talk about what's happening in their lives and i became a journalist to be a storyteller and i always want to find those real authentic stories from everyday people who have something to share. with all the time i spent at the salon and i feel good quality here when i see it and a good story when i hear it my name is elizabeth shaw and i work at steve allen. alone a very warm welcome indeed to focus on europe with me peter craven and we begin in belarus with a development project of trance european proportions which is though stirring up major controversy it's

a new international shipping route called the efore to the waterway 2000 kilometers inland it's designed to make the baltic sea in the north with the black sea in the south the idea is to create another global passageway through eastern europe and also to give bella rose which is a landlocked country access to the sea. but environmental activists like constantine chick a lot of are up in arms saying the e 40 will impact 11 nature reserves in belarus and lead to the straightening of the pripyat river described as one of europe's last wild rivers. this might look like a casual boat trip but for constantine she colored it's a protest for the bread for a pretty picture this is the 3rd year the chairman of the belorussian environmental organization has organized canoe tours like this one his goal is to show people here the unspoiled nature. along the river and to demonstrate against the 40

waterway which could be built here constantine has been protecting nature and wildlife around him since he was a child. there is a company for the purpose there's like a european version of the amazon river. this place is unique because people can come here and see what rivers used to look like what nature in europe was like once . and if we can preserve these large areas of wild nature we are also helping to keep the ecological balance on the european continent along. the 40 waterway would cut straight through 11 nature reserves and the activists say it could destroy a unique ecosystem the canal is supposed to connect the baltic sea with the black sea its route goes through the so-called one of the last big wetland areas in europe with rare black alder forests 90 percent of the birds and valorous live here including endangered species some animals nest directly on the untouched banks.

this time the canoe route stretches for 35 kilometers mainly along wild sections of the river which would have to be dug out to allow commercial traffic in some of the tributaries even canoes have to go slow on the way the group stop several times in villages on the river to talk to locals about the planned waterway. often people in the villages only have limited sources of information become one of those sources for them so that they don't only get information from state media but also hear a different opinion about. the war and then they can decide for themselves do they want the rivers infrastructure to develop or do they want to protect the environment around them and keep it healthy. with us they are. the river has always been the center of life in the. so far no one here has heard of the planned

it for the waterway but some locals are quick to welcome anything that could give the region's economy a push. the waterway would be good for us boats used to go to ukraine from here as well. there was a lot of traffic on the river. with of course it has a negative effect on the environment and that would be burnt you know there isn't much water here anymore used to be able to fish now the rivers drying up more and more. let them build it and things will get more civilised there will be more people things will be exciting and we can take a trip all the way to the black sea. the government is still looking for investors for the waterway a final decision on the eve 40 project or its construction hasn't been reached which is why the belorussian transport ministry canceled an interview with us at the last minute but the chairman of the trans national export commission on the eve 40 project highlights the advantages of transporting cargo on the water he says

it's better for the environment and routes over land or at full capacity already infrastructure. those not as a structure has to be developed in order for the surrounding region to the benefits of. using the potential of the river for the good of the people is the main task of the government is. day 2 of the canoeing campaign for many of the participants it's the 1st time on this tour during breakfast and at the camp fire constantine can share his concerns about the efore the waterway with them he's convinced that bella ruse should be investing in eco tourism rather than in cargo on the river peak gets . people don't think about leaving these spots and simply leaving them to nature itself. to just sit down peacefully just like this and simply watch to hear the birds singing or watch things slowly changing. so it's.

the activist warns that the construction of the canal could dry out the wetlands here just like when the swamps were drained for large scale soviet agriculture programs the riverbed would have to be deepened to allow big ships to pass the p.p.s. river flows through areas that were contaminated by the chernobyl reactor disaster for constantine that's just another reminder to heed the lessons of the past otherwise the p.p. it could become another example of an ambitious economic project with catastrophic consequences for the natural world. now lies people sometimes say it's a long story about certainly appears to be true in bowl garia the poorest country in the european union more and more people there are becoming lottery tickets buying up millions of so-called scratch cards so let's go to the village of turk and shaver oh and i always drive from the capital sofia where we meet some of the

local residents who have little hope of escaping grinding poverty and woman called her of who did actually strike lucky. about 50 kilometers east of sofia lies the tiny mountain village of she can't at 1st glance it looks like. a 2nd glance reveals the abject poverty only about 300 people live here. after losing life is hard because our pensions are small because it could could well be this little so what can we do with these little pensions you could pull measurement. we can't travel the most and we can't do anything until going in motion used to disappear. there are hardly any jobs here the only ray of hope many of these people see is the national lottery. scratch cards with the promise of winnings that would lift them out of poverty. all they need is a bit of luck. you have all lost your view lazaroff is the village hero

in 2018 he won the equivalent of 50000 euros with a single scratch card he's too counterpose only big prize winner so far. there's little of those little i play because there's nothing else. there's nothing in our country no laws. the truth lies no lottery the only real chance if you win you're somebody but you're if not you're not that's all there is to it. so your gay sister pat sells the scratch cards she's an avid player herself but that bit that i spend the equivalent of 50 euros a month on cards but i've never won more than $75.00. was the cards cost from 3 to 10 euros apiece not exactly pocket change in a country where the monthly wage seldom exceeds 300 euros while i some

people give up quickly when they don't want anything. it's a scam but in 100 cards you might find one or 2 with 5 euro winnings and that's all they are just scamming people out of their money just secretly it is for example the new games company and sophia bulgarians are inundated with their ads promising instant riches whether on the street on the internet or on t.v. . as a big winner the 2 got to be a television star for day care for your a little very well for fools but off the trusty portable go for. new games is owned by a bulgarian businessman. the director is dmitri gannett 57 percent of bulgarians play the lottery and in 2017 the company sold $100000000.00 tickets but none of the revenue goes towards social causes as it's mandatory in every other e.u. country but even so ghana of sees himself as a philanthropist. of the a country lacks positivity in every sense we can give

people positive feelings and help them have fun getting news that it is due in that i really can't understand how anyone can get addicted just from buying a few scratch cards to try their luck to the left. of psychologist plan and dimitrov disagrees he has no doubt that gambling addiction amongst bulgarians is a problem. the long 3 is the stock market of poor desperate people who are still mashed if they had a different socio economic status they'd be investing in other things my god the effects are most harmful to young people. i've seen children using their lunch money to buy tickets so late. but it is a. jackpot winner georg luck didn't last long. he bought

a house for his young family but recently he lost his job as an auto mechanic. now he worries that he'll have to sell the house to get by. to sleep i was so happy to listen to it it was a great satisfaction because like well i thought of one so much it was such a big deal. i thought it accomplished so much but things didn't work out that way in reality i ran out of money again pretty fast. pensioner very slow dimitrov has never won anything at all but he still spends about half his meager pension on scratchcards. he and his wife dream of visiting their daughter in germany some day for at least a month they can't stop playing now. but you. can see munich annoyed that wonderful consul in the alps and spend 30 days there and feel like moment people treated good to trick. dreams die hard in the village of to

catch a. well for main scarce in bulgaria but the scratch cards reach even the remotest of places. and zookeeper an eye on boger areas neighbors georgia and moldova are it'll be interesting to see how things go there when those 2 countries introduce scratchcards as they both planned to do. now it's impossible to really imagine what it's like for children to live through war but objects like an old swing might perhaps evoke the trauma that young boys and girls have faced which is why the wall of childhood museum in the bosnian capital sarajevo has collected old books and goals for instance as well as personal testimonies from children who can now as other olds still remember the desperate days of the bosnian war in the 1990 s. minimalize men of h. is among those who has a story to tell and her memories go back to the day when the war came right up to

her front door. bullet holes and shrapnel the marks left by the war on the building in mina had to flee are still visible. more than 25 years have passed since the tanks suddenly appeared beneath her window. and what i could see in my father's eyes that something bad was happening. that's enough to dash. i mean it was 8 years old about the age of the girl who lives here now when the enemy soldiers came her parents sent her along with their neighbors who fled to croatia the same day. the padding i want the populace only waited for night to fall but not and i had to pee thing most widely at albuquerque i had a backpack and i remember that my teddy bear kept me company on the backs out where we kids were sitting with bill walton a cock or is that the ideas they had. what was meant to be

a few days away from the fighting turned into years a 1000000 made it to germany. and although her host family welcomed her with open arms she was homesick she wanted to return to sarajevo even as the war was still raging. but for that she needed her passport in the rush her parents had forgotten to give it to her. the passport she was issued as a replacement was very different. to my thumb a dot digital misstated my date of birth. that was all i knew at the time. i didn't have any papers with me when i left syria to a few things were missing from the passport in particular my complete id number did they not gosh this is the passport i came home with. solving possums without obviously quote.

the war childhood museum in sarajevo has collected thousands of pieces including i mean his passport. every exhibit represents a child's story that the museum's founder. has collected. originally conceived as a book project it's become a prize winning museum concept that setting an example for the world. i thought the children's perspective wasn't getting enough attention one of that's cool and i wanted to change that is obvious i wanted to document the experiences of children whose lives were shaped by what you saw because you're not. an essential aspect of the museum's work is to educate visitors about peace. more than $5000.00 children and teenagers come to the museum every year. some are looking for their own parents stories.

the children back then didn't have what we do we didn't have any toys. didn't have freedom. they were locked up at home with no food or water. ran a double money but we put some more i don't know this is my 1st time head and i see a lot of emotion lots of sadness but also the. happy moments people experience during the war version of the rat to. the exhibitions tell not only stories of war but of survival as well i mean i knew immediately that she wanted to be a part of the project she came across her old passport at home. but i think to be maybe i had it for myself so i wouldn't give it away but leave it as a reminder. that when the museum started off i really wanted to be a part of it is the right place to preserve my memories of that at the top of the miles. was news media is still full of the politicians nationalist rhetoric

people seem to be getting tired of it they don't want to see a revival of the conflict between bosnians and serbs. but also suppose i suppose that the exhibits and stories come from all over bosnia i'm happy that reports about the museum in the country have been positive that's quite rare for projects about the news of the player the course about it out of. any news hoping for a better future for herself and her family her husband been working in germany for 2 years now soon she and her children will be joining him near hamburg where she had lived as a refugee. now people across europe are slowly waking up to the fact that we might only avoid a global climate catastrophe if we drastically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide now that in turn means phasing out coal fired power stations sooner rather than

later greece is still heavily dependent on lignite coal for its selectric city generation and in the country's northern coal mining heartland around the village of a crazy people like up a stall is clearly a need is will tell you that the industry might be dirty but it gives people what they want most which is jobs. this is one of the 5 old power plants in the coal mining region of northern greece. 33 year old apple stole a scullion need us works as a blaster and a local open cast mind that belongs to the state run electricity company. his father works there too he operates an excavator and even his grandfather used to work in the mine. today dollars and his colleagues are setting up explosive charges he earns $1200.00 euros per month not much with 2 kids to feed but he's grateful to be employed because 70 percent of young people here are

jobless this is the largest mine in the balkans 4 villages had to be demolished to make way for it including his own. you know what is why did they get this work is very important for us that means we can feed our families. a lot of people are employed here and almost all of them have found us. very and see this as a father of 3 who farms and rears livestock here in the village of a creamy. but the fields that once belonged to his ancestors are now owned by the state electricity company. in 2011 they were legally obliged to resettle him. but they refused to pay for the resettlement and the reason was because there's no coal underneath their village the residents feel betrayed. my fellow gumbo when they take off the old farmer they might as well take up village to 90 percent of people here off alma's sure some villages work for the

electricity company but what about the other 90 percent. after putting. my. 8 years ago the company bought his fields 440000 euros. this means he now has to least agricultural land so he can grow crops to feed his cows. sometimes i think about giving up but making the 1st daughter difficult for my age i'm 54 and have 3 kids. and i love it. dimitrios coal fired power plant is located right beside me village. despina works here she's married to the mine blaster. she makes just $620.00 euros a month on a fixed term contract but hopes to become permanent. they will survive up with the company is a lifeline for many people. the entire region depends on coal mining. for

generations thousands of families from this area have worked for the company. in 2950 percent of greek electricity was produced using like night but today it makes up less than 30 percent. which we depend on coal. and it really worries me to think about what would happen if we stopped using lignite. because of the economic crisis the e.u. wants greece to privatized parts of its state run electricity company. many countries and investors are now moving away from coal and europe has created financial deterrents. you fines for high emissions have tripled over the past 2 years. it's making a cold and profitable as electricity source. to lift the. dark

clouds of coal dust hang over a creamy. because his village suffers from this environmental pollution and they fear they'll never be resettled. he says the municipality no longer invests anything in the neglected village and morale here is very low we're going to mean our water is polluted sites are old and contaminated. nobody does anything to improve nobody cares and we keep drinking this water. out of the people. and his family have since gained access to fresh drinking water they were moved to another village located 25 kilometers from the mine where they work. for them the mining industry still remains a blessing. well everybody has heard of bull fights but what

about fights where cows quite literally go head to head with each other well the battle of the queen's are staged annually in switzerland violate cantle draws thousands of spectators but in what is after all a famously peace loving country we join council breeders join clubs or bring in to find out just how he responds when one of his big beasts makes it perfectly clear that she's not up for a scrap. day santana's big day or rather it's her breeders big day. that's going to switzerland whole weigh in before entering the ring is an impressive 672 kilograms some time a is the helen scout powerful and aggressive. santana's mother has won prizes at the national level twice. and she came with 2 if she's in good shape on the day when the. dog is 40. it also

depends on how the competition performs a miracle is one of the favorites and could be a big threat to some time and. she won a prize here last year of there's a strong line there she's a very good cow she's proved that already at this show and gets. the 1st cows are already fighting. they fall of their instincts to form a hierarchy no colors force to fight but if they choose not to fight 3 times or they lose 3 times their elimination. fight is a traditional spectacle. probably. strength and will power that the animal show during the fights are simply amazing. this is not right it's great it's a fight but at the injuries. around 120 cows are going to fight today

finally some time i was called to the big ring but today she seems to have other plans she's not up for a fight and to make matters worse is the other favorite miracle that wants to fight some tonya. was hoping for. he quickly gets his cow out to be arena and thomas well being is his top priority but he still deeply disappointed. sometimes i wasn't in the mood for fighting. when i brought her over it's better to take. the family stays to watch the final fights anyway. sure it hurts a little but that's the life of a couple of. the favorite takes the title after all there's no prize money but the

new queen is presented with a beautiful bell. and that's all from focus on europe this time around thanks so much for joining us and do come back next week soledad bye bye troops. the be.

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is you know really was life from berlin situation a volatile iran should see us draw out of the sky present trump response to the escalation saying iran made a very big mistake all there are conflicting accounts over the incident tehran says the drunk violated its airspace the u.s. contradicts this saying the drone was in international airspace washington accuses iran of making an unprovoked attack.