Taking a look back at the people who impressed and inspired us in twenty seventeen people who saw him in supernatural powers dared to take on new challenges in old age flee from their homeland fight for Animal Rights and who feel asleep put their faith first. One of the special people is the monk. Of he lives and worships high up in russias urals were a battle of biblical proportions is taking place david versus goliath his tiny buddhist monastery has taken on a mighty still Corporation One that has their sights set on the monks a little piece of enlightenment yet the company has no spiritual deeds in mind their interests are purely economic. Her insured suppling morning begins with meditation. In a cloister high and we meet with young buddhists men and women who live in accordance with buddhist teachings. This guy has been peacefully meditating here for twenty years but the peace and quiet could soon be disturbed because the mountain here contains iron ore and the lure of profits for the Steel Industry at the foot of mount kut konar. This temple and the whole mountain is in danger. Because of this mountain is five and a half billion years old there were no one has a right to own it but ive been living here for so long so im staying here. Up to now only blocks of ice are crushed here daily for water to make tea but soon machines could be brought here to demolish the buddhist temple and dig for iron. The monks and nuns are resolved to remain calm. Especially this man whom they respect fully called lama. Founded this holy spot twenty years ago. But the congregation is not officially recognized. As the. Most buddhists in russia are part of the Ethnic Community of the borealis in siberia or live in the isle tyrant at the mongolian border but not here in the year olds. So the authorities regard the residents of shad chuckling as illegal squatters who will have to leave markets konar soon but its because of the master sonic of response to this as his faith teaches him. Reducing. Teaches us to accept things as they are. So if you encounter a bad person who or maybe you only think hes bad. Who were there could be a good family man. And what a great dad or fantastic lover. Kristie do. Or have really snazzy shoes something about it must be good to have it. But the monks and nuns dont think it would be a good thing to destroy a mount catch can our they say the iron ore deposits arent rich enough to feed the forty thousand residents of the city of catch can are at the foot of the mountain for years. The still manufacturer and the local government disagree minerals have been mined in this region for more than fifty years. And. No one here can imagine a life without mining. Doesnt it to do them well when i was still in school my parents said the mine is your future you can always get a job there would still have to stop i hope to keep it otherwise id have to leave the city or turn to crime to get money i dont have any other choice i have to feed my family. The mind or is immediately crushed separated concentrated and sent to the gigantic steel plants in these need in the central euro mountains. Without freshly mind or production ceases in with it revenues and jobs. Thats why the Steel Industry regards the disappearance of the buddhist temple as a done deal. With we think in purely material categories through for we dont have anything against the people up there thats simply illegal now that all. The monks and nuns arent considering moving they believe in the holy path that leads to their tent. They believe they mustnt leave it but must keep calm and carry on meditating. Theyre preparing to recover there is nothing more valuable than our ideas our thinking. Here. To give. The could begin with and there are the buddhist teachings. Or the buddhist teachings help us put things together and understand things you are food insecure. For now buddha is still gazing peacefully into the distance but a storm is brewing and will soon be here. When the snow melts in the spring well see if their struggle is successful lena alvarez had to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to fill one of her greatest desires with the help of in future fertilization or i. V. s she was able to have her much longer for a little girl but her use of both a donor egg and sperm is not without controversy because lena was sixty two years old at the time her pregnancy affection advanced age has ignited a heated debate in her native country spain. Yes you know but as has become a mother once again as the age of sixty two. She named her daughter lena after herself baby linas started out as an embryo conceived from donated egg and sperm cells in a test tube that was implanted in the womb after her mother to be underwent hormone therapy. I still cant believe it its like magic and shes already seven months old the whole family is overjoyed. But if. She had her first child at the age of thirty four but her son is a cure was born mentally disabled her marriage broke up and for years afterwards she had no opportunity to have any more children. Time passed and with my disabled son i had a hard time finding another partner then i started menopause too early by the time i realised that i was forty two and couldnt have any more children. To begin with. That were to live in a alvarez it was a blessing that spain allowed her to use donor eggs shes had two babies using this method her son samuel l. Who is now in school and baby lena the family is well known in their home town who go in. And a hot topic for debate some late motherhood throughout spain many see it as selfish to have children at such an advanced age. But i meant that when the by the time the children are twenty they probably wont have any parents anymore its tough on kids to have such old parents. But lena alvarez doesnt feel like a grandmother she feels that its a sign of progress to be able to have babies this way. And for heavens sake i dont know what selfish about it im just as much there for my children. And my experience is a great advantage that speaks in favor of having children at my age that more and more women in spain are having babies later in life private fertility clinics like this one in madrid charge around eight thousand euros for the procedure it involves implanting fertilized eggs from anonymous donors but unlike other countries spain sets no legal age limit even so doctors often refuse to perform the procedure on women over fifty they have even signed a voluntary agreement. It was then that when i mean of of course we now have the ability to initiate pregnancies in women over sixty. But we also want healthy children. And the probability of giving birth to a healthy child drops in women over age fifty if it is. Legal expert carlos romeo caster boehner sees the voluntary agreement as useless hes a member of the Spanish Commission for reproductive medicine hes disappointed that the commission couldnt push through an age limit when the legislation about assisted reproduction was passed in two thousand and six. I personally detail to the problems associated with late pregnancies for the health minister. But i didnt want to set an age limit because of a womans right to selfdetermination. Nobody cares if a man becomes a father at seventy but they do with the mother does of course the mother is responsibilities greater she plays a more important rule at least i think so even if she shouldnt. Say that. At eighty five years spanish women have one of the worlds highest life expectancies so lena alvarez may well be able to see her daughter far into adult hood. Over the past year weve witnessed a further decline in democracy in turkey a deterioration in both press and personal freedoms ever since the failed coup in two thousand and sixteen and the aggression shown towards anyone perceived as a critic to the government many turkish people feel like strangers in their own country particularly if they work in industries considered liberal or progressive many actors an artist now complain that the istanbul art scene is dominated by a climate of fear this cost the celebrated turkish actor an intellectual turk to pack up his family and go into a selfimposed exile here in germany a departure into a new life and into the unknown. The culture turks are packing up kamal and his wife ayesha a pianist are leaving their house in istanbul their flight to berlin is in just a few hours along with their two daughters dhamma and yasser mean they are starting a new life. On the chance that the kids made this but we cant take everything with us. It makes me so sad but thats life you always have to leave something behind. That. The concert family is leaving behind their house with a yard on the edge of the city near the black sea. After her husband had a guest performance in berlin they decided to move to the german capital the german consulate in istanbul granted them a six month artist visa that allows them to seek employment in germany. Ever since the failed coup the situation has escalated dangerously. Well we did and. I was so worried about him we see him people are simply arrested at night and locked away. I couldnt stop thinking about it much just. The neighbors have come to say goodbye they can understand the culture turks decision and many turks are considering leaving the country. Let them go ahead and see what its like and then we can visit them and see how theyre doing. Look just. Like you then its time to say goodbye. Not only to their house and their best friends. But somehow also to their entire life as they had known it. Berlin two weeks later. The cacciatore family was able to stay in an acquaintances apartment at first they have already found their own apartment and will be moving soon but they still havent found work. Even before leaving i had said my opportunities would be limited here in germany. I wont be able to earn money as easily here with my turkish place but the difference is at least i can try. Its time for their appointment at the berlin Immigration Authority its about their residence permit well the family be allowed to stay and if so for how long the cost to turks hope theyve gathered all the right papers certifications from theaters that want to work with kamal confirmations from the daughter schools bank statements. This appointment to the Immigration Office is making me a bit nervous we cant speak german yet so i dont feel comfortable that appointments like this. Behind in these Office Windows the decision will be made of germany will give the cacciatore a chance. After an hour and a half they come back out. Happy and relieved i think that. It went great. For which we were granted a two year stay. An evening in a bar in quotes back im sure and came all koch a turk are visiting the regular turkish expat meet up for the first time. They can recognize several familiar faces among the journalists artists and writers and each week new political refugees arrive from turkey. Goes through security now i just want to enjoy this freedom from here nobody interferes in your life there doesnt seem to be aggression here nobody shouting its so peaceful i could live like this interview. Tonight is kamal culture turks first small performance in berlin and he recites turkish poems accompanied by a. Feeling. That. The concert turks are now part of the turkish x. Pac immunity in berlin here they will find help and support yet despite all optimism they are all united in their longing for home and worry for those left behind. In. The cogito family has now found their own home and even received their first paid in cajuns are you looking forward to the new year and all the surprises it has in store or would you rather know exactly what to expect in the car path the ins of ukraine many people believe in the supernatural powers of soothsayers and folk hillers of whom they called well farce the tradition is deeply rooted in the region they heal predict the future and are even consulted on political matters all reporter met one of them magdalena and felt surprisingly enchanted. The landscape around the settlement of vehicle vinyasa in the car patrons is remote and magical so its perhaps understandable that the region is associated with magic. This is meant to lean a macho ski shes a more fatah as a female father are known she personifies the secret knowledge of her homeland like saddam in this they are with that of another one you cant become a monk far you have to be born one would have sacred knowledge that is passed down for generations. But today the. People here have always been religious there are Forty Churches for some thirty thousand people in better covering up. And their faith predates christianity. Mantilly now shows us the tools of our trade a nail pendulum a dull knife and herbs she says she can use these things to heal people. Oracle bones are used to foretell the future they come from rabbits this one helps ward off the evil law i read you can recognize a witch by looking through a witch bone. We buy some bread and water were supposed to keep them overnight so that a more far can read the future were skeptical. People in the car p. T. S. Earn money from tourism and timber their spirituality is heavily influenced by ancient practices. Magic and sherman ism have learned to coexist here along side christianity or is it the other way around. Minute mofaz use christian symbols as well and they mix prayers and with ancient spells. There is something amiss between this woman and her neighbor only magic will help those bush the more far uses a pendulum to make the diagnosis. Show me who is my friend and who is my enemy do you feel something on your palm warmth. You have a good friend who envies you your walk. Before things get really serious has to put a coin on the side of the path its a toll for demons. Then push and withdraw. And burn my back pain dont forget to burn the queen of pain return to her torture her punish her dont spare her during the day or the night. Populace says shes relieved more fired off bush has promised her neighbors envy will disappear. Faith and superstition are as inseparable as smoke and air in the carpet the ends recently more fires have been conjuring on behalf of their entire country ukraine which is waging war against separatists in the east magdalena recites a spell for protection. Just as smoke leaves fire so shall the enemy leave our borders today and for all time. We head on by horse drawn cart to a town high up in the mountains to see another celebrated more farka. This woman is seventy two but people still come to or she doesnt want to tell our fortune today but does show us how its done. You need bread its put three times into water and you count from nine to one. If everythings fine the bread will float if not it sinks. Violently you know you but weve come during fasting season and its forbidden to practice magic right now the woman says that politicians also have their fortunes told but shes careful around them. Politicians from kiev reportedly also consulted the famous more from china china five years ago he was discovered stabbed to death magdalena believes it was a political assassination when he knew ukraines future and he spoke many times of a war that was about to break out this coup so they probably decided to kill him so his secrets would go to the grave with him. Whatever the truth magic hasnt been able to protect ukraine from more. Magic may not have been able to prevent conflict in ukraine but a farmer in switzerland has decided to use another ancient method of summoning protection lobbying the government arm and loves his animals and believes that cows have rights and has made it his mission to curtail a practice he considers unnecessarily cruel he has even taken his fight all the way to the swiss parliament. You are going to get sleazy in. Saying the women know you think i mean me and i dont mind farmer i mean couple has never followed the crowd. Hes a free spirit who has always done his own thing. And hes someone who usually gets what he wants sooner or later. And what he wants now is that cows get to keep their horns although they are all born with more nubs in switzerland eight out of ten kelvins are d. Horned this is often tame for the cattle. Its clearly cruelty to animals. This is the creator equipped cows with horns so for me its only natural that they belong to the animal he says you can. Also get it here. So he started campaigning to let swiss cows hold on to their horns for years he tried to do this through petitions but the authorities and the politicians wouldnt listen. So he launched his own cool horn to Cow Initiative and against all odds collected more than one hundred fifty thousand signatures enough for a referendum on the matter. In a few months switzerlands more than five million voters will decide and arme income power stands a good chance of winning despite opposition from the government the parliament and the association of swiss cattle breeders. Scientists of us cant be that Something Like whether cows have horns or not becomes part of the constitution i was looking scouse here how theyre all standing around us so calm and peaceful. I dont think these animals are lacking for anything up to me and cows with horns significantly raise the risk of accidents. In the fall you fought off a. Couple knows he cant bandy horning entirely he jokes that if you tried to do that someone might set fire to his cow stall instead hes seeking Financial Assistance for farmers who let their cattle keep their horns thats because these cows need more space in the stalls and d. Horned ones. His opponents say couples initiative would cost thirty million swiss francs. It will be at the scale where the money come from it have to be taken out of domestic agriculture there certainly wouldnt be any more direct payments or subsidies and that would mean more discontent amongst farmers in one of them but the battle against horning is really about creating more nature oriented agricultural policies something armen couple plans to keep fighting for now he must find funding for his Referendum Campaign he paid for everything himself so far but now his wife has taken the bull by the horns and forbidding him from doing it again. Thats all from us here at focus on europe on behalf of the whole team we wish you a very happy twenty eight lets make it a good one thanks for watching fox the be. The banks. Thanks. To our. On. The by. The by. The by. The by. You our. Stories about clubs. And fields house music this time its. Called superstar. Young and german so you pop singer leslie cleek. Next. On inside. Fifteen minutes. Well i think kind of take you know i think the evidence to korea and for the everyday person the question is what can they do about it so its very obvious to me walk winnipeg and dont take liquids or elevator was i do i do that every time i think about an elevator or lived and this is still a did i take the stairs. And i try and walk wherever i can instead of going in the car or even in public transport its just you know doing some things that i think would be very common that we just got out of the habit as it became too easy and quick to take automobiles that actually its not very hard to take just its very easy for individuals to i think you know keep cumulatively making a difference. To live to serve. Danger lurks in the longer we were there all year long surfing into waste and and polluted water not only being the witness but at the time being the victims i mean we see you troubles all gastric troubles. Basically this is sort of only a small list in fact top of the nation full i was on a shelf. Recently d. C. Its sad to go somewhere every day and see more of them from the sheets times to see gives me everything the waves the wind have to give Something Back to me and i can apply inched miss him to many of us. One quick surfers fighting against unseen pollution soon starting january seventh on g. W. This is due to be a nice flight from by land and sea government protests Gain Momentum and iran made scenes last hour common as a rainy and demonstrate for a second