turned her. car she. was in a documentary secretly can. actually confirm it was precisely planted structure. to justify the means. starts december 13th w. . hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm laura babylonia thanks for being with us israelis floating city is under water then as has been hit by its worst floods in 50 years many historic buildings have unesco's world heritage sites are on the

brink of ruin including the iconic st marks basilica officials have declared a state of emergency residents and tourists are shocked at the stale of the damage . the 1200 year old city has reached its breaking point and to make matters worse the disaster in italy could have been prevented a decades old project to build a flood barrier has failed to materialize its over budget overdue and plagued by allegations of corruption residents have long complained that venice is being exploited for profit tourism has left a mark on the fragile city with $30000000.00 tourists coming every year well the mayor has blamed the flooding on climate change but architect cristiana gus breteau says the disaster is manmade he fears that it may soon be too late to stop venice from going under. 83 year old the nation christiana gaspar eto has experienced numerous floods in his lifetime. but the kind of prolonged flood his

hometown is currently enduring is a whole different league. together with other locals christiana has started protesting on a nearby square against what they call the real reasons of the disaster. here they could come here and the game at the front of this is a manmade catastrophe if we can blame bad weather all strong winds for this. this flanders the result of our own structural interventions over the past decades . christiana has dedicated his life to the preservation of venice but it's a losing battle. this bookshop for example got flooded and now everything is ruined . this is christiana's the latest construction site when it flooded the water rose to almost half a meter. and. now he will have to move the power

sockets further up the walls in case of a similar disaster which. the architects knows only too well what damage flooding causes to historical buildings like this former medieval tower. the salt water gets into the walls and marble the salt crystallizes expands in volume and bursts the building materials siegel yeah it's a good way and that's why we see red powder a long break walls off to every found the poor video or all said. the flood has spared nothing the city's iconic st mark's square has been inundated for days. likewise st marks the silica and unesco world heritage site its precious floor mosaics covered in salt water. likewise the crypt which had just been restored at great costs. but some locals are convinced the city could been

better prepared for floods like these. giuseppi cost in l.a. a retired urban development professor accuses politicians and public administrators of systematically ruining venice by taking wrong decisions. going forward this is disheartening. for the past 50 years nothing has been done to preserve venice this sheet with stone chip there is lots of talk and plenty of money spent and nothing has changed for them. all his life mr christie nellie has called for more research into the venetian lagoon a unique ecosystem that for centuries had been able to absorb and cope with floods . but in recent decades this ecosystem has shrunk by a 3rd due to the construction of industrial sites port facilities and artificial islands. water flowing in from the adriatic sea now builds up in the lagoon and streams into venice much quicker because waterways have been deep into so that the

huge cruise ships can enter the city. for almost 20 years the city has been working on mobile barriers to protect venice almost 7000000000 euros were spent on the project which still hasn't been completed . the city therefore has no functioning flood protection something that makes locals like christiana gasper livid. rid of the. more than $1000000000.00 euro and bribes were paid to get the project through because it is apparently so misguided that all the author artists who had to approve it had to be paid off it will be 10 that he put in the field. when he says the rise of global sea levels makes flooding increasingly likely. the system of mobile. barriers would be provided it ever became operational cut off the venetian lagoon from the sea for months that they will directly. with the barriers in place no more water would flow

out of the lagoon the $81.00 municipalities and the agricultural sector all pump their waste water into it. are some of it is chemically contaminated and would collect them. and that would pose a huge environmental problem for the city a grim prospect. so for now volunteers are working hard to protect the city's historic sites like here at the church of the kamini because it's only a matter of time until the next flood. for many asylum seekers in germany is their last hope when deportation is imminent taking refuge in a church or monastery well the parents just see it as their duty to help people like come on from iraq he's been holed up in a bavarian monastery and learns to live freely well church asylum is

a centuries old tradition in germany but it has no legal basis immigration authorities and many politicians are growing increasingly wary of the practice and are putting pressure on the churches. hamann is ready to help whenever sister general didn't cause for him today it's gardening the daily labor at the monastery helps the young iraqi years e.g. get his mind off the fear of being deported. according to e.u. agreements he would have to go back to remain here as that's where he entered the e.u. but he claims to have been abused by the remaining and police. i wish i could leave them honest repressors as a free human being without fearing that of police would arrest and deport me immediately to the harmon and 5 other refugees were granted church asylum in the dominican monastery here they're safe for the time being but nuns provide food

shelter and they give german lessons every afternoon. orange. for. previously rejected asylum seekers like a man who sought refuge in a church almost always had a chance for a 2nd hearing but recently the federal authorities rejects nearly all such applications but. since church asylum regulations were tightened last year sister geraldine often doesn't know how long the refugees have to stay to be safe from deportation and sometimes she has to turn down refugees seeking help it's an asylum seekers came here broken and devastated lying before me crying and i had to say we haven't got enough space there are too many i thought oh my god this is hell. i won't be able to carry on. about her engagement is viewed with skepticism by politicians in berlin like thorsten fly who deals with domestic

policy church asylum will be respected and police force won't be used to get refugees out of church asylum but lorna spaces won't be tolerated. church asylum is just an additional right for reviewing cases it's completely wrong to think that such requests by parishes are automatically approved that would be absolutely unacceptable and contradict the rule of law absolute missed are so popular that this puts pressure on sister geraldine she's contacting other parishes that offer church asylum there are about 400. in germany together they want to resist a new rule which requires refugees to live on church grounds for at least 18 months to avoid deportation that's the deadline for deportation to another e.u. member state. in the it isn't believe it when they receive this letter their deadline has been extended to 18 months most of them fall into

a deep hole. that also had people say i'm leaving i'm going to another country some fall into a long period of depression. i think it's a shame that in a constitutional democracy we need to grant church asylum to so many people at the moment mistakes happen recently a judge told me we judges are infallible in need church asylum as it acts as a humanitarian corrective. harmon has to keep waiting in the monastery but his brother has been granted asylum and can go to school in a neighboring town whenever harman speaks to his family in iraq he's worried 5 years ago around 7000 women and children were enslaved by the islamic state in iraq many of his years the relatives were killed. my uncle too i can't go back to iraq. your sister geraldine wants to stand her ground she's adamant

that harman and the other refugees are staying in the monastery until a solution is found. out maxim is whatever you do to the least of my brothers so you do and to me we always say that we live according to the gospel and this is the practical application practice because it's no. harm on isn't christian but he keeps being drawn to the monasteries chapel out of gratitude and admiration he's aware that without the sisters and their strong belief he might not be in germany anymore. norway is home to one of the most unique education systems in europe children only receive marks after the 7th grade and i t students are given free laptops while norway often achieves top results in international education rankings the government goes to great lengths to ensure all children receive a good education no matter where they live and in

a place with mountains fiords and islands like on a hell of year archipelago in the far north getting to school can be a challenge for pupils like erlend also but despite the long commute he always gets to class on time. life can be pretty isolated here in how they fear north of the arctic circle the norwegian mainland is almost an hour away by boat. boasts just $100.00 residents a kiosk in a school for 16 children today it's something special instead of math or music they learn how to be rescued on the high seas. jacqueline and her brother erlend know this could come in handy but you don't know if you're on a boat and something happens you need to know what to do my baby think because we live in a neighboring island we take the boat every day they want to just be happy for. the 1st year it's my 1st time i'm excited. it takes up to an hour for the children to

get to school each day they travel on the little ferry without their parents. even on days like today when the sea is rough and it's icy cold outside. put it there when the wave so big i get scared i don't like it when the boat a rock speck in force she said after. the journey to school can be perilous also address. we're doing this so we'll get to know the equipment we'll release the line for off soon and then it's your time. alone with a little to. these children learn to become independent at an early age so that they can help themselves in case of an emergency here they're lining up for school but quite literally for life. almost half an hour

later they reach hell of year where their school is located the 1st the 10th graders are usually divided up into groups like today for english class and i'm often as i'm in a class with older kids i hear all the talk and learn from them. the 16 pupils. instructed by 4 teachers and the principal you know. it's a big expense for the municipality but it pays off young families stay in hell of year rather than move away to school x. as a youth center to our lives they are misery there aren't any other families where we live so doing things with others is lots of fun. a game of tag keeps boredom at bay and norwegian waffles are always a tasty treat. but one would be better to be home schooled and not have to take the ferry every day. no i couldn't do that that would be really done i look around i need to have these people around me. along with the 3 r.'s the

pupils also learn social skills and how to have fun with other children. it was. then erlend in the sister returned home to their well they're the only children who live on this island. so after school animals are their main playmates. this is snowball my rabbit. i love to play with him even though he just bit me he doesn't normally do that. but the children know they'll have to leave the island after 10th grade and finish high school on the mainland. where will they go after that. when i'm grown up i won't live here anymore maybe i'll come back to visit but i want to live in the city.

but perhaps after a few years of urban life will choose to return like his mother or locke she went to live in the city age 16 to return to the island 10 years later. she consciously chose to raise her family on a new fare and is thankful for the assistance she and her children receive out of. what they give up for and for the community board your board if it weren't for the municipality we couldn't live out here in octave and if we skulk because they make it possible to live out here i have to admit so compared to many other places in the world we really can't complain. there is a different day when her older children must leave for the mainland is getting closer but wherever they go they're carefree childhood on you will always stay with them. they come at night in tamil flaws and wait until the

coast is clear then the high speed ins on the siberian landscape illegal loggers load their trucks with wood destined for the black market it's an easy and lucrative target for criminals almost half of russia is covered by forest a treasure many want to preserve like luke off you know she is determined to stop the forestry mafia. these senior citizens are volunteers on a mission to save siberia's forests i wish you would know we heard what she is doing that even today we're conducting a check. because residents have reported that at night our siberian pines are being cut down in the forests. they leave their car in a secluded spot and continue on fort accompanied by a local. but 1st glance the cleared area looks more still

residents have found 10 such clearings nearby. along with a specially made transport route through the forest selling such timber is highly profitable. from what it is the switching booth they worked quickly using big trucks which they loaded them up and got the logs out of the forest fast what's left are these broken pine branches. you know captures everything on video recordings have already been used 3 times as evidence in court the perpetrators are often locals as suspicious cheap drives by it has no license plate and the men inside it dressed in camouflage. you heard in the bit of those are scouts who are seeing who's hanging around in the forest. they might be planning to fell more trees tonight but is that for. now the volunteers want to find the right strategy to catch the illegal loggers in the act.

deforested areas are often clearly visible near it could screw in the siberian tiger most of the illegal timber is sold to china. sharman yelena by and i have now has also asked alec you know for help many of siberia's indigenous peoples view the larch as a sacred tree they place the ashes of deceased shamans in holes in large trees. out of what you carry that the lawyers have transported precisely these large as with the ashes are deceased sharman to china you may get that they've left so much garbage behind and felled so many trees that's what they've done to our forest its natural treasures and our culture is a great sin but what you think you would get if these trees grow very slowly. this one here is about 5 years old. and it takes maybe $120.00 or 150 years for one like

that to grow that tall so. you can all chain go and lubov our kena collect rubbish wherever they can. the forest is an intense part of siberia it's solved. then they return to the village passing vast fields in the past to this area was covered in trees says the sharman. she has invited the environmental activists to her home for dinner. she describes how the logging is causing local springs to dry up. after of the springs have given us a long life expectancy. in my village there are many who lived until they were 9294 or even 96 our ancestors used to say anyone who comes here wielding a sword will reap the consequences i knew where i'm go there. that's why locals

together with the help of both forest and to vests are taking action against illegal logging and pretty soon some of the culprits will be going on trial. but several days later. is preparing to our blowed her footage when she hears that apparently the locals got wind that something was up there was an accident. he wouldn't. to day we learnt that they tried to transport all the timber out of the forest over night i knew we were as usual running as a couple but the driver loaded up too many logs and his vehicle tipped over killing him. that pretty little thirty's by keep. a keen eye has now decided to pass our footage on to the prosecutors so that the culprits will face justice for illegal logging she says she's looking forward to going back into the forest which gives her energy and strength.

italian astronomer galileo once said you cannot teach a man anything you can only help him find it within himself well galileo's discoveries helped us gain a deeper understanding of our universe and continue to inspire other stargazers one hobby astronomer in turkey has dedicated his life to probing our cosmos he is self-taught but hasn't pressed experts with his insights into our solar system and though his neighbors may scratch their heads at his fascination with outer space abdul qadeer is proud to be the lone star of diyarbakir. women night sky is clear an unusual precession ascends of the highest hill near the town of diyarbakir. they follow abdul qadeer top catch the man with the telescope. he can show them the night sky as he's the only astronomer around.

today we're looking at jupiter they must be somewhere in this direction. god willing we'll find it. other people look at space on their computers and don't understand a thing i'm on the disk i get it. the sign of of his door reads. catch baker but instead of working in the bakery 55 year old abdul qadeer spends his time in his little backyard house where he's busy with the stars and planets all this despite having been a primary school only a few years. as a child out stay awake looking at the stars and always ended up asking myself is it possible to see what's behind the moon. he's even disproves the great galileo the moon's orbit is undulated rather than elliptic. others had already made this discovery but he couldn't know that the american space agency

nasa sent him a letter nevertheless. he keeps it safe and would like to be in touch with more astronomers around the world. i always came up with the questions myself and then i'd walk on and string them on my arm like nobody ever taught me anything. in the summer of 2015 a great drawback the violence between militant kurds and the turkish army escalated . his house was heavily damaged by the army his telescope was reduced to bits and pieces he had nothing left but his fate moved to many people a fund raising campaign across turkey helped him buy a new telescope. a long time ago abdul qadeer as wife left him and the people in the neighborhood whisper about the man with that star tech he got used to it. kim said they set them

talk i don't care whether i feel lonely definitely but my attention is fully focused on the things up there on me because. even in his old bakery the colleagues don't really know what to do with him he keeps talking about the sky. and we all know that after his death perhaps there'll be appreciation for what he's done. now it just seems a bit crazed to us would do most of the team at the. time will tell but when abdul qadeer is on the hill with his telescope he's rarely on his own there are always curious people who join him and don't think he's crazy or even dangerous. also said you know what are you looking at with this a policeman recently asked me he suspected that i was spying on potential targets to be bombed. and then all abdul qadeer talk catch wants is to inspire others to

take an interest in the sky and perhaps he can get some recognition some time for his never ending curiosity about the planets and stars. for the moon even if you land among the stars thanks for watching focus on your up by for now.

going. to. have. 8 years after the overthrow of the gadhafi regime libya has descended into almost continual conflict between its rival centers of power my guess this week here in paris it is on a much much weaker deputy prime minister of the us backed government of national accord closely allied to groups of armed militias which have been credited with

serious human rights abuses conflict so far in 30 minutes on d w facts. oh. the power of foreigners. where i come from i never saw the sun when it comes to. head on up and brazil my son was always a man since the portuguese word 1st sign of his masculine. when i moved to germany as a 10 year old i watched a cartoon on t.v. that would change how i see the world because in germany the son of this family. saw the same now but the side of a girl is so much time is upon the tape instead of a deep voice exterminate the guy who seemed absolutely incredible. i realized how language shapes the thinking how definitions are not only a mental image just put out a whole 1st time some of the role. is inside save my life and was one of the

reasons i became i joined a list i'm a starry talent and i use my words to help with intercultural understand my name in the intimate way you and i work and to tell people. to give us an excess of what i am truly dipsy complete update on the books both for those of gretchen home the 4th time through the solo the closeness to me that makes them the lives whether it is the bottom or the ballets at the last dragon this world has called the palm tree. on. the else isn't cultural over there it goes insatiable up there rivalry deadly. 3 princes. dream of leading the club more.

the rise of the princes. starts november 27th on the d w. the be . this is the w. news live from the most anticipated witness in the champion pietschmann hearings delivers his testimony to the u.s. ambassador edward song that says that the president demanded pressure on ukraine to investigate chunks political rival joe biden and he claims everyone close to the president knew about it. meanwhile u.s. democrats are a good arab it is easy to defeat donald trump in 2028 during the latest of

a 2 presidential contenders condemning donald trump was the one.