ready 2019. 29. hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm lara loa it's nice to have you with us 1st some it's an art form rooted in tradition to others it's a torturous blood sport bullfighting has divided opinion in spain and each summer the debate gets heated well away from the big arenas and famous matadors are the so-called best around to festivals where small calves are killed by young bull

fighters the animals present no real threats but they are nevertheless killed for spectacle well bullfighting is banned in most countries and animal activists in spain want to be outlawed there too they see killing defenseless animals as barbarism but there are those who have a different view some see it as part of the country's cultural heritage and argue it should be protected well our reporter went to san rafael where the conflict is playing out. these one year old bull calves will soon be the main attraction in a blood thirsty spectacle. it's to be held in san rafael serena 50 kilometers northwest of madrid. but just before the bull fight begins the mood on the streets turns ugly for the 1st time the bulls won't be killed in the arena. i think the bulls should have to

die this time to put a little bit of knowledge that it's no fun this way they've always been killed they would fight their blood injuries report letters come into play on everything that. the dispute flared up a year ago animal protection activists took videos of the best out of the bull fight with calves. the young men traditionally celebrate their coming of age by fighting a bullet a bull calf under 2 years of age. activist sylvia back arrow says the custom is inhumane a bull calf fight to the death is a long an agonizing. one for us as the becker ratable fights are especially cruel because books whose homes are still small get tormented to death by the villagers often young inexperienced people who turn the fight into an absolute bloodbath an hour that i don't know then they got me thea the activists filed a lawsuit and the community had to pay a fine now they're confronting the mayor and demanding that he cancel the best of

other completely cameras are not allowed at the discussion and the mayor refuses a request for an interview. they eventually arrive at a decision the both fire will go ahead but this time the bullets won't be killed in the arena. most of the villagers see this as a defeat they regard it as a threat to their tradition. many of them are so outraged that they even start to threaten the camera crew. i don't know how to. delete that video ross mashaal camera i am not that it is not. the showdown is between animal rights and tradition spain is divided on the issue in some areas both fighting has lost its popularity and it's even been banned antonio nautica covers both fighting for spain's leading newspaper he says only people who live the

centuries old tradition can understand it in the bull's eyes of the local you coffee on your all fighting has very deep roots in the villages of certain regions in spain or if there were brighter than that and it's rooted in the people other regions though find it hard to relate to it because it was never a tradition there not that often a will for the no bid will be met by. the bull isn't just spain's national symbol it's also an economic factor over a 1000 breeders specialized in wild cattle especially for both fighting. quite a gomez works on a ranch near so go via many of the bulls he sells of all ages are for village festivals the breeders could hardly get by on just breeding bulls for the professional bull fights. thing with the vehicle your mind never learned to do anything else i guess and i grew up in the country you have to feel it to live it from the birth of the car to the fixing of the air tank. the boat fights vanish from the festivals i'll go bust as will many of my fellow breeders and their

operations with them. down there on the. back of the arena of san rafael the lances have been blunted and no blood has been spilled this time even so the bull calves repeatedly collapse from terror and exhaustion. this is just one reason sadly about gatto and her animal protection group want to vent like this band outright she has fellow activists observe the fight in secret it would be too dangerous for her to try that herself which i. am and i've even had death threats with if we show our faces in the villages people get aggressive and start abusing us actually if they are so proud of what they're doing we ought to be able to openly show our faces in the arena. instead they threaten us and chases away. but those fighting fans also feel threatened they're afraid the activists

will succeed in having a centuries old tradition banned they react to the activists like a bull would to a red rag. she up in a it's sad it's no longer how used to be everything's different both. sides will disappear or not this year but sir i don't think we'll have them any more we'll get over here by the holy grail getting. hundreds of bullet fighters still held all over spain every year sometimes the calves survive in san rafael a calf lives the arena exhausted but a life for the 1st time. but it won't be for long it's taken straight to the slaughterhouse. the heat wave in europe this summer has broken records and scientists say the temperatures will only become war intense as water levels rise in many places global warming is threatening to return the land to the sea the crumbling coastlines of britain have been called

a ticking time bomb in the welsh village of fairborn authorities are considering giving up defending the community against the climate crisis they plan to completely dismantle the village leaving its residents like mike russell homeless and without any financial compensation. mike russell has the sea right at his doorstep he's a dedicated angler who's lived on the coast of wales for over 40 years right now the irish feeds bright and sunny but the people here have seen their share of storm surges. mike's house stands right behind this dike it's held firm against wind and tide so far it's hard to realize that. with rising sea levels all this could be gone. they say in these little as 50 years it's hard to believe. they have been is

a seaside village of about a 1000 people and say the experts doomed by climate change several 1000000 pounds have gone to build dams and dikes to protect the houses from the sea. but now the welsh operatives are throwing in the towel i'm calling on the villagers to find new homes. when measuring the sea levels in the area across north wales coast i'm way off finding evidence that sea levels are rising that reality and so before i make trust for happens before anything big happens we really really need to be making sure that people are aware of those risks and that we're talking to them in . in the solutions. but what solutions can there possibly be mike in this point to see their lives and their home at stake and lots of money. quite amazing how the situation is already it's not a simple for them as it is for pensioners to buy a new house elsewhere recently learned they feel the state has left them holding

the bag future the fact is that they have no answers for us they can't tell us where to go to move us they can't tell us when they're going to move us there's no financial support no compensation tool and the sting in the title to the us is if they insist that everybody moves out. they would expect like a light pay for the demolishment of his house. council chairman stuart eads who runs a camping ground in fairborn said it's also gay mongering like many in the community he doesn't trust the data. what's all public about you know the there's other villages beside us that are in the same mess but we are the one the experiment is being followed so we're the 1st one to see how help people react to everything it's true that pheromone won't be the only town to faith imminent

danger in coming years over 30 communities in wales alone are dealing with the roads and flooding from rising seas. and infrastructure such as rail and power lines and roads are also what risk the problem is a massive financial time bomb for britain's coast climate experts say. they can't leave it to local authorities because we've had 10 years of austerity austerity like orthorexic crippled already in delivering services that budgets are being slashed what this is a huge huge issue that's affecting our whole country and it cannot be left to the individual authorities that are already struggling to eat. i deliver the solution for next week biggest nations a lot. of the residents a fair bone complain that everyone's simply passing the park. mike and angela say the prospect of a forced evacuation is always hanging over their heads they're hoping to stay in

their current house as long as they possibly can. meanwhile the historic steam train keeps carrying tourists through the village the tracks run right behind the dike which in future will no longer be reinforced or expanded. which effectively seals fairborn speight. this is what your look like 30 years ago 2 military alliances fighting for influence as the iron curtain divided the continent well that all changed when people in the eastern bloc rebelled including the former czechoslovakia well today the czech republic is

a shining example of the successful transition from socialism to capitalism the economy is thriving and it has the lowest unemployment rate in the e.u. so why are so many checks unhappy our reporter visited the country to look behind the picture perfect facade. prague in all its glory every day hordes of tourists flock to the czech capital snapping endless selfies and throng the child's bridge and the city's medieval squares and lanes with its stunning historical architecture and landscapes world famous beers and hearty traditional food the czech republic to be a central european star but many checks a deeply dissatisfied but why. to find out more we meet a one time ally of the country's 1st post communist president that's love harvell carroll shot some bag when czechoslovakia's communist government was overthrown by

the velvet revolution in 1990 harvell was under house arrest and charge some in exile neither were career politicians so you were amateurs of course i was an amateur at everything in life because nobody teaches you how to lead a revolution. i must admit that course the course everything. between 990 and 992 shot some bird served as the director of president hobbles chancellery later he became the czech foreign minister he comes from a wealthy family that owns land all over europe yet he says that today too much of the czech republic is in foreign hands. the bug the banks financial institutions and large parts of our industry are no longer in the hands of czech companies the they're owned by german dutch french korean and japanese ones instead . he says he understands why many czech people complain about no wages

and a large share of the earnings go to the parent companies abroad when people are angry about that oh. here. we head to the countryside to find out more in the 17th century friedland castle was the seat of the imperial generalists from valentine and later inspired france kafka's novel the castle its brewery is 700 years old today it's run by margaret barbara. that works extremely hard and the brewery is doing very well so well in fact that he's desperately looking for star. valve for delivers his beer to loyal customers throughout bohemia while these villages look picturesque many locals feel left behind and support the right wing populists today that there is delivering beer to the town of high nitsa a catholic pilgrimage site local priest powerful and isn't bad for often find their

compatriots behavior hard to fathom not long ago for example and has hosted 50 novice benteke and priests from various ethnic backgrounds in the town but when they went to watch a football match they were mistaken for refugees. an old man got upset and started to insult the students shouting at them to go back home he said that is the novices had never experienced anything like that on their european trip. just. used to foreigners in the czech republic but things are different here in this wooden land where there aren't many of them this can lead to misunderstandings. some locals couldn't tell the difference between the vatican novice. priests and the flood of migrants that they had been hearing about on television openings that if there were ever a good father is unhappy with the check status quo as well 3 years ago he signed up to a new radical political movement. there also said a lot of people if i joined the action of dissatisfied citizens back then we were

hoping for a fresh start without the baggage of the past but with backing from the entire political spectrum here. in the end nothing has changed in an ironic parallel to the events of late 1989 hundreds of thousands of people are back on the streets again accusing the current leadership of corruption and abuse of power they say prime minister who was also the leader of our no has embezzled millions of euros of e.u. funds and obstructed any investigation into the allegations that's why many checks are harking back to that sub harvell the former dissident turned president who was well known for his integrity and honesty. 2 days regime is kleptocratic instead of authoritarian which is also very disheartening but fear was but as is right for the didn't know either on his bottle of hobbles ideals it in or those that

sparked in 1909. it now seems the country may be facing get another political upheaval perhaps then the czechs will be happier as they strolled across the charles bridge. well greece is another country struggling to find its footing after its decade long financial crisis and austerity measures the new government has promised stability and a break from the past but the challenges they face are plain to see in cities like feeley near athens but there is a light at the end of the tunnel people on the island of team lows in the a.g.m. have found a way out of the crisis so how did they go from austerity to prosperity by investing in themselves. there is no bigger cliche in greece but something is different on the island.

these goats belong to a cooperative with a vision for the future which spiros even came all the way from albania for. i'm thankful for this gold project as a member of the corporate it feels like it's my own business and. suddenly you know . this is precisely their goal. everyone takes on responsibilities this way they believe life until us can be worth living again this includes maria comma the mayor she helps out wherever she's needed the latest project is a cheese factory it was donated by the swiss municipality of mine and it's run by volunteers. the demand is huge the idea was developed when the u.n. refugee agency inquired about the possibility of sending refugees to tell us. the

mayor had just one condition that they could work. more now joining the some of the program which brings refugees to tell us will be starting up again and we hope that some of them will be interested in working at the cheese factory nothing of them going to. the small island of t. los in the aegean sea was once greece's most indebted municipality all that could left then 20 years ago it bought a large ship which connected it to the rest of greece even though they were deeper in debt than ever now they're starting to see the benefits. when maria cama took over as mayor 7 years ago she simply continued what her predecessors had initiated. scene of the day i gather again on this island didn't get into debt by building conference centers. a few notches town halls and organizing a festival gaff. of the it did it to develop its economy. statistics

show that our island has grown since the last census in the 1990s. and i mean diana. meanwhile over and feeling a small town just outside of athens things look grim the town has a population of 46000 and owns its own t.v. channel with about 140 staff. as well as the municipal garbage dump which brings in $38000000.00 euros a year. but feeling is deep in debt which may or christos populace says it is not its fault. it was the leaders about whom we have to pay $250000.00 euros in interest on our debt every year he would see what i mean that will most. assuredly. get into gauges into with paid them along with.

3 decades ago the town dump was supposed to bring in lots of money but today it's a source of disease the city is now rundown and criminality is high. retiree thomas beside us says feely should theoretically be very wealthy but corruption has sucked up much of the money. and irrelevant projects the rest. is. part of the a flawed us they had a big corruption party. thousands were employed by the municipality we had 4000 employees. football stadiums were built for local clubs which then got promoted to the 1st division. it was all just a big party when millions were spent. back until last there ending high and looking towards renewable energy

a big project to set up camp on the island much to the joy of the municipality and of its mayor who sees the benefits of. that up with the advantages are obvious we've stabilized energy supplies we have clean energy and there aren't any power cuts anymore all. the inhabitants until us are assured europeans the e.u. also helped build them a retirement home. today the municipality pays for geriatric nurses such as. she loves what the program has brought to the island. and be the new health of the people wait for you at their door so they wait for you to come visit and see how they're doing so ok i think this program is one of the best in europe. yes. they are madea karma is certain that what was achieved on t. laws can work in other parts of greece to. transparency political motivation

and individual responsibility are all that are needed to turn around even the poorest municipality. some people will go to great lengths to make a statement one salon in serbia is giving customers their 15 minutes of fame a barber marial while is a man of many talents and he has found that a short cut can produce hair raising looks. ok in this in conspicuous barbershop in lovey side serbia world history is being painted. as a portrait artist and the electric razor is his brush. his customer luca is going to be accompanied by chancellor in america. started with razor art 10 years ago. used to paint soon at some point i had the idea to combine painting and cutting

hair. the portrait takes 8 hours to complete the eyes are particularly difficult says but it's a good to picture of america as a grease he's looking forward to standing out. i expect reactions. many people will be surprised and delighted. to. have allah has done them all leo messi diego maradona. donald trump crown and lady mary putting through his art he's gained loyal customers like musician do conrad avoids. they both became instantly famous after a concert where do can have north korean dictator kim jong un shaved onto the back of his head. within a day at a gone viral on all serbian web portals and worldwide. and the man on the americans

portrait has turned. into a local celebrity enough he said he gets stopped for photos all the time. chancellor angela merkel has made him tearful. good manners it's adorable this young man an anglo-american together their very cute family. one of the most important thing is that she's on his head not mine everything else falls under freedom of expression when you look at what the rules are on it. and the americans guest appearance last only a couple of days as nature runs its course and reclaims lucas scalp. then he disappears back into the crowd. but his look will live on thanks to social media well thank you for watching the focus on europe i'll be back again next week until then do let me know your thoughts about this week's show on twitter ok there's

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this in our society you can only be too thin or too fat you can never fit in. social media is taking heavy toll on users. and if social media had a soul it will be sorely blocked. insights into how the day to day. lives are dominated by the possible beauty ideal never enough. social media the 15 w. . i'm skilled at the they

were the targets and in the end this is a me you're not allowed to stay here anymore we will send you back. are you familiar with this. with the smugglers what alliances of the what's your story. ready ready on what numbers of women especially are victims of violence in. take part and send us your story we are trained always to understand this new culture. so you are not having a turn the other guests you want to become a citizen. in for migrants your platform for reliable information. they require.

and the fact that they are in the back of. the right track. first but as i walk the walk of. i'm a parent who has family there. and i have told them. i will follow. that level for. them i want. well we're arming i will almost think that i will read them all and. what i meant was like

this. if i was us president donald trump has been met with protests in el paso texas as he made a controversial visit to the site of last weekend's mass shooting demonstrators accused of resisting tougher gun control measures and inflaming tensions with racially charged rhetoric on a day when let me know.