promise to his son to leave the job return to the concrete and glass jungle of new york. is not the most cultured. song from the forest starts people first w. the sad. news. alone a very warm welcome indeed to focus on europe with me peter craven and we begin in turkey well local elections on march the thirty first could bring major setbacks for president redknapp tired too on this after sixteen years of electoral success for his sake a party all driven by sustained economic growth but turkey is no efficiently in

recession president added one had been hoping to turn prestige projects like istanbul's new mega airport all the city's giant new mosque into votes but that doesn't appear to be working the boom has turned to bust this specially in the construction industry where many have already lost their jobs well the country's woes are also mirrored in the real estate sector and one of the most bizarre examples of where the problems in turkey live these days is the boards are brass resort project that lies just a couple of hours drive east of istanbul. who wouldn't want to own a castle and here there are plenty to choose from over seven hundred in total it's a place straight out of a fairy tale. but it's turned into a nightmare for developer maser yeah to lend because no one wants to live here. he dreamed up the idea of building these chateau style villas some two hundred

kilometers east of the turkish capital istanbul. well having willing we're here in the turret that every village has for your own who's going to enjoy the view of the natural landscape. they also have a nice overview of the state and other villas. so. we have our arab friends in mind as buyers and we've seen how they've been keen do invest money in our country in recent years there's been the. logos on the missile. but here dylan's dreams haven't come true because the arabs have stayed away two hundred million u.s. dollars had been sunk into the project before the developer filed for bankruptcy last year it's just one of many real estate projects that have gone bust in turkey . but yet isn't giving up he's counting on help from above for the kids of

minutes of the turkish president richard tie up after one is assured us that after the local elections on march thirty first or by next year at the latest the economy will recover and the real estate sector in particular will experience an upswing. it was the high note we believe it that was on notice. but others have little faith that turkey's housing market will recover on the contrary the building boom which had been fueled by low interest rates and cheap credit has come to an end. experts say developers lost all sense of proportion and built far more homes than needed now in times of high inflation and a weak turkish lira the industry is suffering. from human capital six in order compared to the previous year new home sales have collapsed but at a number of mortgages issued has fallen by close to eighty percent. that's led to

massive layoffs in the construction industry. you showed one in every six people there is lost his job. as some term million people are employed in the sector you can imagine the seriousness of the situation were triggered. the borscht bombast housing development was also supposed to create lots of jobs. but in neighboring new durham new people had long view the chateau project skeptically the town is known for its traditional timber houses not concrete chateaus local historian. lives in a two hundred year old timber house that he has lovingly restored. he's proud of artists and all traditions little to do. in this house not even the nails come from a factory you're blacksmith made them with a hammer and. so it angers him that a disneyland style housing development for foreigners has been built just

a few kilometers away the people of new dawn new view it as a threat to their centuries old traditions and values. there is still a sense of community here. we hope and support one another. how can we pass on our traditions and values to the next generation when thousands of people only connection to this place is a real estate investment settle here. it's likely no one will ever move in here. look set to become a ghost town to keep that from happening mr yellin is selling these shuttles for just three hundred fifty thousand euros a piece he still hopes to attract buyers who want to feel like the king of the castle. so it's only now where abortion has been legal for forty years

but gynecologists like elisabetta county tanno are becoming increasingly reluctance to carry out the procedure for fear of facing reprisals activists have though taken to the streets to protest against what they see as a shift to the far right in italy led by the league party of the controversial interior minister matteo salvini who they say wants to turn back the clock on women's rights. the italian city of verona is the scene of romeo and juliet who for some time now it's also been known as a pro-life city conservatives and catholics who oppose abortion campaign for the name. alberto's algo is one of them. he's also a member of matteo's our beanies northern league last years ago filed a motion with the city council that among other things demand pregnant women be persuaded to have their children he wants to prevent abortion at any cost he's even offered to pay them a monthly income of one hundred sixty euros for eighteen months. calls that

anonymous adoption. you think will lead to the current abortion law is deeply and just because it considers state alleged rights of the woman but not the right of the child but which already exist what she has heart is beating after the first week when we see images of aborted foetuses asahi internet we see the tiny mangled feet down smashed heads. jacqueline let's hear it in a villa and francesca milan disagree both activists are horrified at what the city council is doing they say it's a step back to the middle ages. because the rona has become a little laboratory for right wing policies for those who are governing italy at the moment. it was the body to get us to make these policies with respect to women's reproductive rights and the rights of elegy p.t.i. communities has proven to be discriminatory and violent as can you know if you

don't store really funny to the places which at that point yet even on the coast the song spurting a kind of vision of the sanctity of the female body which must follow its natural destiny meaning a mother who had child care and house. when the motion was filed with the city council thousands of pro-choice activists took to the streets they say they wanted to continue to decide what to do should they become pregnant. for forty years abortion has been legal in italy in the first ninety days of pregnancy after a required counseling session and a week's time for consideration. the activists are fighting to keep. but that way. but the city council approved the motion of the far right northern leak making things even worse for women. there in the us it was a chain reaction after the city council voting for owner of the ferrara milan and

rome copied the motion word for word they want to be crowed live cities as well as if they would be a city that was pro death support this is that a much tougher one of the market. it's seven am at a hospital in rome five hundred kilometers to the south the hospital is one of the two in the italian capital where pregnancies are terminated were filming with a hidden camera women have been waiting here since four am to ensure that they are treated many speak of a marathon and endless run around to get an appointment. some women often travel hundreds of kilometers to find a gun ecologists that does terminations. and is a better county tonneau has been dealing with this for decades she performs terminations one of the few doctors who does and is openly pro-choice an increasing number of physicians seven and ten on average nationally are citing reason of conscience if used to carry out abortions that are allowed by law in addition

doctors like elisabetta are defamed. but they're. called to see that but they behave as though doctors who refuse to perform abortions are dedicated to noble medical causes here while those who do terminations are engaged in dirty work you know. once i told a colleague that i do abortions and she told me you're just like herod murdering children an abortionist is by no means a proper doctor. and is a better volunteers as well and organized as many events despite the political headwinds she says women should be better informed of the. rights and where they can get help. eat eat this all known many more women have died eighteen because someone refused to do a life saving terminations. that hundreds of years but it's us who have to defend ourselves and that. many women want to maintain their right to legal abortion and

will continue to fight the surge of conservative policy in their country. now or disturbingly large number of people in poland who believe their country could be invaded or practically any time by migrants islamist terrorists or russia and more and more young poles people like caspar krakowski are joining paramilitary groups to train up and get ready to defend what they call the fatherland so let's go to vigna tsa a small town in central poland to meet this grimly determined young man. in the small polish town of it did so is home to an eighteen year old high school student kasper krakowski it's early but he's already half cuts but is the commander of a paramilitary units in the town he's training young fighters there are forty of

them invade meets all of them have pledged to defend their fatherland the midst of them there is a call and i feel proud when i put on a uniform standards that all of us that i feel pride and reverence that i'm certain it will do with us and. when i put on this uniform i am my true self for the mood of the day it was. in the morning his unit holds tactical drills at the cultural center in. the town's mayor made it possible the youngest of the so-called fighters here eleven years old they're known as eagles. we also train with live ammunition there's a shooting range a few kilometers from here that if you show them we practice firing a k forty seven's glocks mawson's beryllium assault rifles but a range of firearms that's fine but. why is it so important to practice with live ammunition.

when war comes to put it drastically i can't kill anyone if i'm firing up blanks can't you can't defend my home my father my mother my grandmother. i need to know how to hold a gun that weighs or fumes kilos and how to fire a. beaches or business so if. you say to alice light they're holding a memorial ceremony. it's to honor the soldiers killed in world war two. it's an important event that's reported on state t.v. complete with old possum ballads and weapons on display for the kids. and with old heroes veterans who wants force against poland's enemies. is that what this is about love for the fatherland for poland for our borders for

our nation there is a little bit more for the old soldiers and youngsters in the fight to make everything better for society the street dogs the beach the paramilitary troops say they have the successes of the fight has evolved because they thought the land of poland is under threat and needs heroes like that now more than ever. you have to defend the borders we can't cross your border with weapons and say it's now ours that's your side you have a right to your problem we have a right to our. germans just like we have poles should defend what's there. because nobody but their god but broke off but whom do they want to defend poland's but what is. the situation with the refugees right now. they negate christian society and protestants to. be refugees

oppose everything that goes against muslims. that the any of the reasons we have for killing isn't nice but rather some kill defenseless people like the muslims from high house or al-qaeda easier it's the order of the what if you kill civilians and innocent people of that there is a be able to leave you know definitively. so that you don't then don't have no job don't read oh yeah yeah so you know that. you know. others here and it's worth noting that as poland becomes in many ways a more or fora tarion society there are also reports of opposition groups and n.g.o.s standing up and fighting for their rights this as the country heads for a parliamentary election this autumn now portugal has some of the biggest surfing waves in the world of the country's economy is currently itself riding

a wave with growth at its highest level for nearly two decades this after the country's socialist government rejected many of the anti austerity policies that have caused so much hardship in numerous other european countries not least of course in greece well ahead of a parliamentary election later this year focus on europe is being supported goes surfing count people now sorry to see whether their country can stay on top of the way. you love monster waves along the coast of the portuguese town of nazare it's likely you'll spot a few. as are a ninety minute car journey north of lisbon is a surfers paradise all year round. and down in a town park local residents are celebrating. the stuff the spirits are up in portugal raise mayor walter charles says that since his socialist party took

control in portugal many things have improved he says that despite the economic crisis people have been spared the hardship of other european nations. the science is jewish and it's completely different to greece for example our government proved that there is an alternative to the austerity measures dictated by the international monetary fund and to privatizations to the fish if you please it's a subtle. portugal's economy is on the mend and more people are finding work like carla costa a food engineer by training. for many years she considered leaving the country but didn't because she didn't want to uproot her daughters for much use only experience i've thought long and hard about this and it cost some tears you only know it was the right decision afterwards because the economic situation can change any time i don't know it but so far i don't regret saying that we should look after

a lot of searching carla now has a good job as a production engineer in a dried fruit factory and her boss has big plans he wants to export the region signature dried apples and pears across all of europe. so far business is good with portuguese labor costs being low. but small and medium sized companies want the government to do more like cut red tape to foster entrepreneurs. ship. the one that pushed you and the government knows the truth be doing more to head to industrial and agricultural sector is that what this is not magically people are realizing that to contest rely on tourism and real estate. you. know. there are a number of high end call for resorts south of us are a. discourse was designed by a famous golfer. the club's owners built

a hotel to start with and now they're building one hundred twenty eight small villages they hope it all attract french german and scandinavian investors. who have. our european friends our main customers. they've only just started discovering portugal so what and so i think this will be a promising market for many years to come. because. while tourism and real estate are the main pillars of the portuguese economy some ask whether ordinary people will benefit from all of this. unionist say the locals employed in these sectors complain about low wages and poor working conditions because. they sent. my sons i'm a just over six hundred euro plus food money. and that's not much if you think

about how much money the tourist spent here i don't think so i think the bosses could definitely pay is more. good will mission when you look at the situation there it's light and shadow we're really unhappy with labor laws and to situation of workers sums we think the government should tools much more to improve this season so. that was the mayor of nazareth walter charles wright knows this all too well. so that's why there are mixed feelings about the socialist government which has been in power for more than three years now. portugal like most of europe has not shifted to the right. in nor are socialist government is hugely impressed of the european socialists it's proved that a different kind of politics is possible expire at the. no nevertheless. the head of the elections in october the socialist need to be like a good surfer and keep writing the waves as long as possible.

so here's a question for you which country in the world has the most current love well you might be surprised to discover that the answer is russia but one big concern for animal welfare activists like on a photo is that most people don't have their feline friends sterilized and that means that the number of counts being turned out onto the street is the rice. she feeds moscow st cats year every day to help get them through the winter. there are cats everywhere here activists estimate that over one hundred thousand of them live on moscow streets and seek shelter from the cold in the city's basements cat lovers lowered their food into the cellars so it doesn't freeze in the bowls and when access to the basements is closed off these animal rights activists take

up their crowbars and we would've said. yeah we're fighting because we don't want the cats to die while we are filling out forms or making calls only the cat is outside and it's very cold minus twenty twenty five degrees celsius and they can freeze to death within ten or twelve hours. five years ago ana feldman founded the organization cat rescue almost every day now she gets a cat emergency call and the rescuers jump into action thanks to their commitment to moscow's kitties the deputy mayor of the city has even issued a cat directive that order a small cellar windows like to remain open so that the animals can climb in if the vents are closed activists like feel justified in breaking them open. you do subconsciously have the feeling that you're damaging someone's property that . sometimes you think you might be doing something wrong just as you put on them

but everyone wants to create a comfortable world for themselves and for me that comfort comes from cats and people who love cats if you want to create that sort of world you have to be willing to protect. the shares. feldman does just that she's been caring for street cats since she was a child she's even taken two of them into her small apartment along with a stray dog and she's turned her passion into a profession. you know it's just the it's such a miracle that a predator essentially a miniature a lion or tiger my lives alongside people. on the feldman soft spot for cats fits in with the spirit of the times in russia she's even started a cat school now with funding from the city locals can learn about their feline friends here how to keep them as pets and how to help strays organizes the school with who is in the owner of moscow's first cat cafe here people can get to know

stray cats and if possible even give them a new home. surveys show nearly sixty percent of people have at least one cat it home more than in any other country worldwide still russia only just passed its first law on animal rights last year. where our goal is for animal rights to no longer be something that just a few crazy old grandmas and grandpas care about along with us of course but it becomes a natural part of everyday life. but not everyone in moscow wants the animals around especially in their basements it's probably not so good that they live here they could have some sort of infectious diseases but it's not the phone that people abandon them no. more cats but they are unsanitary of course that much is clear they shouldn't be living in their basements they should either be in people's homes or an animal shelters may have fleas. and i felt man is fighting for

a new construction law that would protect cats across russia and not just in moscow and she has backing for her plan. they've noticed the cats on the highest level in the city administration and even in the russian ministry of construction and they've recognized that opening these basement vents is the only solution to the problem the issue has gotten through that far that means that there were. the cat's at the highest levels. but until the feline frenzy laws open people's minds and their basements and her helpers are determined to keep prying their way through moscow. well it's me you know i'm buying buy from this edition of focus on europe thanks so much for joining us and if you'd like to see any of our reports again just go to our home page on details and you don't call me old friends with our facebook page people from stories who come back next week

until the truth thank you thank you. thank you thank. you thank you thank you our thanks. to a. good luck. with.

the be independent and sovereign guardians of freedom and democracy the baltic republics still not much play to a nation of simulant nearly thirty years ago obscene years ago they joined the bulk of they develop some sad the baltic past europe's model citizens. in fifty. w. . what we were. now eighty percent of americans at

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all we can be the generation that ends it for good malaria must start so millions can live. the ice on the right three two one the nose the left two hundred seventy eight's was britain's parliament has ruled out of leaving the european union without first negotiating an exit deal m.p.'s rejected a no deal grex it under all circumstances by a forty three you vote margin they now plan to vote on thursday on whether to ask the e.u. to delay britain's planned departure on march twenty ninth.