Ula Idzikowska

ÚSTI NAD LABEM / LANDAU - The 'lithium fever' has devastated the landscape in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, among others. Europe is trying to mine its own lithium deposits in an environmentally friendly way: using geothermal energy. Germany is already experimenting with it in the Upper Rhine Valley. 

JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH - The war in Gaza has been going on for more than a year. Ethnic cleansing is taking place not only there, but also in the West Bank. It did not start after October 7, but has been going on for decades, stresses Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, among others. 

BEIRUT - More and more Lebanese are leaving - they see no future in the country that is virtually bankrupt. The situation has deteriorated further: the Lebanese lira continues to depreciate; access to electricity and water is increasingly limited. Soon, even telephone and internet services may fall if the government does not provide the state-owned company with diesel for its generators.

JOKKMOKK - Sweden is trying at all costs to switch to renewable energy by 2040. But this is coming up against fierce protests from environmentalists and members of the local Sami reindeer communities who oppose the colonisation of Sapmi - the land of the Sami.

SAMOS - The harrowing conditions in the hotspots of the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios have created a mental health crisis. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self-harm are the most common mental health problems reported by NGOs in the field.