become a familiar sight in barcelona in recent weeks pro independence supporters are furious at the central government in madrid fourth attempt to reassert control over their region. spain is on the brink on one side of catalonia the autonomous region in the north east whose recent referendum called for independence on the other is the country's central government in madrid that plans to strip catalonia of its powers while the spanish prime minister initially had the support of the so-called silent majority it seems his aggressive stance has backfired now someone's pro unity kutta lands like maria vallverdu are in favor of secession. everywhere she turns the crisis is an evidence maria of out there do guides a tour group to barcelona's old town where cattle on history and the current political upheaval appear to vie for attention. of protest banners and flags hanging from buildings were normally only laundry a strong out to dry. like many locals the historian is outraged that madrid is moving to enforce direct rule on catalonia. play assume assuming those august met that it's going to music and that's what the current political situation is like some eighteenth century rule by decree it's a step backwards by three hundred years of so much even if the prime minister claims he hasn't revote catalonian autonomy and everything will return to normal i don't believe that. the next stop on the tour is the historic palace of the generally thought the seat of the regional government. journalists from all over the world are here reporting on the standoff between barcelona and madrid. this opinion is divided on whether catalonia has bid for independence or violates the spanish constitution maria vallverdu is horrified over madrid's hardline course and no longer rules out military intervention. mystically off uni i suspect madrid will use force to seize control of the regional administration because the catalan government is not going to give a now and simply hand the keys over to rejoice. and the situation is growing increasingly tense at this protest a spanish police helicopter becomes the target of collective anger more than four hundred thousand people are here demanding the release of two jailed independence activists. i saw was that. the streets will always be ours they chant. many cattle and feel abandoned by europe. they're never going to have another. example fish if you call this here is a peaceful demonstration nice to have a call not thrilled by politicians but by the people i can hear. i had hoped that europe would hear the cries of the people and help us i know that because our demands are justified under somebody's got going after so many people are not. in a cafe maria's group takes a break. yet she sees herself as liberal minded and until now opposed independence for catalonia but prime minister who is tough stance has made her change her mind. there are lots of people like me who actually didn't want independence see i was but now feel compelled to change sides because of this blatant disregard for democracy. in a place where conversation normally revolves around soccer and the weather these days it's the catalonian crisis that's on everyone's mind. that august i would offer that we're seeing a split in society if i'm worried most about the economic impact for my company and employees because there's currently a lot of uncertainty in catalonia i think that when you say. after three hours maria vallverdu concludes her tour of the city seems its usual self with its mix of spanish folklore and the kotla an architecture the drawls millions of tourists each year. and yet today there's a nagging sense that barcelona may be on the brink of change. a multi stern alist was recently killed in a car bomb blast she wrote a hugely popular blog that your attention to cases of alleged corruption among poet . it's up to and including the highest ranks of government and her murder has reverberated beyond the country's borders well critics across the e.u. have called her death a worrying attack on freedom of the press many multis themselves fear that the rule of law in their country is in danger. the scene of daphne couto on a murder has been cordoned off since the investigation began forensic experts have even been joined by a team from the f.b.i. . the bomb that killed the investigative journalist and blogger close to her home was so powerful it blew her car into a field. she made enemies with her relentless drive to expose corruption and had long been receiving threats now her family's lawyer is raising serious accusations including against the government led by prime minister joseph was caught. is joseph or scott depresses prime minister that he himself referred to as a hate blogger as a person who lied as a person who disseminated fake news he was the person who led a vicious character assassination on difficult when they got it's a for more than twenty years and for no to come as if shedding crocodile tears it's too late you should have acted much before. the committee is research into leaked documents known as the panama papers suggested the prime minister's wife owned a stake in a shell company that engaged in large scale money laundering she based her claim on papers discovered by a bank employee found documents in the safe to pay two documents both of them declarations of trust. by individuals the nominees who has a says an egg granting in the name of mrs mission the scott. references to this company a grant appear in the panama papers. earlier this year during a session of the european parliament in strasbourg m.p.'s asked how malta could maintain the rule of law amid allegations of corruption the prime minister dismissed these concerns along with his allegations people in this house have referred to a story to be outright lie. that has been directed against me my wife and my family and i marvel at the idea that some extremely knowledgeable members of this house have taken this. this. and to be good at you know just like. us are four months later. is dead. back in malta many questions remain unanswered to what extent are the island's leaders and gauged in organized crime how credible are the allegations against the government. and why was killed. at a makeshift memorial outside the courthouse in the capital one of the people paying his respects is simon. a conservative politician. he was among those heavily criticized by the journalist what does he have to say about what happened. she didn't have to die she needn't have died and all of this could have been avoided if the rule of law in our country did not collapse in the way to has such that even scandals as big as panama papers that took people to justice from countries in countries from germany to brazil. where ignored in our country just because they involved the top most politicians in our country well definitely exposed all this and she died for it. the allegations of corruption tax havens a refuge for the mafia and seventy thousand offshore companies and the sale of maltese passports. many people believe the rule of law in malta is being undermined along with press freedom jacob org an investigative journalist worked with for several years including on the panama papers he is still shaken by her death. and this is all. he is going to get it and like you said it's going to might remain at the back of our minds or to a concert it's intimidating us and stop us from doing our jobs to speak with these media we need to we need to up again and we need to people if i think people are i think the story is it's you know to the best that's meant to make a definite. many multis doubt her killers will be found but there's hope that this gruesome murder in one of its own member states will at least serve as a wake up call to the european union. government has offered a one million euro reward and full protection for anyone with information about the murder rate in bergen eastern germany is a sleepy town that also happens to be the place that one man shook the foundations of catholicism it's where martin luther established the parson church five hundred years ago but this one time cradle of reformation is increasingly godless saxony on hold the region where the telling lies has by far the lowest share of churchgoers in all of germany with the lutheran anniversary approaching all reporter followed a local pastor to find out how he's trying to hold on to his flock the global parson in sex and the end halter has seen better days the stove is being stoked to warm up the place for the senior group who are about to arrive. they meet here every wednesday but not for much longer pastor you're going hoffman has to give up the house because there's no one left to see to the upkeep of the old building. it's the story of a steamy car and glow big all the tenants are moving out. the windows and roof are all new but the house doesn't have central heating. and that makes it very difficult to find new tenants so we decided to sell the house. yes. this isn't the first parsonage hoffman has closed at least this time there's another place to live lined up for him he just hopes the small community holds together he's relying on god's help for that. this is the resort this is something god does quite often he fulfills the desires we have deep in our hearts. but fewer and fewer parishioners are attending church services and devotions. the collinear a delights of gooseberry and cheesecake are a tried and true means for the pastor to disseminate luther's message. for us so that was glow big now we're going to the neighboring village brought in bourg the mother group meets there at three thirty we'll make that easy enough and then we'll hit the road again. it's a full time job split between senior citizens and the mothers group seven days a week. the villages that belong to the zone petry parish are located within a thirty kilometer radius only one in ten people here is still a member of the protestant church despite its close proximity to the cradle of the reformation is that now a god for saken region. i wouldn't say god for sake and say god forgotten at least in a lot of areas east germany wasn't particularly successful especially not economically but sadly it succeeded at one thing very well combating religion we're still feeling the effects of that. the mother circle involved is actually more of a grandmother circle daughters and granddaughters are few and far between many young women leave the region and find work elsewhere. you don't really see them in church anymore once they have their coming of age party or confirmation you rarely see them after that said but that's how it is only . five hundred years after the reformation began and rittenberg there's not much evidence in the region of the people's church they're just not interested. in. maintaining contact to the next generation is crucial pastor hoffman is on the board of the y.m.c.a. and. the young men's christian association at least the reformation anniversary celebrations gave the organization a boost a summer project has become a lasting youth club. we hope the kids will ask us why we are doing this and then our staff members can say i'm doing this because i believe in god and i have a relationship with jesus and then they can talk about what that means get the conversation started. the pastor doesn't see himself as a prayer leader for silent community but rather as a guide for those exploring their faith very much in the spirit of martin luther god we always had a church for all people in germany and that meant that everyone belonged to the church community and now we need a new paradigm the church must be there for the people even those who aren't currently members. of the god thing. because sunday after sunday he contends with a half empty church. pastor hoffman fights for every service attendee every four weeks a youth band plays which brings a few more people than usual into church but they should do more than just sit back and listen. but i ask you all now to please close your eyes. i try to create a picture of what i'm reading in your mind god sitting on the throne and being glorified holy holy holy lord god almighty lord of power and might. face is god's work in us according to the teachings of martin luther five hundred years on pastor hoffman is struggling to find people still willing to hear the reformers message. it happened while hundreds of people were sleeping only for them to wake up to a nightmare on the fourteenth of a fire engulfed all twenty four stories of tower in west london killing at least eighty people. located in one of london's wealthiest neighborhoods the horrifying destruction of this public housing block has come to symbolize the shocking divide between rich and poor the borough of kensington and chelsea is a study in an equity with people of extreme poverty and wealth living side by side . the burned out shell of grenfell town the west london highrise in which so many once lived and died of a silicon stiver lorand they were friends and neighbors people she saw almost every day has lived opposite grenfell tower for thirty four years on the night of june the fourteenth she was awakened by the fire they could see people at the a window. they said hello sometimes the children were show to show we jumped. all around the ground for tower there are still signs of mourning and rage many accuse the authorities of having ignored fire regulations by covering the building in a highly flammable cladding to save money this area is home to many public housing blocks which like when fatah a managed by the local council has the latest ever laurent lives in social housing too and understands the anger. nobody was listening to them and we have experience as well we we know exactly. how it happened you know as much as the fire is they way people were would drink treated they way they were who have been ignored. stands and one of the u.k.'s most affluent boroughs kensington and chelsea many of the houses here are worth millions the extremely wealthy and the very poor often live on the same street it's one barrier but two very different worlds kensington and chelsea has become a magnet for the world's super rich they invest in real estate here which often stands empty. the barrel has profited and has been able to build up some three hundred million euros in financial reserves. since the fire many protests have been staged against the social inequity to. local residents and left wing activists demand justice for grandfather in front of the local council. inside politicians pledge to use the financial reserves to create more public housing and purchase properties that are standing empty. but they say this could take years. the sound of doing fills the room the survivors feel betrayed and misunderstood by the conservative run council. when. the. teacher moira samuels belongs to the group demanding justice for grandfather to them that means getting timely help for victims and their families and punishing those responsible. this painting project was set up the day after the fire mara samuels has been involved in local politics for years she says the fire is only the most tragic example of the problems here she wants political change and an end to austerity measures we'll take the astaire it's easy and you'll take the wealth you know and you'll continue to make decisions which will deprive us of decent education decent health service decent housing you know public services have been really attacked over the last day. social worker jamie so will also knew many of the victims he's involved in youth projects in the area around grenfell town they offer young men an alternative to drugs gangs and violence he says the authorities with the problems here under the carpet that violent crimes unit used a violent crime unit want to accept as a gang issue. so they couldn't call it gang to go to gang then the people at the other end of history might get a bit of it up said might affect house prices. negron full time residents have created an improvised community center here people can read a book chant or play chess and forget their troubles for a while. it's especially important to give the young people here something to hold on to that was tough enough even before the fire. when you bring things like drugs into it and you say we're an area where you can make an easy buck and youngsters are already feeling deeply resentful because they're very aware of what they don't have because on the other the other end of the street there's people who have so much. it's just a very strange place type of two cities and doily i think. this is the other side of kensington and chelsea the local rotary. clambers holding a meeting at a luxury hotel you must be successful to be a member of this organization those here are aware of the barriers huge gap between rich and poor there's always been a situation of rich living with poorer and don't get along phil fairly well because i think there is a commitment from people in this country that we help each other. so after the terrible tragedy in their barra they feel it's their duty to pitch in. graham thomas a former diplomat is coordinating the club's efforts to help ever since the fire he's been flooded with offers. personally just going to there i being i being rather proud of how people have responded they've responded in small ways there is a bullet in big ways but they have responded they haven't just walked away from the whole thing. yet despite that response that grenfell's former residents and neighbors feel they've been abandoned most have lost faith in politicians long before the fire to them the towers burnt out shell is just further evidence they'd been right all along. it begs the question whether such a basic rights are only accessible to the privileged few who can afford to pay for them and now to switzerland where a farmer is fighting to as he puts it give cows a voice are like a power has made it his mission to curtail a practice he considers and this is sara lee cruel and based on all the signatures he was able to collect it seems many of his fellow citizens agree with him. you know you're going to get sleazy. singing even though you think i mean any color blind farmer i mean couple has never followed the crowd. he's a free spirit who has always done his own thing. and he's 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 or nubs in switzerland eight out of ten kelvins are de horned this is often train full of the cattle. oh it's clearly cruelty to animals. this is the creator equipped cows with horns so for me it's only natural that they belong to the animal he says and no i do confess. to you that 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 wouldn't listen. so he launched his own cool horned cattle initiative and against all odds collected more than one hundred fifty thousand signatures enough for a referendum on the matter. in a few months switzerland's 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. and scientists of us can't be that something like whether cows have horns or not becomes part of the constitution . looking scouse here how they're all standing around us so calm and peaceful atmosphere i don't think these animals are lacking for anything else and cows with horns significantly raise the risk of accidents i know i have been here almost all your thought. i mean cup house says the notion that cow horns increase the risk of injury is nonsense he says that in his stall the cows use their horns to communicate. so on through she offered the tip of her horn to another cow so it could clean dirt out of its high. i think all the black crowes a clip of you had she stuck out her horn and the other one went like this. compound knows he can't bend the horning entirely he jokes that if he tried to do that someone might set fire to his cow stall instead he's seeking financial assistance for farmers who let their cattle keep their horns. that's because these cows need more space in the stalls and d. horned ones. his opponents say couple's initiative would cost thirty million swiss francs. it will be at these a scale where the money come from it have to be taken out of domestic agriculture there certainly won't 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 but 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 that's it for today thank you for watching see you next time. fifty kitchens one he said come in every morning to our own. general max series is a very simple recipe but it's quite made things like having. fifty international dishes chefs restaurants recipes for cooking the dishes joining them at home. to get you in one city. in thirty minutes d.w. . learn german with w. anytime anyplace. with or with jo jo and her friends. exactly the. mission it's the same space she just doesn't work with friends all over the world. online and interactive. german to go. learn german for free with d.w. . meet the germans new and surprising aspects of noise and culture in germany. u.s. american keep newsa take a look at germany this increasing use of their traditions every day lives and language doesn't just come out of my life. so i'm young good said. the big guy a d. w. dot com makes the germans. progress but in the way they start to divide the country to meet zealand where they start to divide the language. blood will flow for the. ninety nine weeks of the soviet union is breaking apart the night of that night but everyone knew the decision would seal everyone's face or get us down to my side of a. long and the members of the russian federation would have to find their own way politically and economically with love so it was an incredibly difficult task to not miss and that should give effect this democracy was a license for the elections were a fraud to say privatization was robbery tourist instead of cultivating its culture its roots and language it brought forth the recalls of nationalism of thugs the soviet union's heritage where does russia stand today and moscow's empire our series starting november fifth on d w. spanish prime minister mariano rajoy has sacked the government in the region of catalonia and disbanded its parliament he announced the region will hold fresh elections on december twenty first but cut along lawmakers have passed a motion declaring.