hello and welcome to focus on europe. it's wonderful to have you with us. europe is drying up. and it's not just the hot summer months that are getting more challenging. many countries, especially in the southern part of the continent, are already struggling. with drought and water shortages. it's only april and in spain rivers have started to dry up. experts warn that wildfires, which used to be restricted to summer, might now become a feature of spring and autumn as well.

across the continent the effects of climate change are becoming ever more apparent. including in tourist destinations like lake garda. italy's largest lake is partly located in an idyllic alpine landscape . and yet the tributaries no longer carry enough water to the lake. this has made life difficult for people like giancarlo fucina. he earns his living driving tourists to various islands in the lake in his water taxi. but at the moment, tourists don't need his service. cif, as he's known to the locals, is a familiar face at lake garda. giancarlo fucina has been ferrying tourists over italy's largest lake for forty years. but never before has he seen the lake like this in spring. where there once was water, now people can walk to the island.

last year, when the lake was pretty full, the water went up to over an adult's waistline. the situation is very serious. all we can do is wait and hope it'll rain for a month and make the water level rise again. bad news for his water taxi business. at least forty percent of the people prefer to cross on foot. then when they want to head back, some are tired of walking and take my boat instead. this is the only boat he can still moor at san biagio island. his second cutter is stuck at the port. no one cif knows remembers a time when the water level was as low as this, not at this time of year. at the southern tip of the lake, in peschiera del garda, ilaria

ercolani records the water level every morning. she works for the regional water authority. the level is sixty centimeters below average compared to the previous year. around this time, we're normally at one meter and twenty centimeters over the defined zero point. this year, we're at just forty-seven centimeters. with so little water, the power plant a few kilometers down the river has stopped, too. just beyond it lies the salionze dam. from this spot, ilaria ercolani controls the water flow from lake garda. from here, i can see the locks and check that nothing is blocking the barriers. everything's fine here. she opens and closes the locks.

this water is supposed to flow from here onto the fields and farmland south of lake garda. but there isn't enough of it now. we normally don't reach this level until midsummer. i'm trying to do the impossible. i have to strike a balance between the needs of residents living along the lake and farmers in the valley. that's no easy task. and the stakes are high. last summer's heatwave cost farmers six billion euros. just east of lake garda, near soave, farmer moreno cavazza is very worried about another drought. the fields are almost dried out now already. you can see it just by the dust that gets kicked up when we till the soil.

the current situation presents farmers like moreno with tough decisions. it's actually time to plant crops. but i don't even know what i could plant. corn, for instance, takes a lot of water. but i don't know if we'll have enough water from the irrigation system until harvest time. we're clearly seeing the effects of global warming. the farmers and regional government have taken one first step: they used eu funds to renovate and seal the first section of the water channel. this channel is over forty-eight kilometers long and waters fields and meadows throughout the region. once the work is completed in two years, we'll save about one hundred and fifty million cubic meters of water a year. that means more water for our fields. according to an italian research institute, fifty days of continuous rain could change the situation.

but the weather forecast is predicting sunshine over the coming weeks at lake garda. meaning cif and his water taxi aren't the only ones who might face a tough summer. more people are risking their lives to enter europe via sea than ever before. many countries are overwhelmed, including france. french coastguards have to deal with an increasing number of migrants trying to cross the english channel to reach the uk. channel migrants - as they are called - use small boats to cross the sea all year long. and that is exactly what the british government wants to stop. they are pushing ahead with a contentious asyslum law designed to crack down on illegal migration across the english channel. part of the strategy is to fund patrols along the french coast. our reporter accompanied one of these patrols on the coast of calais .

it's time to get ready for patrol. for these police officers, it's off to the coast. their job: to stop migrants crossing the english channel illegally. they head out undercover. the cars we use are unmarked, that way no one sees us coming. they patrol in groups of six to ten people. for their safety, they don't want to show their faces. my equipment is always within reach. during the day i'll use normal binoculars. at night - infrared. last year saw 45,000 migrants illegally cross the english channel into britain. up from just 17,000 the year before. for the british government, that's too many. and as part of a crackdown on illegal migration they are

providing france with additional funds and manpower. in the future, the british government plans to deport those who make it across directly back to france. the patrol we're accompanying know the operation through and through. we try to spot groups of migrants in the city. they will usually take the bus to the beach. the goal: tracking down the smugglers who organize the boats. a game of cat and mouse. they hide their equipment and come get it at night. the area is very big, there are hiding places everywhere. the officers doubt that the new, strict asylum rules across the channel will really deter refugees from traveling to britain. we're so close to britain that when the weather is good, you

feel like you could just jump over. when you've traveled thousands of kilometers and the goal is in sight, you just don't give up. not with just 30 kilometers to go. this camp houses hundreds of migrants, who have set up tents to wait for the right moment to cross. twenty-year-old mohamed is one of them. he tells us he left sudan three years ago with his half-brother, fleeing government persecution. on the way here, he says, the two were locked up in a libyan prison for six months. really that place was so dark. after we get out, they were walking with their guns, and they shoot. they were not looking for anybody, they were just shooting, shooting, shooting. maybe they hit you in the head, in your face, any place.

they are going to kill you. and most of our friends - they died there. mohamed's dream: to study medicine in britain and become a doctor. the coastal patrols won't stop him from braving the dangerous crossing. we do not have a choice. we are trying to get there, and we'll see what they are going to do for us. our friends there, they used to tell us that the situation there is that the british - they are going to care about the sudanese. if i have a dream, i am going to try to do it. many people feel the same way as mohamed, says francesca morassut. she works for an aid organization that also provides legal support to migrants. she believes that britain's increased pressure on the french police would only increase the suffering in calais.

last year's decision to deport illegal migrants from great britain to rwanda caused an enormous amount of distress for people. at least two refugees took their own lives on hearing the news. it's horrific. night has fallen, and the coast patrol is back at the station. no attempted crossings were intercepted this evening. they show us one of the boats they confiscated a few weeks ago. this was in a smuggler's car. this is the back end. that's huge. yeah. how many people would it take? fifty, i'm sure. twenty to carry the boat, twenty more to defend the group against us.

what do you say when the british criticize the french police? i say let them show us how it's done. they don't know what's happening here. they couldn't do it any better than us. even with more, it'd be difficult. that's because france's coast along the channel spans 120 kilometers. around calais alone, the patrol has to monitor 30. borders also play a crucial role on the island of ireland. it is divided between the republic of ireland, which belongs to the eu, and northern ireland, which is part of the uk. twenty-five years ago the good friday agreement ended decades of bloodshed between catholics and protestants in northern ireland. but even if the conflict is officially over, old divisions remain visible. traditionally, the catholic community has supported the idea of a single independent ireland, whereas protestants have supported being part of britain.

with brexit, these divisions have once again become more apparent. now a boxing club in belfast, the capital city of northern ireland, is working on bringing about peace. young boxers from all over belfast train in ledley hall, protestant and catholic alike. but it has not always been this way. most young people in this city grow up segregated by religion. they rarely even attend the same schools. trainer gary black has been boxing here for 25 years and is proud of his club. this is east belfast. you have kids from west belfast, you have kids from north belfast, they all come over. in here, them kids wouldn't bother each other. this is where they meet, and now they are friends. they would have never met each other just walking about the streets of belfast. the boys, too, know that peace on the streets of

belfast is fragile. “if you are passing certain areas that are catholic or protestant . if they know you are protestant, they might not like it. but most of the time, it's not like that. they're sort of calmed down on that, and they're more forgiving. ” just around the corner, protestant paramilitaries loyal to britain are hailed as heroes of past battles. they still hold sway, as do the catholic troops loyal to ireland. so-called “peace walls” divide the neighborhoods. bombay street in belfast is in a catholic area. most nights are quiet now, but since brexit, the locals feel more tension in the air. it's worse. that's caused even more divide between the two sides of the community. ” because we were in the european union, and there was no identity crisis, everybody could be what they wanted to be.

there was no borders, there was no walls, not as much animosity, people wanted to engage with each other. but once brexit came along, people re-lit old flames and hatreds and things. ” katy hayward, an expert on brexit and northern ireland, also sees brexit as a major problem for peace. it's very much getting to the heart of questions of sovereignty and identity. they're very divisive in northern ireland. and so we've got a difficulty there in trying to explain the nuances and details of these new arrangements and new challenges against the background of very simple and straightforward national identity priorities. brexit has also brought changes for businesses in northern ireland. lowden guitars produces hand-built acoustic guitars.

most are sold in the eu and britain. brexit came as a shock to george lowden, the company's founder. one of the first things that i said was: maybe we're going to have to move the workshops over into the south of ireland, into the eu, maybe we're going to have to do that. so far that hasn't been necessary, and i hope not. ” northern ireland is still part of the eu common market, so sending goods into the eu poses no problems. but since brexit, some of his more expensive guitars now require special papers to be shipped to the rest of britain. in the end we find out there have been a small number of restrictions between ourselves and the uk, directly as a result of brexit.

some northern irish protestants fear losing contact with the rest of britain because of brexit. in the catholic districts, on the other hand, many wish to unite with the irish republic. pat sheehan is a former member of the ira and spent more than 18 years in prison. he was freed after the good friday agreement and is now convinced that ireland can be united peacefully. "what i think brexit has done is accelerate the discussion and debate around a united ireland. because we have seen that the dynamo and the driving force behind brexit was english nationalism. that it's england that wanted brexit, but we're being taken out against our will. " in the boxing club, most just want to know that the tensions raised by brexit will not jeopardize their hard-won peace.

"you don't want to see any shootings, you don't want to see bombings. you want to see these kids having a good life. and hopefully with brexit getting sorted out they will. they will have the best of both worlds. peace in northern ireland cannot be taken for granted, and brexit has not made it easier. to be a teacher often means working in a job that is not well paid. so it's no wonder that europe currently faces a shortage of skilled teachers. switzerland has been looking for new ways to fill vacancies. many schools have hired people without full professional teaching qualifications, as well as people changing careers. this approach is helping to solve the problem to an extent. but many teachers' associations in the country view it critically. and -- it raises important questions about what you need to be a good teacher. school principal rolf possel commutes for an hour to his

school in wengen. many of his teachers are in the same situation. it's especially hard to find teachers in remote lauterbrunnental. our municipality has the only two schools in the canton of bern which are not accessible by road but only with public transit. over there, you can see mürren, which you can only reach by cable car. to reach wengen, you have to take the rack railway. wengen has had to be creative to deal with its teacher shortage. sylviane mathys is from the village but is not a qualified teacher. can you maybe work together? that might be a bit easier. now 56, sylviane studied tourism and worked in hotels. then, nine years ago, she took on a play group for small

children in the school. now she works as a multi-grade classroom teacher for children aged four to eight. for her it's a dream job. i feel very privileged. i've lived here for 30 years and i know all the families. i know the grandmothers - they're my age! i know the children and the grandchildren. the children see no difference between sylviane and her trained colleague. they're both really nice and they don't scold much. in principle, anyone can be a teacher in the canton of bern. not even a maturität - the swiss high school diploma is required. about 10 percent of the teachers in the canton do not have a teaching diploma. here in lauterbrunnental, it's more than half. the principal recruits teachers himself - without consulting the authorities.

we need people, not diplomas. we look for people we think are suitable, and we know the people here. we're all very close and we know who's a good fit. but it's still tough for the principal to find suitable candidates. robin von allmen was a lucky catch. he is 23 and has a bachelor's degree in biology, but he teaches much more. “i teach nature and technology, math, media and it, english; french until last week. i even taught a course called ethics, religion and society. the swiss teachers association is critical of the newcomers. teachers without diplomas are urgently needed - but they should still earn their diplomas, says the association's president. the signal sent by being able to work in schools without pedagogical training is that this profession

doesn't require training. many students of education will think: why do i need three, four, five years of training if i could do without it? most of the new teachers in the valley never obtain their teaching diploma. sylviane says she's too old for that. and robin wants to do a master's degree, research, and just teach on the side. while principal possel is proud of his new teachers, he also sees problems. “it's a daily struggle. of course the new teacher comes with little experience and has to learn. that really takes time and effort. it's important that people stay for a second, a third year. to achieve good quality. possel says many new teachers leave after a year.

but there is a glimmer of hope: enrolment at the teachers' colleges has roughly doubled in the last 15 years. the zürich university of teacher education is even opening a second campus. but that does not help in the short term. in remote lauterbrunnental, 3 positions have already been advertised for the next school year. no one has applied yet. canned fish are usually seen as cheap food. but in portugal, canned sardines are a delicacy to be savored. this small fish has become something of a national icon. and it's not just the taste but also the marketing that has created the hype. some stores in the capital lisbon have been pivotal in this success story. a century-old recipe. the contents might be the same, but on the outside, the canned sardine has been given a new life. tiago ferreira is reviving the fishy food.

that's the power of design. it works well psychologically. because the product in the can is unchanged - the quality is the same too. portugal is remarketing a classic product. this store is known as the "fantastic world of portuguese sardines" and inside there's nothing that remind us of a traditional fishmonger. people are drawn in by the colors, the music, and the movement inside. we want to create an experience for all the senses. to introduce people to the surprisingly diverse world of canned goods. the atmosphere is terrific and it's amazing how they present it. it just looks amazing it's like- you know it is probably an instagrammer's paradise just taking all the pictures of the tins. beyond the tin can, the humble sardine is doing its bit to promote opportunities in portugal. lisbon has adopted the newly rebooted pantry filler in its tourism campaign.

more and more young people are eating canned fish. it's a whole new market. and we're promoting that by implementing new concepts, creating a fresh image so that people buy the portuguese products. even if they're a bit more expensive than the imported ones. after eu accession and trade agreements with morocco, portugal's canning industry struggled; modern marketing might be its revival. for some, this is problematic, despite overfished sardine stocks recovering recently. the tourism industry can use the sardine as a symbol but shouldn't promote its consumption. it should promote other types of canned fish like the horse mackerel for example. once considered a poor man's food, the rebooted canned sardine is finding its way into gourmet eateries. thanks in no small part to clever marketing.

that's it for this week. thanks for watching, goodbye and take care.

from berlin. tonight, sudan's army extends a three-day cease-fire but that is not yet clear whether the latest truth will stop fighting with paramilitaries that caused thousands to flee and for civilians still trapped,, essential supplies are running opera and turkish president erdogan bounces back from illness as he faces a tough reelection campaign. in the agonizing wait for the