this is d.w. news michael from berlin is it the death of diesel a german court rules that cities have the right to ban diesel cars to cut air pollution it's a victory for environmentalists but a huge blow for the all the industry and for the millions of motorists who may not be allowed to drive their cars also coming up full scale finding resumes in eastern guta after a temporary truce collapses in syria humanitarian workers who say they've been unable to deliver aid and that no civilians were able to escape and i see air from

siberia has sent europe's temperatures plunging extreme weather warnings are in place in many countries especially in the east. i bring coffee it's good to have you with us it is a decision that could slam the brakes on diesel one of germany's top courts has ruled that cities have the right to ban diesel cars from their streets in order to curb pollution environmentalists are welcoming the decision but it is a defeat for the all the industry is manufacturers may be forced to pay to improve their emissions systems it could also mean millions of diesel owners are no longer allowed to drive the cars that they own. at the moment most vehicles may be driven in germany cities regardless 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 trunks

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 all turn . it could be millions of angry customers not an attractive option for germany's carmakers 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 or he joins me tonight from dusseldorf good evening to you mr mayor so what does today's ruling mean for you would you now ban diesel vehicles from your city. well good evening well first of all it does not necessarily mean that we have to ban diesel 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 and as it is in english and nitrogen oxide

only then it needs to be implemented what it really are other means there are other channels what are more are what are they i mean you were there the dirtiest air in germany so why not ban diesel engines that would seem to be 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 from 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 if the cost and the effect is disproportional mr mayor who do you feel is responsible we do you feel why you. do you feel like the old industry has been like absolutely i mean who as you know 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 good public traffic and apparently they have failed to do their job and now basically it is it is the cities and it's the consumer it's the diesel car driver who basically has to. has to one deal with it the government to deal with it and you know i mean it's going to have been times when matters of what this have done wrong we know there's 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 them 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 joists in in the in the cities i mean they're much more efficient means of transportation by the way the bicycle is the means of transportation induced and over the highest growth rate and that is the emission free that is modern and i think this is this is the strategy we need to pursue and then regards the problem 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. tonight the war in syria rages on the lawn with the war of words surrounding it a top u.s. general accusing russia of behaving like an arsonist and a fire fighter in syria u.s. army general joseph foetal lashing out at russia today after a temporary truce collapsed a truce that was ordered by russian president putin in the rebel held on klav of eastern ghouta near damascus as you see right there must go accusing the rebels in

the enclave of being the first to a lot to launch the attacks. today the skies over eastern ghouta were supposed to fall silent but a five hour humanitarian pause brought little relief to besieged residents in the rebel held on klav strikes reported during the polls and observers say that syrian government won't planes resumed their bombing as soon as it ended. up 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. and i'm about a little thing and we're meant to pick up the wounded from eastern guta and take them to the clinic in the suburbs of damascus on humanitarian grounds. to them a chevy. 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 . that the militants are intensively shelling the area and not a single civilian escaped at the humanitarian corridor or going to do it. 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 a group still waiting to deliver desperately needed supplies so i imagine. that you have eighty eight thirty people there that we can imagine it's really getting big for. the residents of eastern can do a little bit clear up the rubble and hope to morris pause brings real release. here is over the other stories now that are making news around the world in jerusalem protesters opposed to a proposed tax on the church of the holding cell poker were rewarded with success when the tax plan was suspend the church which is on the site where christians

believe jesus christ was crucified and buried or is closed in protest. 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 he was gunned down three years ago at the same time in moscow supporters placed flowers at the place where he was shot which is close to the kremlin a former security guard from chechnya was imprisoned for new solves murder greece's economics and development minister has resigned demetrius of the me trio stepped down just a day after his wife stepped down from 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 all staring the measures. for the rare cold front

known as the beast from the east continues to wreak havoc across europe and sent temperatures plunging again today causing headaches for those adults among us who had to go to work but a lot of the life for the children who didn't have to go to school for the 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 coast some schools to close on 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 shutter with a custom a little. and delegates and western croatia 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 to feel was resplendent in white but flights in and out of the bulgarian capital were cancelled while 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. just days after the close of this year's winter games in south korea a ceremony in the next winter olympic location has already taken place beijing marked the start of the tour of the olympic flag in style as it was carried on stage at the great wall of china the country has seen a recent boom in winter sports and president xi jinping has pledged to get three

hundred million chinese on skis and skates before the twenty twenty two games sounds like a tall order in just four years. on the second day of formula one testing the familiar rivals ferrari and mercedes posted the two fastest times in unseasonably cold weather in barcelona ferrari sebastian fettle came out on top after a fast run and soft tires in the afternoon the german was also the day's mileage leader right behind him to enable us mercedes who finished the day second in both time and mileage reigning champion hamilton he took the day off. don't forget you can always get the w. news on the go with our app to get access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications on your phone for any breaking news you can also use to the w.f. to send us your photos and video when you see news happening just download the

google play or from the apple store that's going to wrap up this edition of the w. news for all of us here in berlin thanks for the company will be back at the top of the hour with more world news. think your sweet tea. smarter. or smaller. what she was. up to date extraordinary. what's. more. come smart.