quick this is dw news, live from berlin. and avalanche in the french alps. the price of ignoring a warning. three more werenjured a resc teams a ds onne al on the show, political leaders from germany and turkey commemorate the 10 german tourists killed in yesterday's terrorist attack in istanbul. it said the suicide bomber was registered as a syrian refugee.

is democracy in danger in poland? protests in warsaw and european union for the first time ever decides a member country's commitment to the rule of law needs to be checked. brent: it's good to have you with us. a developing story, three people have been confirmed dead so far in an avalanche in the french outs. two of them are school children. they were killed when their group was hit in a closed ski slope. the third victim was a ukrainian tourist. a further three children are seriously injured, we understand. the groups teacher has reportedly been found conscious. let's go live to our correspondent in paris, lisa

lewis. what more do we know about this tragedy? reporter: the authorities have said that no one else is unaccounted for at this moment. there were about five other students missing earlier but they have now been found and extracted from the snow. three other people are being treated for serious injuries in a hospital and we know that three people are known to have died because of this avalanche. brent: authorities are telling us that this ease slope the children were on had been closed at the time of the avalanche, or before the avalanche, right? lisa: that is correct. it had been closed since the beginning of the season, since early september. now the people there are thinking about trying to find out what actually triggered the avalanche. there is speculation that it

when all by itself because of the weather conditions over the past few days which have been difficult. there has been a lot of snowfall combined with strong winds. it can come down as an avalanche very easily. people have been warning of a high avalanche risk, on a scale of one to five, it is now on the level of four, which is very high indeed. brent: lisa lewis reporting from paris on those skied deaths in the outs. tonight were learning more about who was behind that suicide blast in istanbul. two german tourists were killed in the attack. turkey said the attacker had entered the country as a migrant from syria. the tragedy is getting the attention from political leaders

here in germany. here is more. >> the german interior minister came to the popular tourist hub in istanbul where 10 germans lost their lives on tuesday. at a news conference with the turkish interior minister he tried to reassure german travelers that they are not a specific target. he said there is no reason for germans to cancel trips to turkey. but the investigation suggests so far is that there is no proof that the object of the attack was to kill germans. so there is no direct connection with germany's contribution in the fight against international terrorism. he also visited a hospital where survivors of the attack are being treated. authorities have meanwhile released video material said to show the 28-year-old syrian just

before he detonated his bomb. authorities have arrested one person said to be directly connected to the attack. meanwhile in a southwestern resort town, three german nationals were retained in a broad sweep against the self-proclaimed islamic. other rest were made near the syrian border were dozens of suspected i.s. fighters have been traced. if the terror group is behind it, then terrorism in turkey has reached a new level. many turks are worried about the bombing's impact on tourism, a vital revenue source. of course this will affect tourism. people come to visit our country and 10 of them die. and you like to come to this city again if it were you? we wish this attack had not happened. this will affect our income. turkey has become a place for anyone can come. all kinds of people arrive. without a visa.

the government says further attacks cannot be ruled out. it down to step up its efforts against islamic state. brent: the suicide bomber attack in turkey could put the entire tourism industry in jeopardy. many of turkey's foreign tours come from germany. many are having second thoughts about coming to turkey on their next vacation. >> this is not the way he expected to be returning home from his trip to turkey. he was injured in the suicide bombing in istanbul. >> we have no hard feelings. we know there are some mad people out there. no hard feelings towards turkey for this. >> while travelers may not be laying blame on the country, they are looking to other vacation spots, and this could negatively impact turkey's

tourism business. travel agents in germany understand people are apprehensive. we have a lot of people coming in for the summer season. families and children. they want to book their summer holidays and they don't want to go to turkey. the german government does not discouraging travel to the area at this time. i think i've made it clear that we are definitely not advising people not to travel to turkey. but it is the task of the foreign office to inform about where there are risks with our travel and security advisory. in istanbul, people are already expecting more difficult times because of the attack. tourism will probably suffer for a while. as mrs. will be put in a very difficult position.

it is not yet clear if security concerns and fears of terrorism will dissuade tourists from visiting turkey, the world six most popular holiday destination. brent: tonight the eu is taking an unprecedented step, checking on a member country to see if it is truly committeded to the rule of law. that member countries poland. poland's new conservative government recently changed the law to give itself more control over the constitutional court and public process -- broadcast. it is accusing brussels of meddling in its internal affairs. >> brussels and warsaw are on a collision course. accusing: of putting the rule of law at risk, reaching fundamental eu values. it's the first time they have lots such an investigation against a member state to >> i think the procedure will help us

clarify what the procedure really is, and it will help us explain where our concerns are and help the polish authorities clarify with us how they are going to address these concerns. >> poland's new conservative government has come under fire for its recent reforms. people have taken to the streets into social media to express their concern. they worry that us string of measures implement by the government is aimed at strengthening the grip on the judiciary and the media. some say the brussels inquiry is warranted. >>: after 1989 has always depended on the media. so-called intervention signals. >> the intervention comes in several steps. if poland does not react to the

warning from brussels, the eu could apply article seven for the first time ever. funds could be withdrawn and warsaw could openly face suspension of eu voting rights. brent: here's a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has thanked iran ports with release of 10 soldiers detained in the persian gulf. new photos have emerged of the nine minute one woman shortly after their patrol boats allegedly drifted into iranian waters. spain's parliament has met for the first time following last month's inconclusive election. with little sign of agreement on a coalition government, observers say a new election cannot be ruled out. islamic state has imposed its will on an entire region and sent its ambassadors of terror around the world. but it takes more than holy zeal

to wage that kind of campaign. you have to rely on cash from oil, drugs, and cultural treasures stolen from conquest. the sellers are only part of the problem, the blood buyers are the other. -- bloodmoney buyers are the other. >> and ancient city vandalized by the self-proclaimed islamic state. this is all that remains of a civilization dating back thousands of years. the rulings of the city of n imrud in iraq have been destroyed by so-called i.s. what is not shown as the plundering of ancient burial sites. islamic state has seized control of 2400 of them. some of these looted artifacts end up on the german art market.

up until now, import regulations have been to lakhs. -- have been too lax. in the future, only artifacts with proper documentation from the country of origin will be allowed to enter germany. up until now, that wasn't necessary. it is a paradigm shift and as such, we are catching up with international standards. the trade in antiques is insatiable and until now, cartels have always found loopholes in the law. romans can be made in stolen artifacts. stolen art counts as the third most common activity for organized crime. germany is looking to increase cooperation with international police and customs authorities. there is now more global awareness that artworks are important for the shared

cultural heritage of humans. stemming the trade in trolling -- stolen treasures will mean much less profit for the self-proclaimed islamic state. brent: at least 15 have been killed and many more injured in a suicide bombing at a polio vaccination center in the city of queta. a group with links to the taliban and it carried out the bombing. >> the attack happened at the city of queta in western pakistan, near the afghan border. the bombs struck as the team and

its police escort gathered for work in the morning. >> i've been on duty with the polio teams for the last two days. today was my third day. i went to the center at 8:30 a.m. to start my duties. i was waiting for the women's teams to arrive. then this blast occurred. an offshoot of the pakistani taliban and has claimed responsibility for the attack. it's not the first time militant groups have targeted vaccination centers. they oppose immunization campaigns which they see as campaigns to sterilize children. new polio cases were down last year, but the attacks may threaten the vaccination program's future. brent: still to come, columbia's

rebels have cast doubt on whether a much-needed peace deal will take place by the march deadline. we will talk to one of the key players in the process right here in the studio. plus the latest business news on the other side of a 62nd rate. -- 60 second break.

brent: welcome back. our top story, at least two french students and the ukrainians gear have been killed in a 300 meter long avalanche in the french out three people were seriously injured. it occurred on a closed ski run. -- in the french alps. the farq rebel group -- a spokesman for the delegation seen here arriving for talks in havana today said substantial

hurdles remain in the negotiations. three years of peace talks have failed to produce a peace deal. last year columbia's president and the farq leader pledged to reach in a card to in decades of fighting by march 23. but will that happen? i'm joined i germany special envoy for the peace process in columbia. it is good to have you with us. if you could explain for our audience exactly what role is germany playing in this peace process? >> we are supporting the peace process because we think it is about to happen. second, we support the government and civil society organizations in the piece called her and projects.

and also some economic in. >> so you save his peace deal is about to happen, but that's not what we are hearing today am havana. >> i am optimistic. >> what is the hurdle right now, and why did the delegation say all of a sudden we have hurdles? >> there are a number of hurdles, and the most important is security. they need a cease-fire agreement that is controlled and also for the society where there is no force of order present. some of the places where guerrillas have worked are places where -- we need pice and education.

>> so the state could bring in police officer's to restore the peace. >> they have to agree on that and they have to agree on a security for the population and the guerrillas, which is difficult. the paramilitary, you have the criminal gangs, and you have the e.l.m. which has not joined the peace process, but they should join it. because otherwise there is not another window of opportunity. >> we are running out of time, but how likely do you think it is that we will see this piece deal by the deadline? >> i think it's very likely that we see it near the deadline. these deadlines are always passed for a couple of days are couple of weeks. that doesn't make a difference. we have to have patience, but it cannot go on for months.

i'm confident it will happen, and i think it should work that it will happen. >> thank you very much for coming in to talk with us. time to shift gears now, the trouble with the carmaker volkswagen finding a hard to win back trust in the crucial u.s. market. gerhart has the troubling details for us. gerhart: a meeting in washington at the federal environmental protection agency took about an hour and he left without making any comment. earlier he said regaining customer trust was volkswagen's priority. the initial proposal was rejected, calling it inadequate. the proposal by vw is said to be under consideration.

it's all been hush-hush but richard walker, our man in washington, with keeping a close eye on the talks. what can you tell us? richard: hush hush was definitely the word. a lot of interest from the media and elsewhere, but it was very closely kept under wraps. it certainly has happened, mueller spent about an hour at the epa building this morning in washington and left the building without saying a word to the press. but we do have a statement from the epa now, and it's quite interesting to read. there is not an awful lot to it. they say we appreciated the conversation with volkswagen and we will continue to work towards a solution. i'm struggling to find the right description for that statement.y

very minimalist. >> i call that a non-statement. what do you think, other than the epa, the official version of it? the american public, do they still trust vw? what can they do to win trust back. >> i think vw has not even really fully embarked on that journey yet of regaining trust. the beginning will be how it deals with all those customers who bought cars that were fitted with this sort of cheating software to cheat on those emissions test. as we discovered this week, the californian regulator is not happy with a solution that the dubya has proposed, it threw it back in their face and told them -- the solution that vw has

proposed. the process of rebuilding trust will take a very long time. it may still come as something of a relief after the couple days he had before hand, going back to the detroit motor show where he made this extraordinary gaffe, where he appeared to back track on the admission that they had lied about the emissions software. that caused quite a brouhaha, then the californians telling them they did not like the recall plan. >> still a lot of work to be done for volkswagen in america. thank you very much there, richard walker in washington. germany with a larger than expected budget surplus for 2015. the finance minister said the

surplus is the result of economic growth and strong tax revenues. the money could be used to finance the additional cost of integrating refugees in germany. it could also help maintain a balance budget in 2016 for the third year in a row. german industry seems to be optimistic, despite many dark clouds over the world economic horizon. they expect growth of 2% in 2016, slightly above the german governments addiction of 1.8%. next the head of the german industry association is confident that steady growth will continue in germany. rub is mainly driven by historically low interest rates, the week euro, and low oil prices. if people spend less on gasoline and heating and saving is not worth it at the moment, they end up spending more on other things. but he warns that these

conditions will change. the economy is increasingly vulnerable to geopolitical risk such as conflicts in the middle east and ukraine. also urging the german government not to allow the ongoing refugee crisis to draw attention away from other issues such as renewable energy. >> am afraid it has pushed the u.s. government into crisis pmode, leaving it unable to deal with anything else. he called on the government to increase investment, saying the country needs a boost when it comes to expanding power networks and infrastructure. brent: that's all from the business desk at the moment. sports news, an american football, the st. louis rams have announced that they are moving back to los angeles. the move ends the nfl's 21 your absence from the second-largest city in the u.s.

city in he rams were the first franchise to play for l.a. before leaving for st. louis, missouri. >> for two decades, the rams play here in st. louis and even brought the city a super bowl victory in 1999. for fans, the farewell is bittersweet. >> i'm so disappointed. i have been able to be at two super bowl's and really been able to experience all that for years, we are going to miss them. >> it's a homecoming for the rams, returning to the city where the franchise began. the new stadium will be ready for the 2019 season. fans are already excited. >> to be able to say that i was still hanging in there all these years and now they are back is amazing to me. >> they could possibly be joined by the san diego chargers or the oakland raiders. brent: here's a check of our top

story, at least two french school students and a ukrainian skier have been killed in avalanche in the french alps. the avalanche occurred on a closed ski run. you are with dw news, live from berlin. from all of us here in berlin, thanks for the company, everybody. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ññ?ñ?oñ

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