when the. storm's december 25th. hello and welcome to focus on europe with me. it's something that a few years ago most europeans never thought would be possible but now gregg's it is really happening how we'll trade between the u.k. and the work the uncertainty is palpable at the ferry ports and the channel tunnel connecting england and france. this could be

a taste of things to come near the french city of cali tracks form kilometer long queues to cross the channel drivers wait for hours and there's no sign of things improving. and what are things like on the other side many people in southern england wanted to leave the e.u. for example in cannes known as the garden of england but now residents are afraid that their region will turn into a massive holding area for trucks near the town of ashford the hour reading some signs all that's happening. once upon a time there was a quaint 13th century church in a sleepy part of can't south eastern england. but ever since spreads that the tranquility is gone. noisy construction work has begun on a vast customs clearance center near ashford to the dismay of locals called the idea here is that the darrius would have to present their paperwork by going out

and coming in from the opinion. the government belatedly realised that 80 percent of the tip of the traffic with europe does come through. and because there is no space to set up a customs station in dover it is being created near ashford the plant's $25.00 hectares site will process up to $1700.00 lorries per day. liz right who was a green party city councillor in oxford opposed to bricks that from the start. some people who voted for breakfast and from probably regretting i said they weren't told anything like this that happened in fact it was a completely denied wasn't it they would tell that would be less access to computers would deal with a toll but in reality countless customs declarations will have to be processed and information booth at a nearby petrol station is supposed to offer help on what paperwork will be necessary but the stuff won't tell me much when not really allowed to own to any

questions and that's kind of thing i can tell you where we're just here to help and basically just to support just to make sure that the guards that the. don't get stuck helpers don't actually know what the future holds in store which is why most of the truck drivers don't even bother asking them. your mommy for there is very little information. for mark the little we get is disturbed bit by bit the probably bullshit nobody here knows which caused them for us we will need to hear it but both of pager a german lorry driver has had it with this uncertainty they'll do one more run to the u.k. and then never again. that's definitely it for me when i'm only open to meeting halfway and meeting an english truck and taking the trailer back and filling it up again but heading over there in this situation of definitely not so it's a bit sad isn't it is where parting ways it's

a cut is an option on this as my. pager does not want to experience the border chaos again. things are complicated by the fact that the region around ashford often floods as more ground is sealed if the water flows elsewhere obstructing construction work. locals like the cops heads could have more into the bricks administered but nobody asked for their advice. and no one had the foresight to all ask the local fish what happens with the watch where it goes what a state they've just gone and done what i think is roy and he struck the wrong type now start work on the sunday to do a catch up i still don't believe it be done in time so went to. sit on the violets. to study. bush to write.

a local conservative politician called bartlett agreed even though his party was in support of brecht's that now he's trying to find a silver lining in the project so little church. transporters spending about half a 1000000 pounds on improving the. putting in the community cafe which will be a wonderful asset for local people choose a new car park so that it's more cesspool. even more parking spaces for kent county that the british once proudly call to the garden of england. if no post bricks a deal has been struck by january 1st authorities will have to improvise. and so the british departure brings destruction just like these noisy construction vehicles. some people go to a church when they want to pray mothers go to

a mosque in eastern turkey were all of these like canon to go to the source of variable or in the mountains the elevated sect is not officially recognized as a religious community in turkey and is now one of its holy places is under threat in the months or valley in at the river where canon and others come for pilgrimage as there are plans to build a huge recreational area. the moons of valley national park is an area of spectacular natural beauty and of great spiritual significance to al of ites like canada get but the landscape around the eastern anatolian city of 2 jelly could soon be radically transformed. what is happening here is making us all of these despair cannot accept this. he shows us what he means at this construction site near moon's or river. dozens of stalls have already been set up. for plans to build

a kind of amusement park right here this valley with government backing. such a target attraction right here along the springs is seen as a threat by the l a v community. cannot get who heads the local alibi to cultural association is outraged by the project talk with order to get. to us water is something holy your own church stands for purity these construction works are meant to assimilate us if they want to make our spiritual sides disappear . you know our shared lives in the words of the idea is to build parking lots restaurants and picnic areas here pilgrims wishing to visit their holy sites would have to pay entrance a range of dams are planned as well which would cause large parts of the national park to float. for hundreds of years all

avoidance of revere the springs and the untouched nature as holy pilgrimage sites. and as it has to the sick will be brought here to people who are convinced that there's an area would heal them yes that's what building here shows us that they don't respect our religion they also like goodwill for months locals have been protesting against a construction project last summer thousands gathered in the valley and formed a human chain but the authorities refuse to back down. asked for comment the regional governor refers to a statement he made in august. it claims the construction work will protect the region. and that social media is rife with misinformation. he also shows his plans of the finished project without any mention of elevates pogrom insights can i get and many others from turkey's elevate community distrust

the turkish state. of the $1.00 and $5.00 turks belongs to this religious community it is not officially recognized in the country. these days their places of worship are tolerated. the televisa are still not allowed to offer their own religious instruction in schools. resentment is growing . either way we pay taxes in this country. you know turkish religious or torah these have built thousands of mosques with our money. so we're justified in demanding our constitutional rights there are by our sudden paving not. unlike so many muslims and a viz focus on the prophet's alley rather than home and they see their faith as a mandate to work for equality among people including between men and women as

illustrated by their commute times and even alcohol is permitted. this makes them apostates in the eyes of radical so nice again and again elevate his have been attacked or received death threats and their homes have been vandalized. so you could google those. we begin as we should be we are constantly worried about our security and. we know that it doesn't just stop at threats we've experienced it through all of these have already been killed in this country. for gingrich not approved. by the mayor of the town of 2 jelly has also spoken out against the amusement park project. is turkey's only communist mayor and is under observation by the state. speaking to a camera he formulates his criticism carefully. distributed to the entrance to the area will become

a commercial design in principle the idea of renewal may not be bad on the bench but we don't like having such an emphasis on come a little less mad going to be going to your boss not your life. a living you say that the soul moves or river is the soul of the people the turkish governments project would disappear into one of their homes 2 places on the boat on the fees aren't ready to give up on the moon's or valley yet. if you have ever been in a skill if do you know that it's pretty hard to keep one and a half metres this is between people but despite the coronavirus endemic the ski slopes in switzerland are open while some neighboring countries are more restrictive the says are determined to do things their way and the ski instructor and many in the tunnel given the valid is quite pleased about that. so i said then do so if you go this way yes one point is going downhill that's where you

should you wait ok let's try again yes my little sienna is facing the challenges of the snow instead of being one of the crowd she's getting an individual lesson this is what the start of the season including devolving in looks like the snow is perfect the slopes mt love bravo arms nicely forward leonie honda has been a skiing struck to pull 3 years she doesn't know if she'll have enough work this winter. north if you were hoping for a lot of kids like sienna and i think it'll be fine. but it doesn't look that way at the moment this was government has told foreigners to cancel their ski plans and stay home the ski school has 90 percent fewer bookings than in previous years for the most part guests from germany elsewhere in europe and asia i'm missing. all along he's everything ok with distancing. myself home bag-o.

runs the ski school he make sure coronavirus safety measures are being observed on the slopes. when we. talk to people who were not counted social distance when we take a break to get there and of course we pull the mask of. school while ski lifts are at a standstill in germany france and italy things are expected to be booming here over the holidays and the protective measures are not all that strict in kinda above as in all other swiss ski resorts mosques and social distancing are compulsory gondolas can be up to 2 thirds full that's a cause for concern to some. i'm afraid of the gondolas when they're too crowded i get concerned and there are lots of people around. we're getting on. these were the crowds in some art at the beginning of the season also in sas fane 5

year no sign of social distancing railway operators say these were isolated incidents. this wasn't worth much for being. made a mistake and it won't happen again. throughout the can't on a valet so called slope angels and now ensuring that everything runs smoothly into the they're also rethinking how best to protect skiis with rule breakers facing harsh consequences. stop the list and report the person. who were trying everything to make sure the corona safety measures are being implemented. there's no place ski socialising you need a reservation to enter a mountain restaurant good picnicking spots are in high demand. the pandemic is having drastic effects on the industry must sell has never had so

many job applications from schemes struct is especially from austria for the time being he can't hire anyone. we usually have $35.00 employees in peak season around christmas and new year. planning for 17 and of course we're hoping the whole season goes ahead whether one is or employees won't have work but if i thought the young for our ski region is relying on the appeal of its legendary i go north face hopefully at least the swiss themselves will visit. over the holidays there will be a lot of swiss guests they definitely won't let us down. but infections mustn't be allowed to rise any further or swiss ski resorts could spend the rest of winter in complete hibernation. the islands of the a.g.m. sea with their turquoise waters awning beaches and bright white buildings are not

just beloved by tourists investors have also set their sights on them greece aims to expand the wind energy production there the plan was to renewables sounds environmentally friendly but it has residents of the islands of tinos and carry out worried they fear that giant wind parks will destroy their natural and cultural heritage. it is said that the greek island of tino says handmade because of its centuries old walls and paths and the architect you want to do is absolutely determined to protect this unique cultural asset so here we can see if it becomes food but for the most made out of dr stone was before us used to give access to all be on the ships. and it's something that we are trying to take a band that's now in order to develop working towards the windmills and the so-called pigeon houses built by her ancestors 300 years ago are now supposed to

give way to wind turbines. they want to shows us the site where private investors have just completed the foundations for 3 large turbines with another 15 planned. you want to and many other islanders fear tino's could lose its typical character. ancillary. pass to decide what to do are we going to preserve it to pass it on to next generation we are going to be more use most of the 4 modern constructions roads it's like the wind turbines are the army not far from the plant turbines is home to sculptor valley os and his family he fears for the future of greece's cultural heritage. terms used to always be the seat of the gods but now they have been supplanted by money and everything is about making money. pretty

. he shows us videos of protests he helped to organize a special police unit beach demonstrators including him with nightsticks a shopping experience. i lived in a dictatorship for 7 years and i was in the army 497-2274 and never did i experience anything like this story it was almost more democratic back then ok i'm exaggerating so dictatorship is a different kettle of fish of course. 2 hours away by ferry the island of the country is best known for its unspoiled nature its mountains include protected areas teeming with rare plant life. here to the agility seen crude and. the private nameless group is planning $110.00 wind turbines to supply electricity to athens and veyron mentalists are alarmed. it is all in the.

protected. areas in the. us there will be a disaster the whole mountain is going to be leveled so it is really. transforming the steel zone although the plans are not yet final ileus yana is already informing the island's residents about their potential impact it has had its share of bad experiences with other large scale projects a once lush valley resembled a moonscape like this after a hybrid power plant was built. erosion on the island is already extreme again and again entire hillside slide off especially in areas where large roads are constructed. the mountains are home not only to goats but to many. beekeepers as well. if wind turbines are built here thank goodness will have to move away with

this beast. would be bad for the billions. couldn't put their boxes near the wind turbines because of the electromagnetic radiation. which could make them lose their orientation. knock on the side of the mayor's office is aware of the concerns it met with farm investors 9 years ago to little avail the activities on neighboring islands worry the mayor a few small wind turbines might be tolerable but 110. would protest and that's not just my own personal opinion. it was in the municipal council and local administration a grange. the 1st turbines are standing by 2025 it is meant to be connected to athens via an underwater cable now the investor is supposedly

revising the plans to make them environmentally friendly but few believe that. they fear that landscapes like this could soon become a thing of the past when's the last time you saw someone this happy in a hospital bed well anasazi of the funk had a reason to smile that photo was taken after the surgery that changed her from a man to a woman what's also special about her story is that she is a commander in the german army of the buddhists via for years it was really difficult for openly gays or trans people to pursue a career as an army officer anasazi as coming out story as proof of how much has changed but filmed her path was far from easy we met her at work to talk. inspecting a truck is a routine task in the military and traditionally considered

a man's job. and it. is transgender she's been living as a woman for some time and no longer identifies as a man. responsible for $700.00 soldiers just there she took the major step of coming out after 20 years of military service. coming out as being transgender for me was very easy transgender was something in the early ninety's it was there was going to school the topic of what was discussed i mean were. you couldn't do anything yet it was something that was always connected to my own feelings with shame don't do that it's wrong i don't think there was very much acceptance in society in the ninety's for transgender people at all. back when do you funk lived as a man she was married to a woman and lead a seemingly ordinary life but she felt tremendous emotional pain because her male

body simply wasn't right for her. i probably looked for flight into a typical male world the military probably helped in that sense as well to perform to male standards but my inner self was always. crying after that you know almost 20 years of struggling i was a part of my life where my emotional stability my emotional wellbeing and wellbeing had a point where i said i don't want to live this way anymore. the phone underwent sex change surgery. she continued in her old job after coming out as a woman. putting on makeup is now part of her everyday routine. second wife some months. before undergoing surgery has supported her from the start . time it as

a woman already. one can say she was just the moon the prettiest so actually the same person stayed. i knew that she wanted to get rid of the pennies and i think when you love the person who. you support the person. coming out as a transgender woman wasn't just stumbling. block in her career even in the military . sergeant major dietmar schroeder met anastasio after her sex reassignment he says the initial novelty quickly wore off even as transgenderism became a hotly debated issue worldwide. just accept the people of the way they are on the goes beyond transgenderism a few of the stay where both are more every day things like what party they vote for and even stronger like to take a more run of the mill example you just have to accept people the way they are to

tyrannize and he's. now honest is climbing higher up the career ladder still the come the head of a division in the buddhist there is cyber an information domain service in parallel to her military career it is her mission to stand up for transgender people in the german armed forces promoting diversity and greater tolerance for what is an unusual path what i know from my experiences what is definitely certain if you are true to yourself and the way you are perfectly open you will have a better life. it seems to be finally. and isn't that what we all want to be happy well that's it for it today's show as always you can find more information on our website and you can get in touch on twitter and via e-mail from me and the rest of the team thanks for watching and see

your next time.

enter the conflict zone with sarah kelly more than 2 years ago ethiopian prime minister abi ahmed road to power with a wave of hope but now he's waged the military offensive on forces in the northern tier where i reach my guest this week from addis ababa is saudi cobra ethiopian minister for democratization where's the peaceful future his prime minister promised conflicts the 1st. in 30 minutes on d w. what

is the secret of this classic. music the sound. or the story behind the music or heritage mourning age of greatest. albums not. symphony for the world. in 75 minutes on d w. in the far north. beyond the inhabitable world. it's lonely. barren. and breathtakingly beautiful. arctic.

powerful expanse of bitter cold. and the sound of global warming. when you take a journey around the north pole. profiteers and talk with people experiencing a changing environment. for the ice disappears earlier and it keeps retreating. our future depends upon what happens here in one of the most fragile ecosystems of . northern lights. arctic circle starts december 21st g.w. .

this is g.w. news live from berlin a critical days for germany's health care system with new infections at record highs levels the number of hospitalized patients is also climbing rapidly we report from the front lines for young and previously healthy patients are battling to stay alive. also coming up guilty verdicts in france's charlie hebdo trial a paris.