>> hello and welcome to "focus on europe." it's good to have you with us. christmas is around the corner, for those who celebrate, it's a time of year to spend time with their families, enjoy holiday meals together, and exchange gifts. here in europe, people hope to do that, too, despite war, an energy crisis and inflation. beautifully decorated christmas trees and christmas markets have been setting the mood across europe for the last few weeks. and, london is especially known for its festive vibe. the city center is covered in lights. and so are the shopping

districts. but fewer and fewer people can afford to shop here. according to london statistics, more than a quarter of people in the city are living in poverty. families are particularly affected. high inflation, soaring gas prices and overpriced food are driving many into destitution. some families have to make the difficult choice between food and heating. taz kahn is trying to help those who can no longer help themselves. and the more he helps, the more he realizes how many people are in need. >> the line in front of the community kitchen gets longer every day. poverty is growing in london. it's a situation that's keeping taz khan busy. he knows that without him and his privately run food bank, many londoners would go hungry.

>> people that are in work, actively, both husband and wife, they are coming to access our services. and these are people that we would not normally associate. we got pensioners that are coming, so we've got an increasing number of people that normally wouldnt come to places like this. >> every week taz khan provides food for 15 thousand londoners. the community kitchen volunteers give out 600 kilos of food per week at four distribution sites in north london. they're busier than ever. dana rusen is a single parent. she works half-days in a department store. almost every week, she comes here to get food for herself, her two young sons, and her mother. >> it would be very difficult, especially nowadays with the inflation and the prices going up so much. very difficult. i didnt know how i could manage. >> farid kouba also comes almost every week and loads up. anything that's left over, he

shares it with others. >> i dont need all of that. i just go around and give it to other people who can't make it or who can't come here. so, most of it, i give away. >> taz khan works with supermarkets and suppliers. they donate food that can no longer be sold. it's distributed quickly, part of his commitment to zero waste, zero hunger. >> we thank the people that come and use our service, because they are doing us a service. if they dont take the food that we offer, its going to end up in landfill, and its going to damage the environment. >> the gap between rich and poor is particularly wide in the uk compared to other affluent countries. now rising inflation and high energy costs are driving more and more people into poverty -- especially families with children. the town of hartlepool in northern england is no exception. daniel burnside lives here with his children. the self-employed painter wants to make sure coben and esme

always have enough to eat, but that's easier said than done. turning on the heat is a luxury these days. >> it's been off for a couple of days, ive had to bare grim, wait for the next pay day, next bit of cash i can find, to put it on. same with electric, turn the lights of internet if we're not in the house. it is in darkness. ♪ >> with inflation at over 10% daniel burnside has to scrimp , and save wherever he can. sometimes he has to go without a hot meal. >> there are choices we have to make now. choices, things are getting sacrificed. you know, my kids will have bangers and chips. i might have a little bit. theres just rationing a lot. >> back in london, taz khan also has also opened a cafe that serves inexpensive, hot meals. it's run by volunteers.

rose and simona come just about every day. both have mental health problems. the meal that they share together here is often the only time they leave the house. >> its ultraspecial. its a safe environment. so, all the staff are so friendly. and if you had a bad day, you would always find someones face and they come and support you. >> if you eating out in another place, you cant afford it. you can't afford to do that. here, its affordable. and here youve got everything, and you stay as long as you want to stay. >> taz khan has invited london's mayor to gain support for his next venture -- training people who are out of work so they can find jobs in the food and restaurant industry. the mayor has promised to back the project. >> i think taz is inspirational. the london community foodbank are literally making a massive difference sometimes between life and death to vulnerable families across our city.

it is a source of embarrassment to me, that one of the richest countries, one of the richest cities in the world, needs facilities like this. but the reality is we do. >> food insecurity is on the rise across the country. >> one in four children, every single day in the uk is missing a meal. so that's one in four children that are missing a meal every single day. thats where we are right now, and what the future looks like, i dont know. ♪ >> taz khan has never been content to wait for others to take action, not even the government. and this winter, he's determined to help as many people as possible. ♪ >> from the uk, let's go further north to norway. fishing has been a major industry there for centuries and a proud tradition. but in the last few years, fish

stocks have declined and the business has become less lucrative and attractive for fishers here, most of whom are men. but one woman hasn't let that stop her. inger-marie høyland is passionate about her profession. it's a tough job that not many women have taken up so far. the norwegian government trying to change that by making the job more family-friendly. the idea is to encourage more women to take up fishing as a career -- following in the wake of inger-marie, who plies the waters near the island of sotra. >> inger-marie høyland enjoys being out on her boat in choppy waters. every day, rain or shine, she heads out onto the fjords of western norway. she and her father work as a team, pulling in the nets. >> inger-marie and her father. that's how fishers around here

think of us. it's taken for granted. it's strange that this could be a big deal in other places. >> inger-marie høyland is part of a minority. at the end of 2021, norway had nearly 1,000 professional fishers. union but only four hundred were women. høyland can't understand that. >> i like being outdoors and doing physical work. fish are a natural resource. and fishing is a norwegian tradition. i want to keep that tradition going. >> the catch today was less than they'd hoped for. coastal fishers are not netting the big money in norway. anyone who wants to cash in quick goes into fish farming. that's why knut magne høyland is glad his daughter has never shied away from hard work and tough conditions.

>> even as a child, she was interested in fishing. and today it's no longer an issue. it's a good thing that women are no longer responsible just for cooking. høyland is a single parent. when she comes back from being at sea, she has a household and her two children to tend to. she lives with them on her parent's farm. money is tight, but for her children, she is a role model. >> i don't think i could stand it for long in a big city. i belong out here, on the coast. >> britt sle instebøf the norwegian fishermen's association is proud that høyland is no longer an exception today. more and more young women are getting on board, even as men are starting to leave the industry. norway's government is

providing increasing support for young women who want to become fishers. >> if a colleague is pregnant or has to care for small children, then a temporary replacement, a man or woman, will be paid to work on the colleague's fishing ground. jobs on big trawlers can also be attractive for young women. by law, after you've spent a month on board you get a month off. >> høyland is driving her catch to a collection point. one of her colleagues is there. the conversation revolves around boat engines and stormproofing. women fishers are starting to become more commonplace in norway. >> we have a few of them around here these days. and my own daughters have already been going out on the

boat for ten years. >> but not every male colleague is as welcoming. like once, a few years ago, when she stepped in to help out on a fishing trawler off the north coast of norway. >> there was a guy there who made it very clear that he didn't want women on the boat or on the docks. he treated me as if i didn't exist. >> but inger-marie hoyland stayed on course. she's been out fishing on the fjords since she was fourteen , and wants to encourage other women to follow her example. >> it's hard work, but it's also a really special way to live. a way of life that's starting to appeal to more and more women in norway. >> in ukraine, life is lived among the rubble.

the war and russian missiles have left many towns and cities in ruins. and that includes many football fields. but ukrainians are not letting their spirits wane. football has long been a popular sport there, and these days it's an especially welcome respite. still, many training sessions and matches are interrupted by shelling, and fear is never far away. but coach sergiy pavlyuk isn't giving up. when he calls his players to the field, the youngsters are determined to give it their all. >> sergiy pavlyuk is off to the football pitch. three times a week he trains youngsters between age 8 and 12 here in irpin, a suburb of kyiv. the private soccer academy rents the field from a school. before the war, several coaches and assistants worked here. now sergiy has to go it alone, and that's not all that's changed. >> first off, the number of children has dropped compared

to before the war. a lot of the kids who were in our academy before are now somewhere in europe or in other countries. >> only half of the young players are still here. after russian troops withdrew from irpin in the summer, parents asked sergiy to start training again. >> the kids are just sitting at home, staring at their smartphones, and we see nothing but war and bombing on tv. >> irpin was squarely in the war zone. the football stadium almost completely destroyed is only one one reminder of the spring's fierce battles: missile craters in the grass, bullet holes everywhere. and irpin was not alone.

igor tsyganyk is one of ukraine's best-known sports journalists. the war, he says, also deprived the country of football. >> what was almost inconceivable for us a year ago is now commonplace. our infrastructure has been destroyed, and in the cities where there was fighting, the football pitches are gone too. >> lokomotyv kyiv's stadium has so far remained unscathed. the men's team is warming up before an important game. the club is currently in the ukrainian amateur league and hoping to move up. but no one here expects the season to go smoothly. >> just this month, we've had around twenty air raid sirens during training or games. and since the start of the war, i am sure we have heard more than 100. [siren wailing]

>> as if on cue, a few minutes before kickoff, there is another air raid siren -- all part of everyday life in ukraine. the players go to the basement where they've set up their weight room. club president oleksandr yegorov has made a phone call. this game too has been canceled and will rescheduled. >> however much russia tries to scare us with missiles or these attacks, we will continue to play football, and volleyball, and go to work. >> back to training in irpin. sergiy has to finish with the youngsters on time today. the power has gone out in the whole city, including at his home, where his 7-year old son is doing his homework by flashlight.

then the devoted fan wants to watch a match, on his phone, if need be. >> before the war, my friends and i used to meet somewhere to watch games. at work it's more fun, in a café with a glass of beer, it's much more fun. it feels completely different. now we have to make do with this situation. >> then, at least, a moment of relief. after hours, the power suddenly comes on. the televison is working. sergiy pavlyuk turns off the flashlight to save its batteries, for the next power cut. >> the christmas holiday season is also a big season for mail

-- with letters, cards, parcels and packages all circling the globe. but if you're mailing something to someone on the french island of la reunion, it might take a while to arrive there, for it is overseas in the indian ocean and not so easy to reach. cyril maillot works as a mail carrier there. to deliver letters and parcels to remote villages, he often travels for days -- on foot. >> it is monday morning, and the mail van stops in front of cyril maillot's house. his father, yoland, is bringing the mail for his weekly route. >> cyril, the mail's in the van. come and get it. >> yoland knows what cyril has ahead of him. he sometimes did the route himself, until cyril took over 10 years ago. yoland always enjoyed bringing his son along. >> he was 9 the first time he came along.

walking the route with my father was big part of my childhood. >> back then the mail carrier had other responsibilities too. >> we brought the residents their money from the bank here in the valley or deposited it here for them afterwards. and if someone had to fill out a document, we did it for them. often we read out letters because hardly anyone up there could read. today it's different. the children are now grown up and learned to read and write in the valley. >> after an hour's drive, the road ends. cyril sets out on foot, along the mountain paths of mafate. the entire route will take two days. >> it is quite an effort to deliver mail to just a half-dozen mailboxes. the village of marla has about

30 or so houses. >> you see? there is no name on the mailbox. you have to know everyone here and where they live. in the city, there's name plates and house numbers. not here. >> like every monday, cyril spends the night in the hostel that paulina hoarau has been running for 30 years. >> he comes every week, and he is part of the family. he's like a son. >> she's the fifth generation of her family in this mountainous region of la réunion. the area was settled in the 19th century. >> my ancestors took refugee when they escape slavery.

>> the people fled frothe coast and hid in the mountains. they lived from what they were able to grow. >> the next day, cyril has about four hours of walking ahead of him. but he enjoys it too. >> you just switch off completely. and get away from city life. >> mafate national park is a protected unesco world cultural heritage site. residents pay an annual fee to the french national forest office, which manages the mountain reserve. the agency maintains the trails and takes care of the trash, which is picked up once a month by helicopter. but as tourism increases, it's becoming more of a problem. >> people come from all over and just leave their garbage lying around. we'll drown in garbage one day. >> but people in mafate don't want the visitors to stop

coming -- they bring money into the village. sylvain bègue remembers how it was before. >> life was hard. many people had nothing to eat and planted corn. around 1980, i opened the first hostel and restaurant. after that, i opened other hostels. without tourists, we would still be living in misery. >> cyril does more than just deliver the mail. he collects it, too, and brings it down to the valley. his job as a mail carrier means a lot to him. >> the people here are like friends. and the job is part of me. if i stopped doing it, it would leave a real hole in my life. >> see you! >> it's a good life says cyril maillot, the mail carrier of

mafate. >> if you enjoy winter sports, the swiss alps offer you a great experience. but often these breathtaking slopes wouldn't be ski-worthy without the help of snow cannons. in lower elevations, especially, resorts are dependent on artificial snow. that damages the environment and gobbles up gigawatts of electricity, all at a time when the energy crisis map means europe is feeling the chill. in the jungfrau region of switzerland, the resorts are determined not to cut the switch. >> a picture-perfect ski slope. switzerland's jungfrau ski region boasts more than 200 kilometers of ski slopes. and plenty of snow cannons, to make snow when mother nature doesn't deliver. two thirds of the snow here is

"artificial snow," as it's called in the industry, by people like peter näf. >> looks good. making artificial snow requires 6 to 8 people working around the clock. well, some will be sleeping or off duty. but the other 3 to 4 will be out on the slope, working. >> it's a high-tech endeavor. the snow groomers are equipped with a special gps system to measure the snow cover on the slope. >> in the past, without gps, this wasn't possible. we often produced more snow that piled up in one area or another, even though it wasn't needed the entire season. now we can produce 30% less artificial snow. >> there are 320 snow cannons in switzerland's jungfrau

region. they're connected via an underground system of water pipes. it was a major investment, that cost ove38 million euros. the water comes from reservoirs, and the electricity from hydro power. it's a huge undertaking but it pays off for the industry. in the swiss alps, one in 4 jobs relies on winter tourism. and industry experts say vacationers are more demanding nowadays. >> guests expect there to be snow. they expect all the slopes to be open for skiing, and that none are closed due to lack of snow. during the holiday season, the resort towns here are brimming with guests who want to go skiing and tobogganing. >> these days, about 53% of ski slopes in switzerland rely on artificial snow. and that number of growing. environmentalists say the high energy and water use isn't

sustainable. climate scientist reto knutti expects global warming will make snow cannons obsolete. he believes that it won't take long until half of all swiss ski slopes will be too warm for even artificial snow to make much of a difference. >> ski tourism will have to focus on high-altitude regions, 1500 or 2000 meters up and more. lower-lying regions will become economically unviable eventually. >> the jungfrau region lies high in alps, so for now, at least, it will continue to delight winter sports enthusiasts. >> with or without snow. looks like it least this year, they can continue to have fun. that's it for today. on behalf of our entire team, i wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. bye for now and see you next time. ♪

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01/12/23 01/12/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i am so upset according to the news, no one can continue their activities as part of society. women have no place in afghan society is so disappointing. amy: in afghanistan, pressure is growing on the taliban to reverse a ban on women going to college or working with non-governmental organizations.