don't make it. starts feb 28th. hello and a warm welcome to focus on europe i'm liable lola thanks for joining us today it's one of the most notorious cold cases in belo ruthless key opposition politicians that missed without a trace 20 years ago and many think they were killed on government orders and now a man has come forward who claims to have witnessed their deaths in $999.00 that

was the year president alexander lukashenko expanded his power to establish a police state and some politicians like former interior minister you. dared to take him on but failed an investigation by those who will has found that members of a secret military unit might have been involved in his death. you're a guy rav says he was part of that task force he claims to have 1st hand knowledge of zakhar rankles disappearance for his daughter yelena it's a chance to get answers to questions that have consumed her for decades so she made the decision to come face to face with one of her father's alleged killers. 2 2 2 2 in 1999 yeah and as actor and course father yuri vanished without a trace. she never found out what happened to him. and for the past 2 decades she's helped that maybe somewhere her father may still be alive. it was 20 years of

uncertainty for her and her family now live in german exile they only have a few momentos of here is acker and. misses they are here and usually the booth this situation was hardest for my grandmother would give them additional when she lay dying in the pit it's near them. more than the my books this is my grandma here i'm not her last words were yuri. his name. you know she died not knowing what had actually happened to her son. when we knew he was now a part of the us just. yelena is slowly learning about what really happened to her father a famous opposition figure and critic of belorussian dictator alexander lukashenko . documentary recently revealed that you're exactly right go was murdered by his

squad in the spring of 1999 on may 7th 4 men assaulted sacramento as he made his way home and bundled him into a car. the men were dressed in civilian clothes but were part of a military elite unit called sober. they drove to a forest where they shot him. we know this from your testimony one of the men involved in zachary abduction and murder he is presently applying for asylum in switzerland. you're eager ascii says he was not only involved in zacharias killing but now 2 other opposition figures as well. this the blue do when you've killed 10 or 15 people it messes with your head. it makes you a sick person. in this case 3 people were killed and i feel it

weighing down on my soul and mind. that's why you're a garage ski has agreed to speak to zachary daughter yelena. she hopes to finally get answers to the questions that have been tormenting her for years yeah true. story i want to be sure that this man actually witnessed my father's murder. so i want to feel all this in my heart. and of course i want to look him in the eyes and i want to feel with my heart and find peace for my soul. mates. ya know heads off to meet your a garage ski in switzerland it will be a painful journey into the past and she knows it. but she hopes it will also be an

opportunity to finally break out of the vicious cycle of grief and unanswered questions she feels trapped in. a garage ski arrives at the offices of a swiss newspaper noir. he's nervous unsure what to expect both have agreed to security procedures the atmosphere is tense a little later yelling are rives. she also undergoes a search. and finally they sit down face to face. but that will. help to stop i have come here today to look you in the eyes of that . i want to know the truth and.

it's important for me to know for a fact that my father died of a fast death. for a long time so i thought he had been slowly dismembered. is a hypnotist. no no absolutely not he was laid on the ground face down and then shot in the back through your father was shot along with gone chon cross off ski through. you know i now want certainty he really is telling the truth. i will ask you one final question to you can you swear on everything you hold dear in this world that everything you said is true you can look good i swear on my daughter i swear on my daughter's health that we arrested and killed zaka rinko gone char and cross off ski yes we've been referred to as a death squad and that's an accurate description thank you.

the 2 hour talk leaves eureka roski and yon as acar and go emotionally drained. he is trying to come to terms with his past he knows that he perpetrated serious crimes but also feels like a victim of the belorussian regime. and i feel squeezed like a lemon i mean motion a league source did it is always difficult to tell the truth but there's a look. here he says he's prepared to repent for his crimes behind bars. and yelena says she saw the guilt in his eyes but that she is not feeling a sense of relief. which is a little this is very difficult. but that this feeling weighs heavily on me that. the black wall that has always been before my eyes has opened up. i know now that my father was killed. i know know the truth. but ya

know also says this won't bring her peace of mind after all there is a still controlled by the same regime that once murdered her father yelena is now hoping the perpetrators can finally be brought to justice by an international court if there is one european city that knows how to celebrate carnival in style it's venice the tiny canals are filled with massed party goers looking to relax and celebrate which makes them ideal targets for pickpockets but she is determined to stop the nation franco de rossi wants to make the streets safer and has taken matters into his own hands by his initiative isn't being welcomed by everyone. from cody rossi is a proud phoenician and passionate about protecting venice carnival revelers. frank was a member of the cheetah dini known distraught the citizens initiative that has vowed to keep an eye on pickpockets to keep locals and tourists safe. from.

members of the group confront thieves and give advice to do or it's like carry our backpacks on the front. de rossi says the city's busy realtor bridge is a favorite with pickpockets refreeze i mean thing every day when i can spot them by the way they walk. how they look at backpacks and purses on the above all their eyes give them away. a thief may conceal his or her hand under a map and surreptitiously slide it into the victim's bag the person busy taking pictures doesn't realize a thing and their wallet is gone. as de rossi continues patrolling the city center some of his fellow activists find an empty wallet someone has most likely been pick pocketed. to share won't be so long. and. the

thieves often hide their loot in the park m p s sally roma the activist sometimes find one it still full of valuables here. and secure them before the thieves accomplices can get to them. ok so i work as a teen. some still wallets and take the cash while the others try to use the credit cards. to. give me all no gets he hands it over to plain clothes police officers they appreciate the work of the activists. moving north the nations and tourists have started taking action against pickpockets. this thief was caught in the act and apprehended until police arrived members of de rossi's group filmed the incident. at the g o like here de rossi follows 2 women accuses them publicly of being pickpockets such videos often end up on the internet i didn't like going.

on might you know. the venice police criticize such forms of vigilante justice. if. it's forbidden to put these recordings on the internet especially if they're minors it's from didn't introduce a couple but even if people are concerned unknown pickpockets as long as they are not caught red handed the presumption of innocence applies to citizen may not simply to take another citizen people who know they're going to be. on sent mark square most tourists enjoy the carnival perhaps watched by the yacht pickpocket. franco de rossi took off his mask the nearly 70 year old is taking a break. he meets of the nation woman from his initiative. he doesn't want to hear

any criticism of his own work. makes me mad justice system and the police just don't take it seriously they don't send the pickpockets to jail but you know when you've got your wife because the evidence is missing i don't understand that. so i do what i have to do. then he storms off. he got a call pickpockets this time the police were there in time for the victims it all happened very fast. they just went into 3 times into the day fortunately they didn't take an example because being able to get in. a member of franco de rossi is group expose them the ladies will be taken to the police headquarters for de rossi the hunt continues. to get to the supplies there are many others i won't stop until there are no more pickpockets a lot of people. until then de rossi will keep his mask on during carnival and

charge off to protect his hometown as he says but some people find him rather scary . they are hungry cold and vulnerable the roman children in bulgaria are particularly hard hit by poverty hope for a better future is hard to find in one of europe's poorest countries they live in the eastern town of sleeves and home to one of the well gary is largest roma ghettos the best and for young girls like mariana it's a dangerous place but now she and other children there have been given a chance to change the direction of their lives. like the roma settlement in sleeve and is called. which means hope. but there is little sign of hope here. the people are poor. 25000 roma live in this ghetto it's one of the largest a milk area here the law of the street prevails nicolo demeanor of never lets his

12 year old daughter mariana out of the house alone it's too dangerous girls live in constant danger of being kidnapped child marriage is common the last of the according to our tradition girls get married when they're 12 or 13 then they have children but i don't want to live like that. since her mother left them mariana lives alone with her blind father he's constantly worried that he won't be able to protect his daughter. i have a dream to get out of this ghetto there's no future here in the distance. mary on his cello helps distractor she practices for hours every day. she's able to leave the ghetto with her instrument 3 times a week into another world. and.

into key argue as world. famous bulgarian violinist has performed on the big stages in europe today he lives in germany but he grew up in a desert. this is i was just like the mr to surrender to legs here in this host my father gave me my 1st violin and it was here that i started playing because a person. is familiar with poverty he also knows that for most roma children especially girls it's difficult to escape 10 years ago he got the chance to do something about it and took it. roared through this but my partner's father died and the fountain and of a look with money it's not much money neither it's a folk who are children so we decided to do some scenes with the money in the room a quarter instead of the business the my wife said you are a musician the children with your violin is. decided to open

a music school in his sister's garage with the help of donations 300 roma children have since been given the chance to learn an instrument here for mariana it was a long and hard way. the other kids teased me when i went to music class with some of the so when they heard me play in concert they apologised to me and i even proud of me for them my dream is to play the cello and to teach. that to . mary on a school principal insists she has to study hard and to speak bulgarian well only then will she have a good chance for a musical career. they have to have at least to see a great average gotten otherwise they can't develop musically. yorkie shows his scholars the country's most important stage the concert hall bulgaria and sofia. mariano and her fellow students play together with the virtual sos of the national

symphony orchestra. her father couldn't afford the trip to sofia but he knows that mary on his concert is a good chance for her. with music lessons our children don't only learn music they also experience a whole new culture which helps them to break the roman mentality of the roman traditional all that the. demeanor of wants to accompany his daughter on her journey leaving the streets and as best as he can. well as collide jeff once said in the world of music it doesn't matter where you come from in the scottish highlands a storm is brewing the picture as country is on course to leave the e.u. with the u.k. at the end of this year despite the majority having voted against for exit some

like farmer james porter feel like they are being taken out against their will he fears that it could spell the end of his business and now he's pushing for an exit from briggs it. is such a beautiful morning it's easy to forget the wounds of the world for a moment. come summer they'll be blue birds prosperous and strawberries ripe for the picking but james porter is worried that they won't be anyone to pick them. that's not quite so easy to fix so yeah it's a big concern for us mainly because of labor my company around $4000.00 we need $4000.00 workers every year to come over from eastern europe mainly from poland and romania. and. you know we're very concerned that without that we won't be able to continue this business like

a majority of voters in scotland james porter did not want bracks it now the fear that britain will no longer welcome workers from the e.u. has become reality we've tried to encourage people locally to come pay. you know the numbers just aren't there so these guys are our only solution for harvesting what we grow. he doesn't know what he will do in the future he's hoping that the british government will offer a compromise. others are hoping for more radical solutions from the scottish parliament and would have liked to stay in the e.u. . i'm really angry and upset it's being taken out of e.u. against our will not just picks my heart just breaks my heart please leave all laong for this last train to refight to europe please england. scotland or into

different parts england want to go their own way and they want to be a bit more right when they want to be a bit more a reclusive and not so progress save the scotland one speed progress in. despair about bret's it has reignited the debate about scottish independence. scotland already declared its independence once here in opera exactly 700 years ago. kenny brace is a councillor for the scottish national party the country strongest political force at the moment he wants history to repeat itself of course scotland could be and then a country with such huge as awesome as we have 25 percent of europe's off shore and potential. and we have one of the best educated and highly skilled peoples in europe and we're not saying we're any better than other people

in the world but at least as good as scots won't be given the chance to vote again on whether their country should become independent unless the british government agrees. but kenny brace about to tuck into a traditional scottish haggis dinner is outraged. well i think it's completely wrong and i think the people of our country like the democratic right to choose their own. voice. completely against a right to get out in the water on at least in the democratic world is the right. people's right to choose how and by whom that got them but in a country where tradition is important there are also some scots who disagree with him and want to remain in the united kingdom.

another day today would be a very bad idea and the 1st one forced a lot of divisions and society change chips in scotland we are not strong enough country to feel to go independent and it will stickley not a good idea and years ago i would say yes 70 to. 80. kenny braises and patel he thinks that the consequences of bricks it will make these detractors change their minds. if waking up in the middle of the night to catch an early flight isn't your cup of tea this next story is for you night trains are making a comeback they're nostalgic comfortable and climate friendly so it's no wonder that interest in rail travel is up especially in austria a new route right through europe from the capital vienna to brussels in belgium is growing in popularity and it's reminding travelers that it's not about the

destination but the journey. what a grand reception for a not so new idea for the 1st time in 16 years the night train from vienna has arrived in brussels and the revamped night jazz has a great deal of fans. from. the heyday of rail travel in europe might be long over until the 1960 s. trains were the main means of travel bar and restaurant cars were a must and rail journeys were associated with leisure and not necessarily with speed. but then at least in germany cars planes and high speed trains took over travel became almost instant the austrian federal railways company went another way of german sleeper cars that were no longer in use and business is booming. people are traveling by night again we've seen a big 10 to 15 percent increase in passengers the mom does haifa sleep because

especially the de luxe ones with showers and toilets. to be fair the compartments are not quite as luxurious as in the past. so just like now i'll show you a luxury compartment not very big as you can see. it's a bit of a squash indeed. what do the passengers in the cheaper compartment say. is it difficult to sleep here with all the back and forth and noise it's true it's not like sleeping at home but i still think it's comfortable. the sweet dreams which is a voice from the loudspeakers. back in the olden days passengers were perhaps a little more elegant. and there

was more so. staff on hand to provide service. but there are still friendly waiters today to provide guests with coffee in the morning. breakfast in bed is the rule on this night train which doesn't have a restaurant car. after 14 hours on the train some passengers might be a little worse for the wear in the morning. but they've made it and as we've said before for many train travel is more about the journey than the destination. a climate friendly journey that brings you right to the city center to well that's all from us this weekend focus on europe if you have thoughts or questions about our show you can get in touch with me on twitter thanks for watching and i'll see you again next week i for now.

cause. it's smelly business feeding the world's ever growing population. agricultural multinationals are appeasing global hunger with cheap meat. impoverished small farmers decimated ecological systems and an economy dominated by monopolies are the devastating consequences of industrial farming soil. 15 minutes on d w. d

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be. this is v.w. news live from berlin police in the german city of han now say that a man suspected of killing 8 people has been found dead at his home the victims were shot outside 2 boss in the city near frankfurt we'll go live to our correspondent and also coming up. turkey is edging toward direct conflict with syrian government forces took us president rajapaksa other one says a military operation is just a matter of time or so.