest concern of course she misspoke. they clearly lead to a degradation of the entire society see. if this music is impossible to stop then we will have to lead and directed properly on the problem. however and tries to lead and direct observers say the kremlin will do all in its power to ensure the discontent doesn't turn into a protest movement. but what we've seen so far is an attempt by the kremlin to label anything they don't understand as nonexistent useless and wrong but now the main thing for them is to reestablish communication with young people to understand what they want and how to deal with that. i was. right there is on the problems the group had with the police has led some parents to

accompany their kids to the concert most of the fans here say they identify with i speaks lyrics they're often about a sense of hopelessness of. their lives and of course if i can really relate to this music i think it reflects my reality here i know exactly what they mean right there you know the fact that the government is cracking down on this group doesn't solve the problems they're singing about it could lead to protests just look at the riot police but then you watch the video the band can clearly relate to the worries and realities of their young fans many of them say they don't feel the kremlin understands them anymore at all. i mean he or she just in the government has decided to correct youth culture to somehow bend it back into its old shape but the process can't be stopped anymore and we certainly won't censor ourselves. now we want to be even harsher more radical and interesting.

you can't ban music the fans chant in between songs at the concert. i speak stark and sarcastic music has clearly touched a nerve with young russians and their difficulties with the author worries of gotten them a lot of publicity instead of silencing them it has made them one of the voices of a new generation the kremlin is now pushing to connect world. sport is a universal language that can unite people and transcend barriers and it is with this spirit that the little vatican state has launched its first ever athletics team nuns and priests can now be seen running through the italian capital of rome for them it's a divine experience one they hope will take them to the olympics for the catholic church it's a welcome change of headlines. a race in the italian capital rome. but first a quick prayer on the better can now has

a newly founded sports club athletic about to qana it brings together priests nuns and others from the better considered state this is its very first competition event in video but it's like a baptism with this rain i'm very excited to be taking part and running for this club for the first time what they're going to put up a member that's such a. need i coax i'm not running because it gives you a sense of how many you know the money. and it is a form of praying. that running with others is like taking holy communion. and then finally there's a signal and there are athletic about econo was set up in january this year by the minute can sister not be tayo and others she used to run half marathons by herself but now enjoys being part of a team you know when enron i wear tracks he sente said just like everyone else that's really comfortable i don't you know minute that. is

a member of the pontifical swiss guards for him up being part about let it be about economy means more than just aiming for a top athletic performance. cut me want to spread christianity we've got to migrants on the t.v. you know we're not just aiming for a good performance but we're also running in the spirit of being good christians so it's been through the echo is that when you when you kiss john in. the club trains in the vicinity of st peter's basilica there's no race track and no resolute coach either even so the team is highly competitive. completes the ten kilometers in under thirty six minutes and the retailer is pleased with her result to. the first medal for none. now the athletes are dreaming about representing the vatican city in the olympic games. well we wish them a blessing journey to the olympics godspeed that's all for this week on focus on

europe you can also watch our program on line i d w dot com and feel free to get in touch with me on twitter i'll see you next time. you.

enter the conflict zone confronting the powerful. my guest this week here in brussels is the belgian m.e.p. filipe lama who sits on the european parliament prestigious spearing committee because the e.u. negotiated in good faith a new song famous for unity of the twenty seven beginning to cry or doesn't look

like it. accomplished some false. image w. for. many companies in germany to learn german. published in the go around why not learn with him online on the mobile and free to south africa d.w.p. learning course nicola's pick. careering to me. not everyone who loves books has to go insane. w. literature list one hundred plus creeds.

extravagant clinton. campaign. really know their stuff. with flip book and definitional. party and chat with musicians from all around the world. like groups every week double. frank food. international gateway to the best connection salsa road and trail. located in the heart of europe connected to the whole world. experience outstanding shopping and dining offers triallists services. biala gassed at frankfurt

airport city managed by from. this is g.w. news live from berlin china us well way goes on the offensive the tech company is suing the u.s. government it says that a law limiting its access to the american market is unconstitutional. also coming up natural beauty and a manmade conflict the himalayan valley of kashmir takes center stage again and a long running dispute between india and pakistan our correspondent needs people

there who say that all they want now is peace. a german court hands prison sentences.