deutsche bahn says the demands are unaffordable.d berlin. motorway sliproads and border crossings with france, poland and the czech republic are also affected. our berlin correspondent jessica parker told us more about why these strikes are happening. i'm in the heart of berlin. you can see the brandenburg gate behind me. but swing round here and you've got a line of tractors. there are actually fewer here than there were a couple of days ago. but it is part of an ongoing protest by farmers against plans to phase out agricultural fuel subsidies. now, in some cases, tractors are parked up like this in city centres. in other cases, they are doing rolling blockades across the country, causing travel disruption. adding to that, today, you have got the start of a three—day strike by train drivers who are in a dispute with the national rail operator deutsche bahn over pay and working conditions. it is all a headache, of course, for the german government that has already been dealing with a budget crisis. there are also sluggish economic f

only one in five long—distance deutsche bahn serviecs ran on wednesday, while regional trains were severelygdl train drivers�* union over pay and working hours, and follows nationwide protests by farmers. a powerful winter storm in the us has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and grounded flights from north carolina to maine. in hampton beach, new hampshire, officials declared an emergency and ordered evacuations as flooding threatened homes and businesses.elsewhere: heavy elsewhere heavy snow has blanketed the midwest, and blizzard conditions threatened communities in the west. us transportation secretary pete buttigieg says boeing 737 max 9 aircraft are grounded nationwide after one plane lost a door plug in flight won't return to service "until it is safe". the announcement came after alaska airlines grounded all of its max 9 planes. the us federal aviation authority is not committing to when the planes will be allowed to fly again. you're live with bbc news. former newjersey governor chris christie has dropped out of the race for the 202a republican presidential nomina

only one in five long distance deutsche bahn services ran on wednesday, while regional trains were severelyy farmers. us transporation secretary pete buttigieg says boeing 737 max 9 aircraft grounded nationwide after one plane lost a door plug in flight won't return to service "until it is safe". the announcement came after alaska airlines cancelled all flights of its 737 max 9 planes. buttigieg says the us federal aviation authority is not committing to when the planes will be allowed to fly again. an avalanche at a california ski resort killed one person. reports say three others were injured. more than a 100 people took part in search efforts at the palisades tahoe ski resort in olympic valley. the search was called off after no other missing people were reported. monitoring officials had warned of considerable avalanche danger wednesday. you're live with bbc news. the head of the world health organization is calling on israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to gaza. tedros ghebreyesus accused israel of repeatedly barring access. he said it was impossible to reach those in need