Heroes one hundred years after car lieutenants and Rosa Luxemburg were murdered we look at the legacies of the german communist leaders and. Im carl kasell and thanks for joining us more storms and heavy snow are forecast to strike across the alps in the coming days and avalanche warnings are still in effect there as well at least twenty four people are believed to have died in weather related incidents across the region. Drew short break in the weather the snow fall in southern bavaria has been relentless this mountain prost was closed after an avalanche swept down from the austrian side of the port it with germany Emergency Services rescued a group of skiis whod sought refuge in a mountain restaurant. Its a bit of equipment a Mountain Rescue Team in the police is quoted as down when the pos is closed you cant just make your own way down. Most of the roads around the town of berchtesgaden have been cleared the biggest problem is the massive snow pressing down on buildings the thought followed by more rain or snow could destabilize some structures in the mists where in the thing we only and around two hundred rubes a short while ago we could have said thats it weve done the job now we have to reassess and say we still got the third or even two thirds to go before and. Another five hundred firefighters have been brought in to reinforce the five thousand relief workers already battling the snow in the very end now. Austria two remains on critical avalanche alert links including the albert pass above the renowned ski resort of sent anton shot an avalanche killed three german skiers on a route that was closed because of the danger from the huge piles of snow now look at some of the other stories making news around the world the mayor of the polish city of dunce is in Critical Condition after being stabbed in front of thousands of people a man rushed the stage and stabbed pavol other mortgage with a sharp object during the finale of a Large Charity event. At least fourteen people have been detained following massive German Police raids against criminal clans or than Thirteen Hundred officers searched stores storefronts linked to arab crime syndicates in six cities across northwestern germany the raids were the regions largest ever and focused on bars cafes and gambling venues. Greek Prime MinisterAlexis Tsipras says he will call a confidence vote in parliament after his defense minister resigned it all stems from a deal to end a long running dispute with neighboring macedonia over its name on those amendments and his party or a key part of cyprus is alliance with support is needed to approve the deal. Washingtons ambassador to berlin has issued a stark warning to German Companies over a controversial pipeline that would supply russian gas to germany while bypassing Eastern European countries richard burr now reportedly wrote to several Companies Involved in the construction of the north screen to pipeline reminding them of u. S. Sanctions on the Russian Energy sector the u. S. Has long opposed the pipeline saying it undermines european security. Well max and hes been following that story for us he joins me now in studio with more max theres really a lots of breakdown here first just lay out for us exactly who did the u. S. Ambassador rights to and what was in the letters so u. S. Ambassador Richard Grinnell wrote a letter to several businesses which are involved in the construction of the north stream to pipeline and among the among these companies were the german firms winter show and you know prince well as the dutch British Shell corporation now the United States opposes the project and make clear to the Companies Involved that they could very likely suffer harsh consequences but lets bring up a quote from the litter that he wrote here it says i therefore request on behalf of my government that your company consider the danger this product represents to European Energy security as well as the reputational costs and sanctions risks associated with our i guess the key word there is saying sions right i mean why would the us want to slap sanctions on germany over this one. The Us Ambassador raised economical as well as security concerns connected to the north stream to pipeline and this pipeline is actually supposed to carry gas from the russian coast to germany. Bypassing third countries and it is an addition to an already existing pipeline north stream this would allow russia to double the amount of gas sent to europe now there are fears in washington but also here in europe that this pipeline would give russia leverage over European Countries and also do away with the need to transfer gas via ukraine as it is doing now this is important because ukraine and russia have been in the conflict for the last couple of years largely over the eastern part of ukraine and despite the animosity until now russian gas still goes through ukraine serves as a gateway for russian gas and ukraine relies on transit for some transit fees from russia and also has some political leverage by them so its interesting though to hear those comments from the u. S. Ambassador to germany how seriously are grinnells comments being taken so many have commented on the on the issue and say grinnell is overstepping his boundaries youre going hans who is the Foreign Policy spokesman of medicals cd you can service in poland put it this way he wrote in a statement or he issued a statement which says that the Us Ambassador is now turning to German Companies with direct threats is a new and unacceptable one sided tightening of the tone in the transatlantic relationship so there has been no official reaction from the German Government yet however the German ForeignMinistry Said that criminals actions did not follow common diplomatic practice and berlin would address the issue directly with washington thanks for breaking that down max that thanks very much. One hundred years ago this week two icons of german communism meth brutal and car lived and firebrand Rosa Luxemburg died at the hands of rival paramilitary groups in the chaos that followed the end of world war one but for the communist movement the two became even more revered and death on the anniversary of their murder left wing activists have gathered in berlin to remember the revolutionaries. Went to meet some of them. For these marchers rosa look simberg and Karl Liebknecht are real heroes so since turned out to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the deaths of the communist leaders charging fifteen kilometers in the rain to the couples memorial who just do it here. Looks and book and. One hundred years ago the struggle still counts we can see that in the rise of militarism the problems that we have with racism in germany the swing to the far right those are all reasons why were here. No doubt karl and throws a are the big ideals they believe they have to continue the struggle the socialists and communists started more than one hundred years ago. Thats when the tradition began more than one hundred thousand followers flanked the coffins of the two revolutionary leaders look simberg and leap connect were captured and shot by right wing paramilitaries their deaths are still controversial today. Julian take this a target studying physics in bare then hes active in left wing student politics and an ardent admired her of rousseau looks and barack. Rosa luxemburg she was important because she was a revolutionary she was also a very strong feminist and one of the first women to to find her voice and make make a powerful stand in a time. Where even revolutionary discussion was dominated by men the marchers make their way to barry lynn Central Cemetery its a place of pilgrimage for the left in what was once communist east berlin wreaths and carnations are laid. Tecla finds it encouraging that these historical figures remain so significant for us they represents how our fights to to improve conditions for all workers around the world and this is cited that we live in we still face the same conditions work is students. Families are still exploited in the same way we have to worry about our rent having our job or becoming homeless and this has impacts all over the world nearby stans another memorial this one to the victims of communism its often ignored but for this visitor its important to lay flowers here. Is your fault. I think theres always a risk of the two of them being romanticized. Its important to remember the other side of the story. Thats if we want the whole truth to be told that. You know in plots for. Me its debatable whether Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were responsible for the crimes committed later in the name of communism but theres no doubt that the one hundredth anniversary of their deaths is being used for political purposes. Its been nearly five years since thailands army took control of the country following a political crisis military leaders have been promising a return to civilian rule ever since but now theyve pushed back the date for elections yet again just one month before they were set to take place thats brought people out onto the streets of bangkok and boston heartsick was there to hear their demands. Theyve had enough enough of thailands military rulers enough of seeing their rights curtailed enough of promised elections being pushed back time and time again. Now these protesters in the heart of bangkok say they wont back down until the government makes good on its promise to let the people have their say were living with the parliament that has no opposition opposition for the last five years without any you know Good Governance on any no opposition liking in the parliament so the this election is a very important part thailand not only to go back to democracy but also do this on the country back again after five years and to get their rights as citizens back in the past five years the military government has used its powers to stop critics from speaking out. Until recently protests like this one were prohibited by the strict assembly log file its military dictatorship put in place now that law has been lifted but in spite of that demonstrators are still telling me that theyre being harassed by the authorities that if i can do that in my face and that what. Its like when this man find me not that hes. Just. A title like like just put me in a coffee shop was killed. But these tactics. Keeping active with the way theyre afraid the government could play for time until the election deadline by tyrants constitution expires then there would be no telling when tides would get to vote again. All right heres a question have you ever felt like smashing something after a stressful day at work that an anger room may be just once you need its a space designed to lead people vent their frustrations by destroying every day objects a new one recently opened in the Chinese Capital beijing and its proving to be a smashing success. If you are the kind of person who tends to pull to not be over a then you may want to look at this. Welcome to the anger room in beijing. Its a place where people can go to let off steam by smashing up every day objects this custom explains why its such a good crack. To the legal court so this place gives you the pleasure of breaking things in other places after you smash the item you might find the stuff still there or you get fined but it wont happen here so here you only need to pay the money. You were to live. To beijing under in the set up by former p. R. Executive john manning. Customers sign a safety form before being allowed to let drip. Gin sales people visit the ngo room to many Different Reasons mainly to achieve stress. Show the brave portrayal that all of them are all her wedding photos here and smash them all we encourage people to bring their own stuff to vent their anger because we also see it as a place to say goodbye to a stage in life the way they did always. Jean says the new space is proving so popular with the chinese that shes already planning on opening up a second venue in the city. Youre watching the news from berlin more coming at the top of the hour and youll find the latest News Headlines on our website thats dot com. And. Cast language courses. Video and audio