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Total Episode Runtime (hh:mm:ss): 00:26:24

File Size of Episode Video: 785,272,262 Bytes

Episode Description:

European Journal is now available on PegMedia.org in both English and Spanish! Each week will have two files, one in English labelled "European Journal" and one in Spanish labelled "Europa Semanal" in the title.

For a full description of this week's episode in Spanish, go to: www.dw.de/europasemanal and click on "emision".

Coming up this week on European Journal - the news magazine from Brussels ---

Spain: Cannabis instead of Olives
A village in north-eastern Spain wants to defy the economic crisis by cultivating cannabis. The project is the subject of heated debate in the community. The mayor hopes to create new jobs for the 900 residents of Rasquera in Tarragona province and reduce the public debt. The villagers would lease their fields to an initiative from Barcelona that wants to plant the drug. The cannabis would be only for private use, as dealing is strictly forbidden in Spain. Many towns in Spain are now looking into farming, even though most of them are investing in less controversial crops. Many are looking for alternatives to office jobs endangered by the crisis.

Hungary: The Rapper
In his aggressive lyrics, the rapper "Dopeman" expresses the frustrations of many young Hungarians. Now right-wing extremists are trying to use state prosecutors to silence him. An internet portal calls on its readers to report the gangsta rapper to the police, claiming his songs defame the Hungarian nation. And, in fact, state prosecutors are investigating him. The rapper's popularity hasn't suffered in the least. His video clips have had hundreds of thousands of hits on YouTube. On Hungary's national day, opponents of the regime even chose him as "alternative president." On the other hand, at the same time, tens of thousands of supporters turned out to cheer the hard-core conservative prime minister, Viktor Orban, who is still firmly entrenched in power.

Turkey: Syriac Orthodox Christians under Pressure
It's one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world: the Syriac Orthodox Mor Gabriel Monastery in south-eastern Turkey. But the order lives in conflict with the surrounding Kurdish villages. Several lawsuits have been brought accusing the monastery of having illegally appropriated the land surrounding it. And the national forest authority is one of the plaintiffs. The monastery's abbot considers this to be a sign of religious discrimination. In the past few years, members of the Syriac Orthodox church have been returning in increasing numbers to make a fresh start in their homes around the holy mountain Tur Abdin. More than 300,000 Christians left the country in previous decades to escape persecution and oppression.

Britain: Saving Dartmoor Zoological Park
Benjamin Mee worked as a journalist for years, until one day he chanced upon a brochure announcing the sale of a small zoo in Devon. That awakened his entrepreneurial spirit. Along with other members of his family, he bought the rundown zoo, including its neglected animals. Putting it back into working order was a mammoth task. Mee had to negotiate loans and subsidies. More than once he came close to giving up. His book, "We Bought a Zoo" became an international best-seller. It's now been made into a Hollywood movie, wíth the zoo relocated to the US.

For more on the program and a Flash preview - visit the European Journal website at www.dw.de/europeanjournal

Please note that a one time Deutsche Welle license agreement is required to broadcast Deutsche Welle programs. See the series' general description for details or email us at dwusa@mac.com. Please include your organization's legal name and address so we can include it in an agreement.

File Name of Episode: 0069 EuropeSemanal 04302012.mpg

Date Episode Uploaded: Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 20:56

Downloads of This Episode: 7