berlin. desperate afghans paying the price for terror. the red cro putting eight activities on hold after gunmen kill six of its staff. it looks like the islamic state was behind the attack. also, lawmakers are poised to greenlight the brexit bill. theresa may is one step closer to triggering exit talks from the european union.

and somalia >> this man president. can he steer the country toward stability? we will ask next. coming up, final preparations for berlin's film festival which kicks off tomorrow. it should be the perfect antidote to the daily apocalypse of world news. it is good to have you with us. the red cross is putting its activities in afghanistan on hold after six workers were killed in the north of the country. another two people are missing tonight. the workers had been delivering relief supplies to the province

which has been badly affected by heavy snowstorms. the convoy came under fire by militants of the islamic state. the attack is one of the worst the organization has experienced in the country in years. we are joined now by the director of operations at the international committee of the red cross live from geneva. what more can you tell us about this attack? >> good evening. for the time being unfortunately we don't have much more information. we had one of our convoys on the way to a livestock distribution in the north of the country that was attacked. six of our colleagues were killed.

two are unaccounted for. we have still no news about our to police their unaccounted for. >> the red cross has suspended operations in afghanistan. what does that mean for the country? >> afghanistan remains one of our largest humanitarian operations. afghanistan has gone through decades of war. 2016 was particularly bloody. hundreds of thousands of people affected. it was the most violent year since 2001. we are running a large monetary and operation. of course what happens this morning is outrageous. we are deeply shocked by this

tragic incident that cost the lives of six of our colleagues. we have decided first and foremost, to put a hold on our operations, we now need to understand in detail what happened. our aim is of course to resume operations as soon as possible. >> how dangerous has become for workers in afghanistan? >> afghanistan has always been a challenging environment. we do a lot about reach with all different groups including very much also the with the

government to obtain the necessary security guarantees operate in this country but this is a fragmented conflict landscape. you have hundreds of different groups changing and shifting alliances. we are therefore operating in what is one of the most challenging security environments. if you look at the statistics, afghanistan is one of the countries that is the most dangerous for aid workers. it's not the first time they have been victim to a security incident. what happened this morning is by far the worst incident that we have had in a long time in the organizations. >> our condolences go out to those affected. dominick, director of operations , joining us from geneva.

thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> a russian court has found the country's most prominent opposition figure guilty of investment. -- of investment -- of embezzlement. the charges against him he says are politically motivated. he says he will appeal his conviction. >> vladmir putin's leading adversary. he has been found guilty of embezzling timber worth 250,000 euros. he insisted the move was politically motivated. what we see is a message from the kremlin.

the guilty verdict is deja vu for him. he was found guilty on the same charges. his sentence was overturned after the european court for human rights called the proceedings unfair. this time the same outcome and the same punishment. whether he can still legally run is uncertain and. he says his lawyers will appeal the decision. anyone convicted of a serious offense cannot stand an election. he has a long way to go. he trails in opinion polls but having his name on the ballot may be enough of a thorn in the kremlin's side. >> donald trump's legal fine to ban travelers from southern countries continues on this wednesday. an appeals court is debating the

legality of his plans but we understand they will not issue a ruling on the travel ban this wednesday. that has not stopped trump from putting his own pressure on the court. while speaking to police officials he question the intelligence of anyone opposed to the measure saying even a bit high school student would rule in his favor. he question motivations of the judges who ruled against him. >> courts seem to be so political. it would be so great for a justice system if they would be able to read the statement and do what is right. that has to do with the security of our country which is so important. right now we are at risk because of what happened. >> donald trump speaking there. british lawmakers are about to

vote on whether to give their prime minister the green light to start negotiations to leave the european union after the public voted to leave. it would give theresa may the power to trigger article 50 given britain two years to figure out how it will leave the block. most campaigned against the brexit vote but they have said they accept they must uphold the resort -- the result of the referendum. we're joined by our correspondent in london. the briggs initiative is set to clear a major hurdle tonight. what is the next step? >> the next step if this bill pauses, it will be the house of lords.

now we are expecting the major vote. then it will go to the house of lords. we are expecting they will try and influence the vote. it will go back and for the little bit between both houses. then the timeline from theresa may, she hopes to clear those hurdles in the article 50 will be triggered everything goes to plan. >> the majority of lawmakers ran against leaving the eu. was there any serious opposition in today's debate? >> that is the tragic of this vote. most were actually against leaving the european union. most people like david cameron, most did not think the british people would vote for leaving. that was a very grave

misjudgment of the mood of the british people who eventually did vote to leave. for a lot of mps, a lot of regret that came across in some of the speeches. there are obviously mps who will have voted against the liberal democrats and the scottish nationalists. someor leaving the european union have always been for leaving. the interesting cases will be those who fill compelled to vote with the government because they don't want to go against the will of the british people. that is quite a lot of pressure from the people pushing for briggs it. it's a lot of pressure not to go against the will of the people

and to vote with the government. there were some speeches of regret and someone who said we don't want to do this now we can't go against the government. >> thank you very much. the united nations says there a real danger of famine in yemen. this is launched an emergency appeal for 2 billion euros of food aid. 12 million people faced a threat of starvation in the country. it's been driven by conflict between pro-government forces and rebels since 2015. both sides have been backed by outside military powers. the u.n. is calling yemen one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

somalia has a new president after an historic election that took place under extreme circumstances. the former prime minister who holds u.s. citizenship won the vote by parliamentary legislators nominated by tribal leaders. they have not had a function government for 25 years amid infighting and terror attacks. earlier we spoke to africa service, he told us more about the winner of small is -- somalis presidential election. >> the winner served as a prime minister six years ago. during the administration, one of the top contenders in today's

election, he resigned after serving less than a year. he has dual citizenship and he went as a diplomat. he sought asylum after the government collapsed in 1991. he came to his country by 2011. after he resigned from his post he formed a political party. he served as secretary general of that party during this election time. >> a pastor in zimbabwe who led protests against the president has been released on bail. he started a protest movement in april and now faces up to 20

years on subversion charges. he was arrested a week ago after returning from the u.s. where he raised awareness of his movement. we'll be back after a short break. >> make your smart tv even smarter. what you want, when you want it. extraordinary, in-depth. you decide what is on. find out more at dw.com.

>> welcome back. live from berlin. in our installation in dresden by a german syrian artist has come under attack by angry demonstrators. right wing protesters cried's shame at the side of the artwork. the mayor was heckled when he spoke out in favor of it. he has received death threats.

counterdemonstration showed up to send a different message of tolerance. >> you see a volatile situation around that piece of artwork. she was in dresden. you are there. tell us, what is it about this? >> i have been speaking to a few people here. to demonstrate against refugees. this piece of art behind me is going to block the square.

they want people to carry out those demonstrations. when you look at the size of the square, it is basically a way for them to say ok. this is a piece of art that we don't accept it as a piece of art. it is something that is a shame for the citizens. thank you for being here. what do you go through >> it is all right to say our mind but we want to say you don't let other people talk?

>> what do you tell them? >> maybe they have to listen and understand the meaning of the work. come talk to me and we can solve the problem together. >> what should be the meaning of this? >> it is a moment of freedom, of living in peace, how we defend our peace. everything is all right to you. one of the best countries in europe. >> do you think freedom is taken for granted here? >> some kind of -- >> thank you. if you're going to follow that,

the discussion in dresden, politics or not. >> now it's time for some business news. germany is on the defense. >> after attacks coming from the u.s., germany is a big trading nation. we will see how that goes because trump administration is all about fairness when it comes to trade. at least that is what it says. that means space elmore products to the u.s. than advise. a national trade council suggested the reason for that is germany was taking advantage of an undervalued euro. officials are reminding it is the european central>> if you hd

balance of payments, they would expect to have a currency. we are sharing the currency with other european countries. >> that is the nature of the common currency. it is a collection of economies of differing strengths. >> germany is giving no signs of trying to reduce its trade ties anytime soon. she is ready to speed up trade deals with other countries. >> a warm welcome, all the more friendly perhaps given the dramatic shift in economic policy. one of the top items of discussion, trade.

specifically south american country set up with the aim of promoting free trade. it was measured as always. she was addressing the administration in washington. >> of course if we as the european union don't make progress with united states, or things progress more slowly. india, australia, and with marcus are. first of all we need to know how we will get on with the new administration. will be working on the issue of free trade while germany holds the g 20 presidency. >> uruguay's president also expressed his desire for a free trade deal.

>> speaking of donald trump the u.s. president has spoken out against the nordstrom department chain on social media saying that his daughter was being treated unfairly. nordstrom indicated they were delisting the brand based on weak sales. not politics. >> trouble on the racket nordstrom's. >> film fans are gearing up for the international film festival. it kicks off tomorrow and as always it promises to be a star-studded affair.

>> waiting in line for tickets, part of the berlin film festival experience as popcorn in the cinema. more than enough to study the pet program. two movies quite that is all they want. the interesting thing is the films are shown in the original language, subtitles, so i can watch japanese movies. the director says many filmmakers have picked up on the current political uncertainty. it is what he calls a daily apocalypse. it is causing a problem.

colt finished director tackles the issues of immigration in a tragic comedy. >> this is my bedroom. >> no way. this is my garbage room. >> it is a film about how the world could be a better place. german cinema enjoys a strong showing of three films in competition. the director is putting on the world premiere of his film, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by max bush. and hollywood glamour is being served up by richard gere. he plays the lead role in the thriller "the dinner." he questions how far he is prepared

to go to protect his children. they may still be waiting to unveil the red carpet but in just a few hours once the stars to send it will be glitz and glamour. >> here is a reminder, the top stories we are following, the red cross is suspending aid activities in afghanistan after gunmen killed six workers. after a short break i will take you through the day. stick around for that.

♪ seoul, the capital of south korea. a city that never sleeps.