this is d.w. news of live from berlin a german court rules that cities have the right to ban diesel cars to reduce air pollution today's court ruling is a victory for environmentalists but they cute float for the car industry and for the millions of motorists who may not be allowed to use their cars also coming up full scale fighting resumes in eastern guta after a temporary truce humanitarian workers say they've been unable to deliver aid and that no civilians were able to leave. plus icy air from siberia has sent

europe's temperatures plunging extreme weather warnings are in place in many countries especially in the east. i bring it is good to have you with us we begin with a decision that threatens to slam the brakes on diesel industries one of germany's top courts has ruled that cities are allowed to ban diesel cars from their streets in order to curb pollution and environmentalists have welcomed the ruling but it is a defeat for the all the industry as manufacturers may now be forced to pay to improve exhaust systems it could also mean that millions of diesel owners are no longer allowed to drive their cars. at the moment most vehicles may be driven in germany cities regard. lists of what engine they have but following today's ruling

cities with high levels of air pollution could opt to outlaw all but the most modern diesel engines a clear victory for the environmental group that initiated the legal action. today is a great day for clean air in germany we have fought for clean air for people in cities. for years the legal thresholds for air pollution have been surpassed in many german cities the nitrogen oxides emitted mainly by diesel cars are highly damaging to people's health the german government says the fumes are implicated in six thousand early deaths every year so many germans support a ban on the wonderful it's about time for the city center to just be made car free that would be super for man the things immediately their dirty thoughts are. many. now fear they will no longer be able to drive in urban areas. of the fifteen million diesel cars in germany the ban could affect some nine million. many trucks

and delivery vehicles could be banned as well as private cars. it's annoying so i'd have to take the train into town if i may not drive my car anymore if you once again it's a blow to the little guy who has no money. the german government is keen to prevent driving bans. trying to calm nerves and said cities will receive help to combat air pollution it's good i insist it is applies to individual cities where more needs to be done but this really does not affect the whole of germany or all car owners in germany i think it's important to make that clear today. there's still one way to prevent driving bans auto manufacturers could retrofit their diesel engines to make them cleaner experts say that is possible the costs might be high but the alternative could be millions of angry customers not an attractive option for germany's carmi. either. of these city of dusseldorf has some of germany's most

polluted air it was one of the cities sued by environmental action germany for repeatedly violating pollution limits of nitrogen oxide well the mayor of dusseldorf is thomas guys well he joins me tonight from dusseldorf good evening to you mr mayor so what does today's ruling mean for you will you now ban diesel vehicles from your city well good evening well first of all it does not necessarily mean that we have to bend these will cars i mean what the court has decided is that a ban on diesel cars is legally possible but it has to be implemented by maintaining what they call the proportionality principle that means only if a ban on diesel cars is the only efficient means to reach the threshold values for what is that nitrogen oxides as it is in english and nitrogen oxide

only then it needs to be implemented what other means there are other shoals what are what are they what what are they i mean you got there the dirtiest air in germany so why not ban diesel engines that would seem to be the the easiest the best solution for you. well the main problem is that it is extremely difficult to administer and to enforce a ban on diesel cars i mean first of all i mean there are a couple of. streets that are actually affected that do not meet the threshold values and they need to be i mean you you need to ban diesel cars exactly on those streets of course you need to also establish sort of detours you know how people can get through the city through other means and the most the biggest problem is really it is in the moment it is impossible to identify cars without looking at the actual papers of the car so i mean you have to need you need to set

up checkpoints where you control each and every car if you really want to efficiently enforce a ban on diesel cars which is as i said i mean it's virtually impossible i would say it's extremely inefficient means because i mean you know it's the cost and the effect is disproportional mr mir who do you feel is responsible we do you feel wired to do you feel like the old industry has been lying absolutely i mean whoever you are i mean you know it i mean that is the worst thing you know i mean the cities are affected by a ban on these of course they need to administer it and. you know the diesel drivers i mean they they basically they they they have to bear the brunt of such a thing which has been cost and this should not be forgotten and has been caused by the automotive industry which has produced cars that pollute more than they claim they do and it has also been cost by the federal government who is responsible to

set up the threshold values off you know off. the cars you know that are admitted were topic traffic and apparently they have failed to do their job and now basically it is it is this. it is and it's the consume it's the diesel car driver who basically has to. has to what deal with it bail out the governor to deal with it and you know i mean it is going to lose big time this winter of what this have done wrong we know this is going to be expensive and we know that you know you've said that it's something that you could do now because of this ruling let me ask you before we run out of time do you want a diesel in your city no i don't want it i think what we have much more efficient means i mean we in this little we clearly put emphasis on public transportation we believe that the individual car should not be the means of transportation

off choice in in the inner cities i mean they're much more efficient means of transportation by the way the bicycle is the means of transportation in distant oaf with the highest growth rate and that is the mission free that is modern and i think this is this is the strategy we need to pursue and then we're guys oblon diesel car it will resolve itself all right we want to thank you for taking the time to talk with us thomas guys all the mayor of dusseldorf thank you mr mayor. and the lesson there is you need to ride your bike even in the winter right of a year well. i won't tell you for sure that i do the third you're going to tell us banning diesel engines is actually nothing new is it it's definitely not a new brand we have seen germany fighting off mission levels now but other countries have started way earlier so more and more authorities around the world are introducing different measures to improve local conditions including banning

diesel cars and last january osteo in norway placed a one day ban on most diesel cars traffic was down thirty percent even though there were many exceptions diesel trucks taxis police cars and other official vehicles were exempt it's not the only european city if you take a look at paris and france they have already banned most diesel cars made before the year two thousand which produce more pollution than other models and starting twenty twenty all diesel cars will be banned from the streets of paris and that's not on t.v. they also want to ban diesel motors in mexico city it will do it five years later than twenty twenty two in an effort to curb nitrogen oxides and other toxins in their cities so as you can imagine seeing all of this it's not the best time to buy a diesel car right now here in germany while some celebrate this ban others are worried about the immediate consequences for their businesses some even rely on diesel cars to make a living here are two sides of this controversial discussion. the idea of small

normally conjures up notions of bustling capitals but lynn is just one of seven thousand german cities notorious for breaking legal air pollution limits could city centers across the country soon be no go areas for millions of cars. over in frankfurt used car dealer marcel del are ball is only too aware of the diesel problem his yard is full of cars waiting for buyers the main difference between them one type sells well the other doesn't. as that any meccania prize or the last year prices have been falling for magically along with demand in some cases demand has fallen by ninety percent the prices have come and i reckon about twenty five percent of what's happened today it means prices will go down again we'll have to see how things develop i think sales will come to a standstill. that's after i in fact stop. car makers

marketed diesels as the environmentally friendly choice they burn less fuel per mile and emit less carbon dioxide no wonder one in three cars on german roads is a diesel car owners rely on them to get to work businesses for regular deliveries. manufacturers are confident a general ban on diesel cars will never materialise the car industry lobby group v d f a says even partial measures could be damaging. to. the decisions problem is that different cities could have differing regulation. that this concerns us because a patchwork of different regulations in place that would obviously confused drivers . that's why we hope for a reasonable nationwide regulation. diesels

will stay on german streets for now whether they'll be restricted in some fashion is another matter. diesel bans could be seen as another useful tool for the cities in the fight against out of control and pollution but how to implement them without disrupting business or hamann economic growth is it enough to exempt certain streets all vehicles vital to business cities across germany will now be themselves these questions. all right let's dig a little bit deeper into this subject which is a complex one for that i'm now joined by my colleague from the business desk to my lound good to see now you've been covering this topic as we all have been for many many months now let's start with the point of view of the consumer because as we see this decision i do wonder do consumers in germany you really want to get rid of diesel cars i think for most consumers things like air quality and respiratory health are very important at the end of the day we all have to breathe but how

that's to be achieved is a where a divergence of opinion about what of course as he said affect the lives of lots of people we have fifteen million diesel cars on the road about two million trucks so commuters are worried small businesses are worried about disruptions the supply chain and city officials of course will have a major enforcement project on their hands full also have to create exceptions for things like ambulances and. fire trucks now if it's any comfort to them this is probably going to be a relatively long winded process this is going to take months the cities of course have to update their air quality regulations and then come up with a plan nobody's going to start pulling off diesel cars off the roads immediately but it could happen now let's talk about the other side the side of the industry because we saw diesel cars in germany are extremely popular and that's no coincidence the car makers behind them have pushed the technology despite the criticisms what reactions can we expect now well the react. it's have been pretty

much what you would expect a thus far. it can't comprehend that decision and that it creates a lot of uncertainty but what they can try to do is offset some of that uncertainty and tell the motorists how they plan on making their lives easier for example of they'll have to respond to renewal renewed calls for hardware fits now carmakers have refused to do this in the past because of the cost it could cost anywhere upwards of thirteen hundred euros for a single car if you expand that to the entire fleet we're looking at maybe fourteen to fifteen billion euros in terms of cost they might come up with a better buyback scheme to allow customers to trade in their old these olds. conditions are favorable to the motorists now they'll probably also have to offer more models that bridge the gap from here to mass electric vehicle adoption by for example offering more hybrids with more electrical components and more importantly they can offer to pay for all those fixes what they'll actually end up doing of course is still up in the air but this is an opportunity for them to surprise you

well let's see if they really surprise but we're talking about the fact that people will have to change their car somewhere or another eventually what does this ruling mean for all those confused diesel drivers i'm actually surprised they're not more angry and surprise are not marching the streets or driving their diesels on the streets but if the guns on how a bag would be enforced if they are indeed imposed it also depends on what sort of diesel car you drive now if you bought your car after september twenty fifteen when the latest zero six standards came into force then you might actually be able to keep driving your car you'll probably receive like a logo were a seal to put on your car in order to identify it as a less polluting vehicle but if your car belongs to an older standard than hopefully you'll get a retro fit hopefully for free or a trade in the worst case you'll be stuck with a lemon that you can't resell and can't drive in city centers to know that alone will keep following the story with a complicated one for consumers for sure thank you very much.

old tonight the war in syria rages on along with the war of words surrounding it a top u.s. general accusing russia of quote behaving like an arsonist and a fire fighter in syria washington is convinced that moscow is playing a destabilizing role in the conflict u.s. army general joseph lashed out at russia today after a temporary truce collapsed a truce that was ordered by russia's president vladimir putin in the rebel held on klav of eastern guta which is near damascus as you see right there chooses the rebels there of being the first to launch attacks. today the skies over eastern were supposed to fold silent but a five hour humanitarian pause brought little relief to besieged residents in the rebel held on place strikes reported during the polls and observers say that syrian

government won't planes resumed the bombing as soon as it ended. we pray to god for help what kind of ceasefire is this without attacks and barrel bombs. humanitarian corridors set up to allow residents to leave and aid to enter went largely unused rebels claim people are refusing to leave on buses out of fear of being captured by government forces. were meant to pick up the wounded from eastern and take them to the clinic in the suburbs of damascus on humanitarian grounds. syria's ally russia accused the rebels of preventing people from leaving and blamed them for failing to uphold the truce ordered by president vladimir putin. the militants are intensively shelling the area and not a single civilian escape for the humanitarian corridor or. moscow's plan falls short of the thirty day cease fire which was passed by the united nations but it's

yet to take effect. aid groups are still waiting to deliver desperately needed supplies so i imagine. that you have aid being able to visit us that we can't imagine it's really getting to the big for the people inside the residents of east and can do little but clear up the rubble and hope to mars polis brings real release. we want to pull the now ralph hodge the regional spokesman for the international committee of the red cross in the middle east he joins us tonight from beirut and mr hodges good to have you on the show your organization released a statement today saying that it's impossible to bring in a humanitarian convoy in only five hours so what framework needs to be in place if you are able if you want to be able to do your job in eastern guta. absolutely five hours are definitely not enough to bring in humanitarian aid of or

over four hundred thousand people who have been living in istanbul was of the very few access to medicine food water and all the basic necessities today what is needed is the government of syria and the armed groups a lot of fighting all the all the parties fighting and east. come to an agreement to to allow humanitarian organizations the safe and repeated access into eastern going to first so that we are able to assess the humanitarian needs and devise our plan accordingly even if we are allowed in once into some good that will definitely not be enough and we would have to enter again to distribute to the thousands of people who are in need mr ogilvie what are you going to do because as it looks right now the u.n. cease fire is not taking place and the only thing that could happen that may

happen is this five hour pause in fighting that may happen they may try again tomorrow so what are you what are you going to do. unfortunately we are unable to do anything at the moment but to keep on calling for all the parties to respect international humanitarian law they have an obligation and a responsibility as parties involved in an armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law first and foremost not to target civilians second to allow humanitarian aid convoys to enter what is happening today that hospitals are being targeted and medical staff are being also targeted inside eastern good day is absolutely unacceptable and in an armed conflict and should not happen at all if the parties respect the laws of war then we are we will be able to ease the suffering of the people we hope that the resolutions whatever they are agreements

that happen between the parties our respect and so that we are able to play our role as humanitarian aid organization and deliver humanitarian and necessities of basic necessities to the people inside unfortunately as things are now we are just waiting and waiting and waiting hopelessly in order to do our job and the fact is that we are unable to do our job at the moment you know i mean i can only imagine how frustrating it is for for your organization and when you consider the there are potentially four hundred thousand people in eastern huta who need help what you know based on your experience what is the best course of action for these people if if they have time to get out of eastern huta should they do that or should they stay and wait for aid to be delivered i mean you know if it's what fifty fifty

chance of either way what would you recommend. we will never recommend anything people have the right to determine their own faith fate and in an armed conflict if people wish to stay and die in their homes that is the decision if they decide to leave that is also their decision. a lot of talk around humanitarian corridors who would like to remind us that no one should be in for or forced to leave their homes they have the right to stay in their homes regardless of the consequences that said we as the red cross the international red cross we cannot really recommend to people what to do with their lives some people remain they will tell you i would rather die in my house and some people would rather escape whatever the fate is people who want to escape then they should be allowed

to save exit if they want to stay they should be not targeted rather harshly the spokesman for the international committee of the red cross joining us tonight from beirut mr hart thank you very much thank you. here are some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world in jerusalem protesters opposed to a proposed tax on the church of the holy sepak or were rewarded with success when the tax plan was suspended today the church on the site where christians believe jesus christ was crucified and buried was closed in protest it will reopen on wednesday in washington d.c. the street outside the russian embassy has been renamed to boris nemtsov plaza after the russian politician and critic of president vladimir putin who was gunned down three years ago at the same time in moscow else supporters placed flowers at the place where he was shot close to the kremlin a former security guard from chechnya was jailed for him solves murder. greece's

economy and development minister has resigned demetrius of a dummy trio stepped down just a day after his wife left the government now this followed a public outcry when it was revealed that the wealthy couple has been receiving a substantial government rent subsidy for their apartment this while greeks continue to deal with strict austerity measures. for the rare cold front known as the beast from the east continues to wreak havoc across europe it sent temperatures plunging again today causing headaches for adults getting to work for children who got a day off school. that beast from the east continues to stalk its way across europe freezing rivers blocking roads and causing general disruption across the continent and britain heavy snowfall in parts of the country caused some schools to close and the country's metal fist to issue travel warnings. in southern italy snow paralyzed

traffic and train services schools were closed in naples so youngsters could enjoy a rare snowball fight in the shadow of the customer. and delegates and western record snowfall of one hundred eighty two centimeters coast huge snow drifts burying houses and roads and forcing rescue services to evacuate the stranded locals. for them it has been quite a shock. nothing like this in living memory i've been living here a long time but i don't remember it ever snowing like this it has always been within the average of half a metre maybe a metre. further east saffir was resplendent in white but flights in and out of the bulgarian capital were cancelled for the blanket of snow left thousands in the west of the country without power.

that led to schools being closed perfect for the city's young sledging enthusiasm. and here's a reminder of those top stories that we're following for you germany's top administrative court has ruled in favor of allowing cities to ban heavily polluting diesel vehicles and environmental say thousands of people a year die prematurely as a result of nitrogen dioxide emissions from diesel engines in syria a temporary truce meant to relieve the suffering of the house collapsed war planes and helicopters resumed their bombardment of the besieged. with both sides claiming the other for the fight. i don't forget you can always get the w. news on the go with our app to get access to all of the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications on your phone for any breaking news you can also use. your photos and videos just download from google play or

from the. you throughout the day stick around for that we'll be right back.

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a little bit appears to soak. in the. good light. for decades germany's old industry told consumers that the cleaner cheaper way to drive is diesel that was a lie today a german court ruled in favor of cleaner air saying that all cities have the right to ban diesel vehicles tonight are we now on the fast track from dirty diesel to the death of diesel i'm burnt off in berlin this is the day. to do it if you haven't caught.