relax sickness is beefing up because. i still have to get used to these robot ways of exploring new frontier in. ten to twenty. hello and a very warm welcome to focus on europe glad you could join me there are places that will forever be willing to set an event or crimes like in the case of rather ham in the united kingdom the northern english town was the scene of one of the largest sex abuse scandals in british history at least one thousand five hundred girls and young women in the hand fell victim to sexual violence the perpetrators were mostly

british men of pakistani origin in many cases it took years to take them to court until now and. just how was this possible why did the perpetrators not face trial sooner after all we're talking about an extensive period of child abuse and sexual exploitation in a small town from around ninety seven to two thousand and thirteen why did the authorities of the police not act it was clear evidence some girls filed official report victims and their families sought help but many in rather home just looked away how all the girls were not taken seriously which is why young women like sammy woodhouse had to live through the night it took years for her to be able to speak about it we met up with. sami would house fell victim to northern england's not torrijos rather in paedophile gang. she remembers how it all started when gang leader our sheet hussein first asked her if she wanted

to go for a ride in his car. she was just fourteen years old. starting off with it when i was twenty four he was really mostly good looking just in designing clothes and he seemed just right and nice guy needs funny was charming and he paid me a lot of attention and then feel a lot older than when i was. seeing hussein's behavior changed he began treating her badly giving her drugs and forcing her to take part in armed robberies when she wanted to win the relationship she threatened to kill her. seventy edge and said he was going to tear me off it and i thought it's going to kill her and i was that scared and we were self and then he placed me to the back of the car and out sex him is not saying you know at all it happened and i remember just lie there crying and after all i am dead body. more than one thousand

five hundred girls a said to have been sexually abused by the rotheram gang over the course of sixteen years the biggest abuse scandal in british history. of those rather i'm locals must have noticed something was amiss nobody spoke out. people know about people in counseling police knew about it and they all. just ignored it they were too scared to say. because a. racial slur when it came to that i was shocked touching a lot of people. you know you don't think it kind of you know now it's come. down here. which changes it was completely. right there in council comment on the failure of the

police to protect the children but stresses it now takes the cases seriously and that social services have received a major funding boost but for sammy that's too little too late when we start to go quite when we hide in the shadows that's when. only very few members of britain's pakistani community are willing to speak publicly about the abuse scandal but by how much a feat a relative of sammy woodhouse his tormentor is one of them these gangs think they're white goes a worthless they think that white girls are trash and they think they can use and abuse them in any way that they want to they don't respect people they don't respect the opposite sex mohamad chatah outspoken criticism has angered many in his community he even received death threats people didn't want to talk about these issues as i said they said i was you know cheerleading for the far right but actually now people because there's been so many historical cases of come to trial

and people being convicted people recognize that this is a problem that we've got to confront nowadays sami would have speaks in schools including muslim ones about the dangers of child exploitation because back when she was being abused or thora has failed to acknowledge the gravity of the situation people. we were seeing to be child prostitutes. which of course. we wish children. she's relieved that many gang members are now finally being taken to court because until today only a small fraction of the one hundred twenty five suspects have actually been charged for their past crimes. the second wave of judicial proceedings is now ongoing with eight men on trial accused of rape and sexual abuse and the number of investigations into the response by police at the sex abuse allegations has

risen to one hundred and last. publish markoff is proud of the diversity in his home country russia home to almost two hundred ethnic groups with all their different cultures traditions and languages shmuck of is school principal in the autonomy's republic of tatarstan and hear people speak tata many now say that language is threatened because moscow has pushed through laws making russian the official language also in schools in tatarstan they criticize this as an infringement on their rights as an ethnic minority and publish markoff doesn't want to dance to the kremlin student. yes they get that. these are the sounds of touch are learning the language through song as how the ethnic ta-ta or les son got to have a teacher said to her primary school students that these touch our children can still learn their native language is thanks to the school principal of he has

refused to let go of his touch our teachers in defiance of the central education authority in moscow last year it had ordered an end to tar in tar stand as a required subject prompting teachers to be fired. the day after the decision was back or touch our culture with its poets and writers is very interesting to not what they will be learned a lot of the language is removed as a required subject that would be the beginning of the end of the times our culture diversity is important to me that. the qataris are majority muslim ethnic group they have lived in touch our stand a republic within russia for centuries peacefully coexisting with russians and many other ethnicities. within the walls of the citadel in chaos on the republic's capital a mosque and church side by side symbolize a long history of balancing local custom with the majority culture. although there

were public lost and special status the tarsa always been viewed as autonomy as in russia and that independent streak has not gone unnoticed in moscow a year ago president vladimir putin demanded that schools in tatarstan only teach russian as a required language no more tar the decree came as a shock to the tars. law of is the chairman of the society of the russian culture of tatarstan he thinks the touch ours have too many rights and there republic which could lead them to split off from russia. tar is a useless language he says because the tars all speak russian anyway. the guy will store was for. the republic of tatarstan is not an independent state but the stone it is always and forever a part of russia. all the symbols of state are nothing more than decoration it's

a limitation. as some kind of state language is best to be abolished. because it's . found us suffer a former deputy in russia's parliament disagrees and tirelessly. he's concerned russian ethno nationalism is undermining the stability of the vast multi-ethnic country. he thinks russia will only remain a strong country when its many different ethnic groups and nations enjoy cultural autonomy. i'm not worried that our target our language and culture will ranch i think they'll survive this but it can and measure but smaller ethnic groups could end up losing their identity of these new regulations aren't scrapped using your will and there will be a catastrophe. at the. school principal part of an ethnic russian concurs he's convinced the country's many

different cultures and languages are a treasure worth protecting which is why he's refusing to heed moscow's decree to stop teaching the tot our language. you shouldn't label people as either clever russians or stupid tartarus or vice versa that just causes nationalist conflict which some people are keen to provoke that could end badly some day with it but that didn't bet. who fall in losses by teaching her students the touch our language . is helping them discover their target density. and her pupils want to keep the touch our language as a school subject for practical reasons to. me it's really helpful to know the tonton language when you live here many shopkeepers only speak to you no good at that that's. just knowing the language of your ancestors helps you better

understand the culture and it makes for a more peaceful life reach. as it stands these students will keep learning tar because everybody here is eager to preserve their unique cultural heritage. area is one of europe's poorest countries and has one of the lowest costs of living one reason why it has recently seen a spike in new arrivals from abroad german pensioners who can't afford to live in the hope country anymore have discovered garia living costs in germany are high and old age poverty is on the rise here scott and his wife are among those who decided to pack up and move to bug area their dream of a carefree pension as life has not come true. they'd planned to spend their golden years here a villa in the garion village of monkey. the property for

a modest sum and moved here from germany eight years ago but their dream home has become a nightmare become lost sight of the cameras and the alarm system are there for our own security protect us from the thieves on the fraudsters investors who drive around and spy out by you know nothing would stealing otherwise they couldn't survive so people here a pool there. the house resembles a high security prison surveillance cameras are on day and night trusts almost no one in his village camera one you see this property to this passerby couple on camera two shows are green. search. the efforts to protect their property are huge and costly it's money the simply don't have. becoming more and more expensive here they hadn't counted on that when they moved to bulgaria with

the rising cost of living in germany either. pretty hard or can't live on nine hundred euros there because even the smallest apartment cost four to five hundred euros start including water electricity water and i still have nothing to eat no car no insurance nothing. so returning to germany isn't an option but ralph and doesn't want to stay hands many have his german and british neighbors have already moved away like him they'd once planned to grow old. if you're lonely here that's also because the ash does have little contact with bulgaria tanya the sales in the village store has known. but only distantly that's because ralph can't say much more than branch water. communication is limited but you are not interested in learning the language of the

time either takes too long or too much work to do. so even though they've lived in the village for they feel isolated. greet each other that's worth a lot most people don't even say hi anymore. because hopes have been damaged they'd move to bulgaria to be close to the black sea and enjoy the vanna region's temperate climate for an affordable price there among the twenty five thousand british and german pensioners you've settled here on their numbers are growing by the year yet many on fully aware of the consequences of their decision. manfred treif from austria knows this all too well he heads the company. in vanna and advises german retirees who want to move to bulgaria he's found many of them flats in this building which is currently full but he also wants them to consider

such a move carefully. from the a lot of people are driven by the idea that they can buy themselves a golden light here through financial means. they often end up in a downward spiral where everything just gets worse. we have lots of people who can no longer return to germany because they've sold off everything there. is force. but not everyone is unhappy seventy six year old anna lex from stock got planned to cruise around europe with her husband on their boat since her husband died two years ago she's been living on her own involved as yachts marina boat and bulk area has become her home and she plans to stay. you know down look right through here people still have the time to talk salespeople and the like they'll stop and chat. and that's not the case anymore in

germany where everything has to go quick quick quick. so there's a good quality of life here the landscapes lovely hand of course the sea is to me a not really. but for benedetta and ralph the sandan see i'm no longer enough. right i'll be honest i would move to bulgaria again we want to leave to go to hungary if we were not. for many ex-pats like the ashes returning to germany is out of the question. you've probably heard the v. tell the famous mineral water brand well it's named after a small community of some five thousand people in the voyage mountains in eastern france it's well is in fact a spot results where this was company nestle as pump natural spring water since the late one nine hundred sixty s. and it's been making a lot of money with this tasty water but not everybody's benefiting the people of

it tell like. a shepherd a warning that they are about to run dry. more than two million bottles are filled here every day the production of mineral water almost never stops. the test is a major product for nestle the swiss based multinational food conglomerate and it's everywhere in this old spahn town. the brand of mineral water defines the city. flick and best nationally ted been keeping their eye on nestle for a long time and the company has been pumping water out of the ground since the one nine hundred sixty s. as a result investigations reveal that groundwater levels have fallen dramatically. our numbers are proven and indisputable the industry consumes fifty percent of the water here and residents very little by comparison with just twenty two percent.

to ensure people here have enough water a kilometer long water pipeline is to be between the ten and the neighboring municipality at an estimated cost of twenty million euros. and therefore we take responsibility. but we also do have the response. to find a solution that takes everyone involved and their interests into consideration. but that doesn't seem to include. every morning he drives to the next village to get water for himself and his animals. or from the well is free for everyone who needs it and the quality is excellent. he needs about a half an hour to fill a thousand leader tank. and he does this three or four times

a day. then one is a shepherd. he heard seven hundred fifty sheep across fields which he leased from nestle his corporate landlord keeps a close eye on everything here. then want his wife to take care of the sheep as committed organic farmers. course there is water here on top of the spring but nestle close to wells to protect the land from nitrate contamination i feel but our sheep protecting conserve the water here so that isn't an argument in our view. we ask the mayor why nestle seems to be able to act unchecked here. we can simply say stop stop the water extraction. ultimately it's about jobs

twenty thousand jobs which would be directly and indirectly affected. that's no excuse for. the determined lawyer has drawn up an assessments for the public environment authority says there regarding the reduction of groundwater in the ten years is there i think we had them with the first to sound the alarm on that. point is that water is a basic right. and also belongs to everyone who and everyone should bear in mind that the people have a right to war and the amount and quality they need if you don't. then why is she a hopes political leaders will take this legal opinion to nestle until then he'll need to keep making those water runs to the neighboring village.

if you live in rural lax via your love noticed how lonesome it is gets the nation is disappearing us an alarming rate tens of thousands of young latvians us seeking the fortunes abroad which is why latvia has one of the fastest aging societies and europe the old folks tend to stay behind like in the region in west and what for the people that highlight of the week is when the book. promised not to forget the romantic novel lying on top of his basket it's a special request from one of our customers and anyone who orders a book from lima is sure to get it going again we have the newest titles on science know the best and there's a really nice basket. eleven

o'clock sharp right on schedule the book will be opened grooving on set so. we're in western not here in the area around late by the country's third largest town even though here it's quite. four times a month bookmobile makes its rounds stopping off at remote villages and farms. sergei karl pets is a regular the pensioner pops by every time the bookmobile visits he's an ethnic russian who mainly looks for books in his mother tongue. through this wonderful i don't have to drive into town to get something to read you're going to. meet at the book driver used to race motorcycles now retired she earns a little extra cash carrying books around the latvian countryside. the city was all roads are in bad shape on every outing something breaks down and we have to repair

the bus constantly. so i'm always conducting inspections but the book may be less full of surprises but we love it and look after it if you know how to break off a delivery touchwood. in recent years hundreds of thousands of lead fans have left their homeland most of those who stayed are old and they often live in soviet era settlements located far from the main thoroughfares for many the bookmobile is their only regular visitor and it doesn't just bring things to read line in the library and also delivers groceries my god given ability but i got bread and cat food and other stuff. it would take me an hour to reach the nearest store by bicycle and three hours by bus including the waiting time it just takes too long. to library and even helps with paperwork and bills.

many of the older folks like arby's in india are happy to let her do it today he needs to pay his rent he trusts rhianna. it's nice that you even take care of my bank sickness spirits but. some of the requested love story has picked up during the day. but the librarian is saddened by the fact that fewer children are borrowing books. the book bus stops for an hour at this former collective farm. but i don't look at it. slot into you know cozier another uses the opportunity to enjoy a bit of concert this is a. must collector booking finally something's going on into business and we share our news otherwise we just work i was gardening and almost missed the

bus. who normally works single b. and i was library looks forward to where outings with the book bus. thought of it well being in the book move beyond this more fun i'm working in the library. the interaction is what makes it more enjoyable the preparations on three teen people wait for it's nice to have someone expecting you to be able to see. but many wonder if the bookmobile days are numbered like a month a librarian is due to retire soon and the bus needs replacing terry but for now there is still driving around western latvia delivering food and food for thought. all of those book. that's it for this week here on focus on europe on behalf of the entire team thanks very much for watching and to stay with us. and just.

move. on. to.

the. european stars deliver browsing performances. soon his voice is just as soulful and. makes his music with poetry. come. through the concert in fifteen minutes on t.w. . form or oh.

the contentious figure at home coming up. in germany. gorbachev is one of the great heroes of the twentieth century. mikhail gorbachev the last leader of the. soviet union was an agent of change. who quickly met his downfall. i have decided to resign my duties as president of the soviet union. he continues to fight for world peace with the reminder by the united states we have to comprehend where face has taken us today there is a new arms race. the arrow of time gorbachev and the opportunity for peace with starts october third on g.w. . may nineteenth sixteen

and i'm crying echoed around the world. young people with build against the parents' generation. but it was an honest and dusty is full of stupidity and speeches to serious they demanded nothing less than a holmes a slave a little stream of the toilets with the vietnam war plane it should roll of my generation watch the book war every day. those were the remember those missed the first time i had a feeling of being part of something other than. the seeds of civil rights the peace movement the women's movement for hopelessness during this period led to sixty of. the global. this week g w.

n n. n . this is due to the news coming to you live from berlin a trail of destruction tropical storm florence problems the east coast of the u.s. with ghosting winds and heavy rain five people are dead and hundreds need to be rescued the national hurricane center saying that the danger is far from over also coming up. the strongest storm this year borrows across the philippines typhoon minute tears through the country's main island ripping off roofs and nothing at power supplies as authorities assess the damage they warn that.