hello and welcome to focus on europe. it's wonderful to have you with us. the weather in europe is becoming increasingly extreme. this summer, we witnessed heatwaves, droughts, and forest fires in some regions, while others endured heavy rains and floods. the balkan country of slovenia is grappling with the consequences of the worst natural disaster in decades. torrential rain has triggered severe floods and mudslides, causing multiple rivers to break their banks. thousands of people have been forced to evacuate from

their homes following the worst floods in the country's history. major roads and rail lines have been forced to close, and several villages have been completely cut off from the rest of the world. the slovenian prime minister has stated that two-thirds of the country is affected by flash floods. to prevent such disasters in the future, more dams will be needed, like the one in ljubljana. benedikt potonik resides in this beautiful hilly region, which is picturesque but also disaster-prone. homes swallowed up by rivers, crossings crushed by water. slovenian carpenter benedikt potonik doesn't know when or how he'll ever work again after flash floods hit 2 3 of his country. the water broke down this door and flooded the entire workshop. all of my carpentry machinery was inside and all of it

is destroyed now. we spent thirty years of our lives building this in two hours, it was all gone. days on, dirt, debris and sludge coat the cut-off town of rna na koroskem benedikt takes us inside his family home. there's no running water, no power. the flood water came all way up to here. it was everywhere. now we have the firefighters - they're doing a really amazing job. others are also pitching in. neighbours drain mud by the bucketload. while soldiers homes out of the rubble. it's horrifying how powerful nature can be.

we're happy we can do our duty. that's all that matters and all we can do. the force of nature is on full display here but far from the floodzone frontlines, the force of slovenian solidarity is on show too. an hour away in velenje, the red cross has been inundated with donations. working gloves, cleaning gloves, we managed to gather quite a lot and as well for tools. we got a lot of brooms and shovels, even though they're bought out at the stores, people drove from all over slovenia to drop them off here. and they keep coming: bearing food, bottled water, towels and other essentials. almost everybody's got somebody affected either in friends or family - we're a small country. every bit helps and i think we're going to get through this.

further south in ljubljana, hydraulic engineers are thinking about the bigger picture. their models accurately predicted where flooding would occur, but not the intensity. now climate change is shifting expectations. we cannot go ahead thinking it will not happen again. it will happen again from the probabilistic point of view, and we have to be ready for it. that means building more flood defences like this one in ljubljana. it was constructed after a deluge in 2010 and helped keep catastrophe out of the neighbourhood this time round. primoo banovec is confident more infrastructure will be put in place - the disaster has focused minds but he says some communities may have to relocate from the riskiest regions, for good. this is one of the really difficult components:

moving away. it's underestimated how much pain can that induce in the people which have to move away. reporter: but? they will have to move away. back in crna, residents are still reeling. slovenia's president has come to offer them messages of support the slovenian government is now doing everything it can with the help of nato and european union. i can assure you that no one is going to be left behind. no one is going to stay without a place to live and sleep. but it will take, on the data that i have currently, not months to rebuild but years to rebuild. benedikt says he can't bear to think about the future; one where floods may become more frequent. we'll manage somehow.

for now he'll keep on cleaning up seeking some hope among the mountains of mud. in spain, the temperatures have been so high that even spaniards are struggling to cope. however, this situation could also be turned into something advantageous. spain aims to harness solar energy, and in order to facilitate this, photovoltaic plants have already been installed in the most sunlit regions of the country. right on the doorsteps of the plant is ángel eterovich, who not only finds this situation irritating but is also concerned about potential changes to the landscape of andalusia in southern spain. that's a conflict that many people in this part of the country are having to face. ángel eterovich lives in one of spain's sunniest regions with his wife and horses. but he is concerned, because that same sun has attracted industry to tabernas, in andalusia.

a huge solar park has recently been built next to his estate, or finca. we moved out of the city into the countryside. and now they are building these solar arrays around us, real industrial zones, right next to our house. and more are planned. spain wants to produce green energy from its abundant sunshine. that's good for the climate, but threatens ángel's plans. he wants to start a riding therapy center here. it has to be a nice, pleasant place for people to spend the day. but if people don't want to come, we'll have to give up on our project. for others, the solar cells represent economic growth.

after tourism collapsed during the covid pandemic, mayor josé diaz is happy for every cent invested. many have lost their jobs in these hard times. now through these building projects, some have been able to get back into the job market. so olive groves are being clearcut to make way for solar plants. some farmers have seized the opportunity to lease or sell their land to the energy companies. nicolai hojdan has signed over some of his land because water is increasingly scarce and expensive. irrigation no longer pays off. nothing grows here without water. so we're trying to get at least something out of our land. more than 200 spanish citizens' initiatives are sounding

the alarm and fighting the solar fields. luis bolonio and others fear that spain will become europe's power supplier. at the people's expense. if huge solar fields are built here, with all their environmental and social impacts, it will mainly provide economic growth and jobs elsewhere, not here. that's not fair. spain is being colonized and exploited. there are other ways, like 50 kilometers away in almócita. the village has built a photovoltaic plant atop their small theater to produce their own electricity. mayor francisco garcía proudly explains the creation of an energy community, backed by an eu regional development fund.

everything we produce here stays in our community. we don't want to sell our energy to the big companies. we want affordable climate-friendly electricity for all our citizens. the plant currently powers 21 households, with businesses and restaurants expected to come on board. but luis bolonio says spain is focusing too much on large-scale projects. the state is giving solar cell companies free rein instead of ensuring that they build on derelict industrial sites. the same capacity can be achieved without destroying the environment. but there's no planning. solar arrays where trees once stood. horse lover ángel eterovich still cannot understand it.

we can't destroy the environment in the name of environmental protection. it makes no sense. for ángel, the rampant growth of the solar fields defeats its purpose. he hopes that future projects will be more environmentally friendly, such as in nearby almócita. so that green electricity is really green. since the cost-of-living crisis and inflation have hit great britain, the gap between the rich and the poor has become even more pronounced. while the affluent upper class enjoys their lives, millions can hardly afford the most basic necessities. guy singh-watson is a millionaire and is willing to voluntarily pay more taxes to aid those in need. however, accomplishing this is not as easy as it may seem.

nowhere else in western europe does the inequality between rich and poor gape as widely as it does in the united kingdom - as may be seen even in idyllic devon on the border to cornwall. guy singh-watson numbers among the upper ten thousand - a fact he does not appreciate at all. after a brief career as a corporate consultant in london and new york city, he now experiments with growing organic vegetables on his parents' farm. singh-watson went back to the land when he realized that money can't buy happiness. now, he's earning more than he ever dreamt of. with over a hundred employees, riverford organics is one of the united kingdom's biggest organic farms. over the past few years, he's signed 100 -percent ownership over to his workers at a relatively low price. now, he only stays on in the role of mentor.

i suppose i always wanted to use the business to shape the world, and i wanted to shape the world in a way that more like the one i wanted to live in, which is one that is not dominated by inequality and greed. the growing poverty all around angers him. the current government is doing nothing to help, as ever more people are overtaken by inflation and rising interest rates. he himself would be happy to pay far more in taxes to change that. in his office, he shows us an open letter he's written in collaboration with 40 other millionaires to british prime minister rishi sunak. they write: if the taxes on multi-millionaires were raised by only one percent, it would lead to an annually increased revenue equivalent to about 60 billion euros. patriotic millionaires uk invited rishi sunak to join us

in calling for a fairer tax system on the 19 th of may, strangely he declined. in fact, the prime minister and his party are staunchly opposed to more taxes in general and especially any kind of wealth tax. this was sunak's stance back when he was finance minister. mr. speaker, no i don't believe now is the time nor ever is the time for a wealth tax. now, is the time to recognize the challenge we face. but this position does not mean that the tories are only a party of the wealthy, as one of their lawmakers explains. well, money is mobile these days, so if we send the wrong signals, then money will flow out of this country, when actually, we want the money to be flowing into this country, investing in the real economy, not just into property but into businesses that create jobs. back on his farm, guy singh-watson sees conclusions like this as absolute rubbish: i mean, patently, that just is not true. i mean, just look at what's happened over the last ten years.

how can people keep saying that? the poor are getting poorer; the rich are getting richer. there is no trickle-down - there's a trickle up. you know, actually, all sorts of things i just cannot believe that we hear that argument again and again, you know, when there's just absolutely no factual basis to it. currently, well over two million britons depend on food banks to survive. this bank receives fruit and vegetable donations regularly from watson's farm. it's distributed over a million meals in the past eight months. and more and more, it's ordinary families who need help to be able to feed their children. the packages are distributed to people the city has identified as in need - such as leo and his partner mas. she lost her job after undergoing an operation. then, she had trouble feeding her four children. before they discovered the food bank, they often ate only

once a day. it's not just me, i have friends with children all in the same position. my brother's in the same position. he lost his job. and, he had a mortgage, as well, you know, now he has to sell his house. he's losing tens of thousands, so he's going to end up in a lot of debt. and it's still hard, you know, it's still hard because we still get the food. so, there is that moment where i feel, this month, i feel good because i don't have to ask anyone for food, but then i have to anyway. and it hurts, you know, like if: pride or whatever, i don't know, your dignity, you just feel like a great indignity and for now, he scrapes by and hopes nobody notices. maybe things will start looking up, he tells us. but people like guy singh-watson, who are better informed, don't have much hope that they will anytime soon. and the government continues to insist that everything's

coming up roses. in the long term, the very foundations of british democracy may be endangered. they are getting it seriously wrong to the extent that i really worry about the - the breaking of the social contract and the loss of people's investment in society, you know, which in the end results in violence and revolution, you know, which is not something that i don't think anyone wants to see. but i feel it coming closer. he sees no shortage of ideas for how to tackle these problems - but what good are they if the political will just isn't there. venice undoubtedly stands out as the most favored italian city among tourists. however, the area has become so crowded that people often have to squeeze through the narrow streets undeniably making life challenging for the local population. in fact, the old city center has very few residents left, and

those who still live there aren't pleased to see the city's charm being diminished. giovanni leone wants fewer tourists in his city and is actively advocating for it, but it is proving to be a very difficult task. ok, let's split up this way today: you do the molo di venezia, you do the giardinetti reali, and you do that section by ponte della paglia. would you kindly get up. you're not allowed to sit here. thank you. the municipal public order officers ask exhausted guests not to sit on the steps. please, stand up, thank you. generally, tourists take it in stride, but sometimes on hot days, they get annoyed. but tourists sitting around are the least of venice's problems.

over 7 million visitors squeeze their way through the 500 -hectare old town every year. and that's too many. so, giovanni leone has a plan to save the special charm of venice. he's a native venetian and part of a network of activists. and he takes a stop in front of a special display - it counts the number of hotel beds in venice: it's at nearly 50,000 - the same number of people still living in the old city - for now. we're demanding a limit on the number of tourist beds. and that limit has to be appropriate relative to the number of beds for locals. venice has always been a popular tourist destination. and venetians were ok with that as long as the sestieri - or districts - were alive and the economy diverse. but things changed a few years back: nowadays, apartments

are intended almost exclusively for tourists. a woman living across the street chimes in that she's the last venetian in her building. her neighbors moved to the mainland long ago, where the price per square meter is just half as much. venetians are struggling to maintain their community and shared way of life. what can be done? the city planned to introduce admission fees to keep visitors down, but the project was stopped. instead, they've intensified video surveillance so that public order officers can redirect dense crowds of tourists. finally, to keep people from moving away, the city is aiding local families with their rent. the tourism officer also told us about another project : we're considering having a reservable city. all touristic services would have to be reserved in advance.

we're in the process of building the necessary digital infrastructure. will venice end up a huge open-air museum requiring an admission ticket? giovanni believes tourists will keep pouring in even if individual squares have to be reserved in the future. and instead of swarming st. mark's square, they'll invade the few remaining quieter neighborhoods. now, we're living in a reservation. the city is getting even fuller. these measures aren't helping regulate tourism. first and foremost, we need to cut down on hotel beds. because it's a monument. back to the public order officers: the tourists seem to be happy to comply with requests to clear off paths and stairs. they seem to understand the problem: venice is just too beautiful for its own good.

dancing is a beautiful thing to do. you can dance to express happiness or love. you can dance fast or slow. you can dance alone or with friends, but can you dance while sitting? it's possible. belgian dancer iris mukeshimana has pioneered this unique dance form. her choreography revolves around breaking boundaries - quite literally. sweeping across the dancefloor with speed and style this dance is anything but routine. it's called cyclodance. one partner on foot, and one on wheels like long-time instructor iris mukeshimana. this is why i love cyclodance: it unites people. there's no longer a barrier between the person who's in a wheelchair and the person who isn't. i feel so good that for a few moments, cyclodance allows me to

forget my disability. here in louvain-la-neuve, belgium, iris is prepping her students for a special performance. they're carefully crafting the choreography, and perfecting the pacing. but for these dancers, the class is about much more than learning moves. there's the music, the friendship, and the exchange: i can't dance without my partner and she can't dance without me. it's like i'm a bird flying. the chair makes me fly. these days, iris is a busy working mother. but as a child in rwanda, she contracted polio and was left unable to walk. then, war broke out and descended into genocide. many of her family members died. iris survived, thanks to a narrow escape.

when her children's hospital evacuated by belgian peacekeepers. the hospital staff told us to hide under the covers and not move. it was justwe were so scared. we heard people saying: they're escaping, they're escaping! . they were planning to come and kill us. she then grew up with a belgian host family i was completely lost when i first arrived in belgium, i didn't even know how to say hello, nothing -- not one single word of french. though iris won't forget the dark chapters of her past, she's determined to keep moving forward. that's why she founded her own dance school twelve years ago here in belgium -- to bring change in other people's lives

and, she says, because the show must go on. at the local community centre, audience members are arriving for the performance. it's in aid of a local charity and iris's partner is helping organizers set up. not for the first time, he's feeling proud of iris. it's within her. there's something about her that brings people toward her, that brings people together. backstage, performers are gearing up in the green room. and iris is putting the finishing touches on her costume. but her mission here is only just beginning. i want to break barriers and show that whether or not you have a disability, you can flourish and enjoy dance! iris hopes by taking centre-stage, she'll help others spread their wings. that's it for this edition of focus on europe.

we'll be back next week. until then goodbye and take care.

brent: this is dw news from berlin. from one extreme to the next in greece, first wildfires now devastating floods. people say as if they have changed claimant zones. the military is deployed with more rain in the forecast. daring it defy. in syria a peaceful protest gathering momentum as thousands call for the end of the assad regime. a vogtry for abortion r