Focus on Europe | Video Podcast | Deutsche Welle

Smoking among teens and young people is a major problem in Austria. A current study shows that the country tops the OECD for young smokers. About 25 percent of Austrian teens under age 15 smoke at least once a week. The high smoking rate is exacerbated by the country’s inconsistent non-smoker protection legislation, which allows for numerous exceptions. However, one Austrian citizen has set out to change that by making sure that the laws that do exist are enforced properly...

Smoking among teens and young people is a major problem in Austria. A current study shows that the country tops the OECD for young smokers. About 25 percent of Austrian teens under age 15 smoke at least once a week. The high smoking rate is exacerbated by the country’s inconsistent non-smoker protection legislation, which allows for numerous exceptions. However, one Austrian citizen has set out to change that by making sure that the laws that do exist are enforced properly...

Britain has become a pioneer in what is called altruistic kidney donation - when a healthy person donates a kidney to a stranger. Altruistic kidney donations in Britain are organized through a program that matches anonymous donors with recipients. Many other countries, Germany included, restrict kidney donation to relatives and others who can demonstrate a close personal connection to the recipient...

They're demanding the independence of the Veneto region from the rest of Italy, and increasingly using violence: the radical separatists from the group known as "The Alliance." The Veneto is one of Italy's wealthiest regions. But since the economic crisis, many people there are angry that their money is being spent to help the poorer south of the country. That's grist to the mill for the separatists, who are becoming increasingly radical...

After the political and military upheaval over Crimea, the peninsula's cultural heritage is also at stake. The first bone of contention is an exhibition in the Netherlands. It's called the Golden Peninsula in the Black Sea. Viewed historically, Crimea is a fascinating place. For millennia, it was home to nomadic tribes such as the Scythians. They left behind valuable gold artefacts, which are currently on show in a large exhibition in Amsterdam...

After the political and military upheaval over Crimea, the peninsula's cultural heritage is also at stake. The first bone of contention is an exhibition in the Netherlands. It's called the Golden Peninsula in the Black Sea. Viewed historically, Crimea is a fascinating place. For millennia, it was home to nomadic tribes such as the Scythians. They left behind valuable gold artefacts, which are currently on show in a large exhibition in Amsterdam...

They're demanding the independence of the Veneto region from the rest of Italy, and increasingly using violence: the radical separatists from the group known as "The Alliance." The Veneto is one of Italy's wealthiest regions. But since the economic crisis, many people there are angry that their money is being spent to help the poorer south of the country. That's grist to the mill for the separatists, who are becoming increasingly radical...

They're demanding the independence of the Veneto region from the rest of Italy, and increasingly using violence: the radical separatists from the group known as "The Alliance." The Veneto is one of Italy's wealthiest regions. But since the economic crisis, many people there are angry that their money is being spent to help the poorer south of the country. That's grist to the mill for the separatists, who are becoming increasingly radical...

After the political and military upheaval over Crimea, the peninsula's cultural heritage is also at stake. The first bone of contention is an exhibition in the Netherlands. It's called the Golden Peninsula in the Black Sea. Viewed historically, Crimea is a fascinating place. For millennia, it was home to nomadic tribes such as the Scythians. They left behind valuable gold artefacts, which are currently on show in a large exhibition in Amsterdam...

The city of Narva, on the outer frontier of the European Union, is falling to bits. The decay has led more and more residents to consider rapprochement with Russia. More than ninety percent of Narva's residents are Russian. Since Estonia joined the EU in 2003, they've suffered more and more economically. A few years ago, a former tailoring collective went broke; ending any hope of affluence in what was once a working industrial town. Today Narva is dirt poor...