Focus on Europe | Video Podcast | Deutsche Welle

Bosnia generates two-thirds of its electricity from coal. Increasingly, residents around the largest power plant are being diagnosed with cancer, respiratory problems and diabetes. They see a connection.

Some 32,000 West African migrants have arrived on the Canary Islands this year, setting a new record. Their goal is mainland Europe, but the chances of getting asylum are slim. Spanish authorities are overwhelmed.

The high cost of energy in Kosovo means that more households are heating with firewood. As a result, illegal logging is on the rise. That's devastating to the forest ecosystem — and puts rangers at risk.

The Smederevo steelworks was once considered the "pride of Serbia." But since being acquired by China, one study is reporting a four-fold increase in cancer diagnoses around Serbia.

In Helsinki, Finland, a massive network of underground bunkers has been carved into the bedrock to shelter the population in an emergency. Some of the spaces are open to public use, with a pool, play areas, sports facilities and more.

The opposition coalition in Serbia says President Aleksandar Vucic has fueled a climate of hatred and violence in the country and eroded democracy. They're hoping the December parliamentary elections will bring change.

In northern Sweden, winter is dark, cold and lonely. That's why the city of Luleå, located 110 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, has launched the "Hej campaign" – an initiative meant to cheer up residents by combatting loneliness.

More than 100,000 people fled from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia after the enclave was attacked by Azerbaijan. They are now are trying to reorient themselves far from home.

Traditional belly dancers are finding it increasingly difficult to make a living in Turkey. Every year, the country grows more conservative and the rate of inflation is officially higher than 60 percent.

Welcome to Britain's first housing community for older women, where the youngest resident is just over 50 and the oldest is 94. Men are allowed to come — but just to visit.

Since Hamas terror attack on Israel, a Jewish refugee center in Hungary has been taking in families from southern Israel. It was initially set up in 2022 to house more than 600 Jews who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

The number of Poles learning German is declining. As a consequence, many German teachers have already lost their jobs. One out-of-work teacher tackled the problem with creativity: Marlena Uzieblo has been criss-crossing Poland, singing chansons by the legendary Marlene Dietrich.

Over a thousand refugees have gathered in the port of Calais. The situation is getting critical. They live in occupied buildings and emergency shelters. The local residents are protesting and calling on the government to take action. Refugees hoping to make it across the English Channel often get stuck in Calais on France's northern coast. The entire port area is surrounded by high fences to keep them from making a dash for ferries bound for Britain. Recently eighty refugees stormed the port in an attempt to stow away on board a ferry headed across the Channel.

Pregnant Albanian women have been aborting unborn baby girls. Albania's traditional family structures place a premium on male off-spring, and today's medical technology can tell parents the gender of an unborn baby well in advance.

Tens of thousands of Yazidis are fleeing Iraq due to attacks by 'Islamic State' militants. Many are heading for Turkey, to return to villages their ethno-religious community was once forced to leave and which, until recently, lay abandoned. .