>> hello and a warm welcome to focus on europe, glad to have you with us. it's been a shock unimaginable for many britons: the death of queen elizabeth the second. many in the country are now standing together, united in their mourning for the beloved monarch. >> we've all just known one queen. she is a person we've always looked up to. i think it's a big loss. it really touched me, losing the queen. she has been such a great

ambassador for the country >> and has been a light for this country and us. >> somehow, she has always been there. only the elderly will remember a sovereign other than queen elizabeth the second. during her reign, incredibly, 15 prime ministers came and went. the queen was clearly an exceptional monarch, who dedicated her life to serve her people. >> no head of state, no monarch has ruled as long as her in recent times: queen elizabeth the second. for sevey years, she was the one enduring element through times of dramatic change. she was always disciplined and dutiful.

elizabeth was born in 1926. ten yeaelizeth became a crowneorge princess. and e took her role seriously. >> i declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family. >> and she showed her dedication in the second world war. elizabeth served in the military as an auto mechanic. then, shortly after the war, she married naval officer philip mountbatten. a year later, she gave birth to prince charles, the first of four children. her father, king george the sixth, died in february 1952. the crown princess then became queen elizabeth the second at just twenty-five years old. and she may not have wielded political power, but she was a moral authority to many britons.

as a symbol of solidarity and the history of their country. elizabeth was crowned queen at a time when the british empire was losing its foothold. former colonies were gaining their independence. critics complain that queen elizabeth the second never apologized for the injustices of colonialism despite her many trips around the world. for decades, elizabeth led a discreet marriage unlike some other british royals. in spring of 2021, her husband philip passed away. but the funeral was an intimate affair overshadowed by the covid pandemic. elizabeth sat alone in mourning and touched the hearts of millions. fans will also remember the scenes with her dear corgis. despite the strict, ceremonial life of royal court, there were little moments when the queen showed other sides. and her sense of humor. >> i know what you want.

>> for health reasons, she wasn't able to take part in all the festivities for the platinum jubilee marking her seventy-year reign. but she fulfilled her duties until the very end. two days before she passed away, she welcomed the new british prime minister. and now even critics of the royal family are paying the queen their respects. for a life lived serving her country. >> now, succeeding queen elizabeth is her eldest son. king charles the third has to accept a heavy burden: the legacy of his mother. and he will have to prove that the monarchy in great britain is still relevant today. the very beginning of his reign falls at a challenging time, as the united kingdom is mired in a severe economic crisis. at his proclamation, charles said his mother was a role model for what lies ahead. >> the ceremony is centuries old, and on september 17th it

will be seen again for the first time in seventy years. >> let prince charles phillip arthur george become our only lawful and rightful liege lord charles the third. >> the new monarch is cheered this time under the watchful eyes of hundreds of cell phones. everyone is anxious to share their experience of the dawn of a new era. >> moments before, the accession council, made up of privy councilors and members of the royal family, had officially proclaimed charles king. this is the first time it has been broadcast live on television. >> i shall strive to follow the inspiring example i have been set in upholding constitutional government and to seek the peace, harmony and prosperity of the peoples of these islands.

>> the queen had passed away on september 8th at balmoral castle in the scottish highlands peacefully, according to a statement by the palace. with the news announced that evening came the period of mourning both official and personal. >> she was a wonderful, light lady. she dedicated her whole life to the nation. and we can just thank her for it. >> you know, she meant everything to me and my family you know: a sense of community, loyalty, you know, giving back to communities. >> following the queen's death, new prime minister liz truss gave her tribute. only two days before, the queen had received her at balmoral. >> queen elizabeth the second was the rock on which modern britain was built. our country has grown and flourished under her reign. britain is the great country it

is today because of her. >> on friday, the crown prince-become-king returned to the capital to be closer to the people and was received with much warmth and good will. his first televised speech as king that evening was in large part devoted to his late mother. >> i know that her death brings great sadness to so many of you, and i share that sense of loss, beyond measure, with you all. >> now, at age 73, he'll have to settle into a new role quickly and be ready to meet some heavy weather ahead. but in a royal family who've all too often found themselves at odds, it seems that mournint the younger generation together for now. >> while parts of europe are showing deep compassion, war

continues in ukraine. for the moment it seems that ukrainian troops are succeeding in pushing russian formations out of some contested areas. but near the front lines in the donbass it's hard for doctors and medics to care for all the injured soldiers. nurse romaschka is on duty there and has since achieved a level of fame. >> we're heading toward donetsk in southeastern ukraine. a surgeon major at the military hospital in zaporizhzhia suggested we talk to romashka, saying she's quite a remarkable nurse - and that the troops love her like a mother. we come to a field hospital about 20 kilometers from the front where wounded soldiers get initial on-scene care. she's expecting us. >> my name's romashka. i've been working as a nurse for 35 years. i'm here because i want to serve

ukraine. the wounded come here straight from the front. a team of anesthetists and surgeons care for the most seriously injured. often, they don't even know who the patient is. >> come with me to room 7. you can rest up. we've also got some food for you. >> when can i go home? >> i'll drive you home this evening. >> girls give him something to eat and drink. give him some slippers, socks and a pair of pants. vera, did you get that? and i'll see you back here in ten minutes. >> the night's casualties arrive in the morning hours:

one after the other this time. pain. nothing but pain. i try to comfort them with: 'hey, honey, everything'll be alright! you're just the best!' if someone's crying, i cry with him. i press him to my breast and tell him that all this will pass. >> once the most seriously injured have been stabilized and the hemorrhaging stopped and the broken bones set, the wounded are sent to military hospitals in zaporizhzhia or dnipro. everything has to happen fast. the only thing romashka takes her time with is her patients' fears and worries. >> romashka, here are the x-rays. >> here's the picture of your bullet. >> i wish i could read x-rays. >> don't worry. you'll see them soon enough.

it's this dot, you see? that's the bullet. >> yeah, i see it now. this is from the other side. >> right. and the good thing is the bone wasn't injured. >> the ukrainian government has been extremely tight-lipped about the numbers of dead and wounded. estimates run as high as 200 per day. but how much longer can the military take losses this high? in spite of the sporadic gunfire during the night, the day dawns quietly. romashka's relieved today, she's got a special appointment. >> i met ivan here in the hospital. i saw this silent boy. he had tears in his eyes. i went to him and asked, 'what happened, soldier?' he answered, 'my last brother died today'. from today on, i'm an orphan. i said, 'do you want to be my

son?' he didn't say, 'let me think about it' but simply, 'yes, i do.' >> how does my dress look? >> great! >> your god-parents will help you, will support you and show you the way. let us pray for a good cause. >> yes, fine. >> ivan's hometown is just a few kilometers behind the front line. but until ukrainian forces succeed in retaking the territory, his temporary home will be here. they were going to go out to eat together, but a few moments later, romashka got a call. >> oleg, are you on duty with me today? maxim?

ok, tell him to call me. a 200-transport has come in. that's the code word for dead soldiers. they told me to come in right away. stop here. i'll change clothes quickly. >> my little fish. did you bring him to me? >> yes, my love. >> it's not so much a matter of cleaning the bodies as it is giving the dead their humanity back. >>ometimesromashka says, only body parts come in. then, they try to determine the identity of the dead using tattoos, moles or rings before they pass them on to their relatives. >> i'm paying my debt. i get on my knees and say thanks. while you were here, i was safe. my family was able to sleep under a peaceful sky. i was able to live in peace because you gave your life for me for me and my children and

their children. that's why i'm here. this is my story. >> at the end of september, italians will elect a new parliament. that's ahead of schedule, as it follows the surprise fall of mario draghi's government in july. and giorgia meloni a right-wing populist candidate - might become the next head of government. polls currently see her a front runner. yet her party brothers of italy has never openly dissociated itself from fascism. in brussels, people have been watching italy and giorgia meloni's successful election campaign with concern. because, as in the city of perugia, she often manages to score points with her dubious messages. >> final preparations are underway at piazza quattro novembre in perugia. this region was once a communist hotspot. but on this evening, the

spotlight will be on giorgia meloni she's a top candidate of the populist rightwing party brothers of italy. and her fans are going wild. >> we're excited and look forward to her arriving here. >> our giorgia is more of a friend than a leader to us. >> giorgia meloni is taking the stage. the 45-year-old is considered charismatic, smart, and dangerous. and she knows just what her base wants to hear. she immediately goes on the offensive. she accuses the left of being aggressive and calls the eu incapable of tackling the energy crisis. and she claims italy's last administration abandoned the people but that she'll always put italians first. >> let me explain our stance on migration. they've told you lots of nonsense about it. >> wait for them with a shotgun! >> no, wait.

i don't agree with that. >> the rightwing nationalist strives to appear moderate. but she quickly makes clear what she wants: she'd like to see a more heavy-handed approach to immigrants from the global south. >> they cause security issues. but you can't get the lefties to wrap their heads around that. they show solidarity with women who've been attacked as long as they aren't attacked by illegal immigrants. because then suddenly the illegal immigrant is more important than the rape victim. >> many of her fans can't get enough of her straight talk. it doesn't seem to bother anyone here that many people in meloni's party are supporters of former dictator benito mussolini or that the flame on his tomb is her party's symbol. >> >> in italy, we should welcome foreigners in need, but we must think about ourselves first. >> she's so passionate, so clear and comprehensible even when she talks about

complicated issues. >> however, meloni's critics warn the rightwing populist is impacting italy and its values. antonio piccinni is in the antifascist organization anpi which has a long history. and he doesn't buy meloni's new, moderate image. >> fascism has never gone away. it's still here with us. it's just changing a little bit the face and new makeup, but it's still with us. this is cagliari in sardinia the next day. and meloni is planning a rally here, too. cosimo ladu won't be there, but he says he'll keep up to speed with how it goes. the sardinian entrepreneur runs a café and four little hotels on the island. but he's very worried. first came covid, and now exploding energy prices. and he's disappointed by politicians.

>> every administration lets us entrepreneurs down. both left and right. we need a long-term plan not just year-long campaigns. >> meloni's agenda is relatively vague overall, and her party has refused to play a part in any administration so far. but that might prove to be an asset. because many italians want to see new faces in the cabinet. like mercedes usai. she complains it's getting harder and harder to make an honest living in italy. >> i work for a private cleaning company in the cagliari courthouse. but i'm also a substitute teacher at an elementary school. >> so you need two jobs to make ends meet? >> just to survive. to survive. >> it remains a mystery what exactly giorgia meloni has in mind. does she really intend to renounce her party's post-fascist heritage? we try to ask her:

>> ms. meloni, are you going to remove neo-fascists from your party? >> the candidate isn't interested in answering questions this evening. but once she's on stage, a demonstrator confronts her despite all the security precautions. >> i want the right to marry and adopt children. >> ok. you want a lot of things. everyone wants something. >> it's hard to say whether the incident is real or staged. but lgbtq activists definitely fear the far-right nationalist. >> our fear here is here that we would go back in time and instead of going forward in terms of rights, in terms of other type of progressive kind of mindsets, we would go back to an era that we fear, we dread the most. young demonstrators protest again and again this evening while meloni finishes her rally under police

protection. but that certainly hasn't put a damper on mercedes usai's spirits. does it bother her how protestors are calling meloni a fascist? >> >> if they call us fascists then just like giorgia meloni: i don't care! >> and if a lot of italians feel the same way, the rightwing populist has a good shot at becoming the country's next prime minister. >> they look quite otherworldly, are only a few centimeters in size and seem to float in the water: seahorses certainly are among the most fascinating sea creatures. they feel particularly at home in dense seagrass beds, but it is precisely this habitat that is now under severe threat, including in the mediterranean. the greatest danger comes from fishermen and their nets. in southern portugal, where the number of seahorses has declined significantly, marine biologists are doing everything to protect the small and

sensitive animals as best they can. seahorses have captivated the human imagination for thousands of years, and many cultures see them as mythical creatures. one person enthralled by these small animals is biologist jorge palma. for the past 15 years he has studied them here at the faro marine research station in southern portugal. >> i got really attached to these animals because they are so different, so interesting, so sensitive, and they represent so well their habitat that they became my role model for research. >> the station is located in ria formosa - a lagoon with designated protected zones. for short- and long-snouted seahorses, this is an oasis. scientists have discovered more specimens here than anywhere else. but the seahorses are currently

under severe threat. >> >> as far as i know the first researchers estimated there were some 1-point-2 million sea horses in the lagoon. 3-4 years ago, they estimated there were about 150 thousand. it's quite a big difference. >> one problem is the fishing community. although it's far from bng the intention of francisco molina and his colleagues, seahorses keep getting caught in their nets. >> they live in the seaweed, and when the net gets close to the bottom, they get tangled in it. >> another fisherman, rui conceição, lives on an island in the lagoon. he loves the seahorses, having grown up around them. he knows the areas where fishing is prohibited. but he also knows there are those who don't respect the restrictions. >> the protected zone starts close to where we are now and stretches all the way back there.

professional fishermen are not the problem. it's the ones who are fishing illegally. they use dragnets and catch the seahorses with them. >> jorge, the biologist, is looking for small shrimps for his seahorse farm. to him, the issue is more nuanced. seahorses becoming caught is understandable. a much graver problem is the destruction of this sensitive animals' habitat by the fishing nets themselves. >> the problem with the illegal fishing is mostly the habitat degradation it leads to, because they don't go there just once. they go there one night and another night and so on, so the habitat vanishes, basically. >> for alternatives and experiment with artificial seaweed. together with his colleagues he has already covered large patches in the lagoon. and by the looks of it, the seahorses are warming up to the new material. >> sea horses go there and love it.

its an artificial thing in the start, but then becomes natural because all other animals colonize these artificial structures and make a natural habitat out of an artificial one. according to fisherman rui conceicao, more has to be done. he wants measures targeting the root of the problem: the illegal fishing in the protected zones. he thinks that many who enter do so unknowingly, because they're unfamiliar with the area. >> you'd have to mark the area with buoys to make sure no one goes in. i know my way around because i live here. but if someone arrives, say, from another region of portugal, they would be lost without signals. the idea with the buoys has also occurred to jorge palma

and his fellow scientist. they are currently looking for funding to set up a signaling system in the lagoon. for jorge, it's at least worth a try. the most important thing is saving the seahorses. >> if the creatures by some means disappear from here - lets all hope that doesnt happen - that would be a major blow for the general conservation of the species. but now we are seeing some increase, so there is hope for the future. >> it's a glimmer of hope for a species that keeps captivating the imagination of humans, but is now threatened by their very actions, almost everywhere in the world - not only in their oasis in the ria formosa lagoon. >> that was our look at europe above and below the water this week. we'll be back with a new edition of focus on europe next week. you can find more information about our show on our website. i'll say goodbye for today and thank you for watching - on behalf of everyone here at focus on europe.

>> this is dw news live from berlin. i horrifying attack at a nursery in thailand. emergency responders removed the bodies of more than 30 people, many of them small children, from a daycare center where they were shot dead by a former police officer. also coming up, russian rockets had homes in the ukrainian ty of zaporizhzhia. rescue