lara: this is “focus on europe.” i'm lara babalola. welcome to the show. relations between europe and iran are deteriorating fast as the european union levels fresh sanctions against tehran for human rights violations, namely the violent crackdown on people taking part in the uprising. people in cities across europe are showing solidarity with iran's protesters, with rallies like this one here in london. they are echoing the calls for freedom and equality and demanding a regime change in

iran. some iranians are travelling to neighboring turkey for a taste of freedom. in the city of van, many rules of the mullah regime don't apply. women don't have to wear headscarves. people can dance in clubs and drink alcohol. araz yusefi is an iranian living in exile who understands their desire for freedom. a few days in turkey gives them respite from the troubles at home. but the trip isn't always without risk. reporter: almost every evening it's the same scene -- in a nightclub in the eastern turkish city of van, iranians sing the song baraye. woman-life-freedom -- at home, it's forbidden. here, they can sing it for all to hear. iranian exile araz yusefi knows the situation in his home country well. he's a tour guide in eastern

turkey and shows iranian tourists around lake van. but his passengers are only marginally interested in the lake. they're really here to have a good time. araz: come on, go ahead. reporter: after all, that's why they came to turkey, to do what's forbidden in their home country. and to get away from the brutal repression of the protests at home, if only for a while. most don't want to speak before the camera. they're afraid of the iranian regime, even when they're outside the country. yusefi is less cautious. he's lived in turkey for a long time. araz: they can me more frey here. you can tell they feel safe. they can walk the streets without fear that something will happen. reporter: the city of van in eastern

turkey lies about 100 kilometers from the iranian border. iranians don't need a visa to visit turkey. 300,000 came in the first nine months of this year. for people in iran, van is the closest city in what counts as the west. >> i feel free here. i like it very much. reporter: iranians also like to come to van to shop. because of the sanctions, many goods are more expensive in iran than in turkey. clothing and textiles are not the only popular items. >> medicine has become very expensive in iran, so we buy it here. these foreign brands are very good for diseases we have in iran. reporter: it also benefits the turkish shop owners. they're struggling under the

high inflation. meanwhile, their customers from neighboring iran are helping them stay afloat. muhammed: we don't have any big companies or factories here. that's why this border trade is something of a lifeline for us. reporter: some other local residents are not quite as enthusiastic about the visitors. conservative muslims complain that the iranians are bringing sinful behavior to the city. mehmet: whatever they are not allowed to do at home -- drink alcohol and other indulgences -- they do it here. and that bothers many of the locals. reporter: but others in van aren't bothered by this at all, especially women. they're grateful for the iranian women. tugba: in the past, you never saw a woman sitting in a café alone. but since the iranian women have come, it's become normal.

they're showing us how it's done. and now the men here are used to it. reporter: but the iranians don't sit in cafés at night, they go to the city's discos. with iranian music and iranian dj's, the guests feel right at home here. >> i would really love to settle down in turkey. i love it here and can't wait to come back. reporter: araz yusefi also brings his tour groups to the iranian discos. he knows that it offers them a taste of freedom that's missing at home. araz: they can really let off steam here in the disco. a few alcoholic drinks are also but even this party only lasts till morning.

then it's back to iran. back to the unknown. a short time later, we were told that two of the returning tourists were detained and interrogated by iranian police at the border. lara: the war in ukraine is having a big impact on its small neighbor, the republic of moldova. the impoverished nation has taken in hundreds of thousands of ukrainian refugees. the country's residents are now in for a tough winter, and the town of leova is no exception. moldova is dependent on russian gas, but it also wants to join the eu and is supportive of its stance against moscow. but now, less gas is flowing from russia, and that's a major concern for staff at a children's home in leova, who are worried that supplies will be cut off for good. reporter: it's still warm in the dining room, for now. lunch is being served in the children's home in leova, in

western moldova. but director catalina postica, is worried about the winter. energy and food prices are rising, and she fears for the children's wellbeing. for many here, it's the first place where they feel safe and secure. irina: i feel safer here than at home. it's so much better here. i get regular meals and it's warm. pavel: i didn't have much at home, but i do here. it's way different here. i feel like i'm part of the family. catalina: the children here were raised in lower-income families and weren't provided the care they needed. some have been victims of violence or abuse.

our job is to protect them and steer them down the right path. reporter: the director is used to getting by on a shoestring budget. but the war in neighboring ukraine has made things much worse. a large share of their budget is now going to energy costs. catalina: we've been using electric heaters in the children's rooms. and here in the laundry room, we wash their clothes. but electricity prices have shot up so much since the summer. by now we already have a deficit equivalent to two months of our budget. reporter: it's a similar situation across

the country. moldova's pro-european administration is a thorn in moscow's side. so russia is wielding its most effective weapon -- gas. russia controls the breakaway region of transnistria where gas is used to produce electricity. normally this covers two-thirds of moldova's power needs. demand is high because the entire country uses electric heating -- even buses are electric. now russia has cut gas exports, claiming that moldova has failed to make payments. constantin: never ever gazprom has raised this issue of stop supplying because of not payment in time. now since august last year, pro-european government is in office who have paid absolutely, absolutely all in time.

reporter: the energy crisis is a threat to moldova's existence. that's one reason why the president of the european commission rushed to the moldovan capital chisinau to promise aid to the country. after all, moldova is a now an eu candidate. winter is just around the corner, and it can be long and cold in leova. people here are already spending over half their income just on energy. >> we've already received a gas bill. it seems way too high. >> i took out a bank loan and bought wood. this month, all of my income is going towards bills and the loan. >> things are hard everywhere. we'll survive, but i'd hoped it

would be easier. reporter: the situation is especially dire for the most vulnerable. leova's government wants to keep funding the children's home, but they're also worried. nicolae: right now, expenses have about doubled. we're really doing everything we possibly ca we don't want the children to be forced to live in the cold. reporter: it can take a long time to find foster families for the children here. catalina postica wants to make sure they have a warm place to call home in the meantime. catalina: we can only hope that we find solutions to get the high prices under control this year. reporter: for now, though, help seems a long way in coming. lara: international donors have pledged millions in additional

aid for moldova at a conference in paris. what is it like to be asexual? the term is defined as a lack of sexual attraction to others. in germany, it's thought that around 1% of the population identifies as asexual, though experts say it's possible that number is even higher, given that the sual identity is stilnot very well known. people like lennart from northern germany want to set the record straight -- asexuality is not a disorder, but a conscious step towards living a self-determined life. our reporter met with three people who are defining asexuality on their own terms. reporter: lennart lives in hamburg. along the reeperbahn red-light district, visitors find porn cinemas, lap dances, and sex workers. but lennart isn't interested in any of that. lennart:

to me, that's just a trashy image. i wouldn't think, “ooh, breasts. now i want to go touch some.” for me, it's just a bad advertisement for something that just means very little to me. reporter: sex doesn't hold the same attraction for lennart as it does for others. he realized that during puberty. suddenly, everybody was talking about it, but he couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. even so, he gave it a try. lennart: i've just never understood what's so great or special about it. i can do it and it didn't gross me out, but i just don't care for it and i'd rather not do it. reporter: akaya grew up in the countryside near bielefeld. as a teen, she just wanted to fit in. although she didn't enjoy sex, she gave in to peer pressure. akaya:

no matter how many times i said i still wasn't enjoying it or had no desire for it, i always got the same response. that someday, when i really loved the person, i'd be intimate with them and enjoy it. but that just never happened. reporter: sex has never meant anything to martin, either, not even as a teen. he didn't understand his feelings, so he looked for other explanations. martin: i thought maybe i was gay, because if i wasn't attracted to girls, then i must be attracted to guys. those are the two choices. everyone had to feel sexual attraction of some kind. but after a little while, i realized that wasn't it, either. reporter: lennart was in his early 30's when he learned about asexuality. a few years later, he came out as asexual.

he now lives without sex, and the inconveniences that came along with it. free from the pressure of romantic relationships, friendships with both men and women are now especially important to him. lennart: sometimes i notice that a person is important to me, but that doesn't mean that i want to be with them constantly or in a relationship with them. so it doesn't bother me at all if i know that person is already involved with somebody else. reporter: for martin, it was different. even if the element of sexual attraction was missing, he'd always longed for a steady relationship. he met his future wife on a sailboat was he was in his mid-20's. for a long time, they didn't have sex. martin: people always say love and sex

belong together, they can't be separated. but that's total nonsense. so many people have sex without love, otherwise brothels would all go out of business. so why shouldn't love and relationships work without sex? it not really necessary for a relationship. reporter: akaya also wanted a relationship. she and merle are happy together. they don't have sex. they prefer activities like making costumes together. they met on a dating website, where they'd both stated they were asexual and were looking for an asexual female partner. merle: if it had been somebody who wasn't asexual, i would've had to ask them to go without sex. and i don't want that. we don't miss it, so it's not a sacrifice. that's what i prefer. reporter:

martin and his wife don't miss regular sex, either. she accepts his asexuality, but that doesn't mean they aren't close. martin: my wife and i don't have anything against touch. i always say, we fall asleep every night in each other's arms. but never, or very, very rarely, does it lead to what you'd call sex. we don't need it, and we don't miss it. reporter: lennart, martin, akaya -- they all experience their asexuality very differently. but they all have one thing in common -- they don't want anyone telling them what intimacy really means. lara: it's a place where only americans have walked, the last

one being 50 years ago. but the moon is about to go international as europeans are preparing for their first lunar voyage in a joint mission with nasa. so how to train for the trip of a lifetime? space travelers are flocking to the canary island of lanzarote. no high-tech simulators are needed -- the volcanic landscape offers the astronauts a taste of what's to come. reporter: lanzarote, where american and european astronauts are training for their joint lunar mission. the island location was chosen because it resembles the moon, and mars, a future destination. the team includes german astronaut alexander gerst. he's a promising candidate for these missions. alexander: can you turn the blade, like, by 20 degrees? reporter: in their training, they're trying to find a specific type

of rock -- rocks that tell stories. alexander: we want to examine whether we there might be other forms of life in outer space. some of that life might have survived in the lava caves on mars, where conditions are above zero degrees celsius, and they're shielded from radiation. it will be very interesting to take a closer look when we go to mars. and maybe find out if the universe is teeming with life. reporter: but first, it's off to the moon. most likely in three to four years. the astronauts will stay in constant radio contact with scientists on earth. they'll help them find the right kind of rocks more easily than during the apollo missions some 50 years ago. alexander: okay, that didn't work. the moon is basically an open history book. it has rocks that are 3.8 billion years old, unlike on earth, although we have the

same history. the surface of the moon hasn't been as affected by erosion, so it's a place where we can study our own past. reporter: this week, they've been practicing what to look for after a moon landing. then they radio the scientists. moon to earth -- is this a good spot to take rock samples? alexander: i've made a decision whether we should sample here. let us know. otherwise, we will proceed up to the crater rim. reporter: eventually, astronaut alexander gerst makes his way to another crater and loses contact with the trainer team, and no longer has the information he needs. >> anybody can hear me? alex, can you hear me? reporter:

lanzarote, we have a problem. but then, alexander gerst arrives at his destination about an hour past schedule. alexander: on earth, we're used to having satellite receivers and communication everywhere. but on the moon, we have none of that. we have to bring our own navigation and communication systems. and they need to be tested -- ideally the entire system. reporter: they continue across the island, searching for the kinds of things they'll also be looking for on their moon mission. alexander: we're also looking at the impact craters of meteorites to see how old they are. how they're spaced in time. this could tell us something about the risk of a meteorite hitting earth. we know it could happen, but we don't know exactly what the probability is and how

important it is to prepare ourselves. if we study this on the moon, we can better protect earth. reporter: alexander gerst has already spent about a year in space, most recently as the commander of the iss. he's carried out more than 100 experints. ansoon he mit be part of an even bigger mission, a lunar landing and establishing a research station on thmoon. alexander: research stations on the moon, like on antarctica, are going to be a challenge because we can't bring much with us. we have to be sustainable to use the resources there, like splitting water molecules into breathable air and fuel. there's a lot to do, but we're getting ready. reporter: and that includes this six-day training course on lanzarote. one thing's for sure -- it's no

walk in the park. lara: now to another place that's otherworldly, but this time it's in denmark. artist tage andersen's store in the capital copenhagen is a gem that enchants its visitors. anderson arranges flowers, but he's no florist. his unique arrangements are more like works of art. andersen is a free spirit who has carved out his own genre in the botanical world. and his curious creations have attracted a cult following. reporter: stepping into this flower shop in copenhagen is almost like stepping into hans christian andersen's fairy-tale world. it's the domain of a man who shares with denmark's renowned storyteller both a love for fantasy and dreamscapes and a surname -- tage andersen has become something of a legend among florists. tage: what i love most about plants and flowers? that's hard to say. it's the totality of their magic. they transform a space into a perfect unity. reporter:

originally, he'd planned to become a pastry maker, but then decided he could express his own creativity better through flowers, vases, and installations. he's been doing just that for over 50 years now. he even designed an entire country estate in sweden. flowers and steel are his hallmarks. he's also worked for the danish royal family. his husband mons helps him run the shop. mons: he was never interest in the market and what the clients were asking for. first of all, he tends to do things that he liked, and hopefully, he could seduce people to buy it. so, i think it's a very lovely attitude for a businessman. reporter: the shop seems more like a studio, one that receives international visitors -- for instance, from china. on busy days, customers have to

pay a small admission, so things don't get too crowded. florist taryn humphrey came all the way from the united states to work with and learn from tage andersen. taryn: there's not many people that think like tage, and because of that, it couldn't really exist anywhere else outside of denmark, i would say. reporter: there's no guarantee that even top-selling items like this vase can ensure the shop's survival in high-priced copenhagen. but perhaps that's part of what makes tage andersen's art so special -- its impermanence. lara: a magical place if you're a lover of flowers and gardens like me. that brings us to the end of this week's program. thank you so much for your company today. and don't forget to visit dw.com for more stories from “focus on europe.” bye for now. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

12/15/22 12/15/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force must come to an end. the old methods of those who wield power simply don't work. in fact, they only aggravate the situation. we are now in a