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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 28 February 2018

Cheers, protests as German court lets cities ban diesel cars

By FRANK JORDANS of nitrogen oxides, or NOx,
DAVID RISING contributing to respiratory
BERLIN (AP) — Handing illnesses and 6,000 deaths
environmentalists a land- annually, according to
mark victory, a German government figures.
court ruled Tuesday that Two German states had
cities can ban diesel cars appealed lower court de-
and trucks to combat air cisions that suggested bans
pollution, a decision with on particularly dirty diesel
far-reaching and costly cars would be effective.
implications in the country Germany's highest admin-
where the diesel engine istrative court rejected that
was invented in the 1890s. appeal Tuesday, effective-
The ruling by the Federal ly instructing two cities at
Administrative Court stirred the center of the case —
fears from motorists, auto Stuttgart and Duesseldorf
dealers and other busi- — to consider bans as part
nesses worried about the of their clean air plans.
financial impact. And What comes next is an
Chancellor Angela Merkel's open question.
government scrambled It's not clear whether cit- Journalists take photos of the judges of the Federal Administrative Court, in Leipzig, Germany,
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. The German court ruled Tuesday that cities can impose driving bans on
to reassure drivers it would ies will actually move to diesel cars to combat air pollution, a decision that could affect millions of drivers and the coun-
seek to prevent such dras- ban diesels. And if they do try's powerful auto industry.
tic measures by pushing so, it remains to be seen (Sebastian Willnow/dpa via AP)
other ways to reduce ur- whether automakers will
ban pollution. be forced to upgrade ex- ers will be left on their own, pensate drivers for being diesel engines at its ex-
Diesel automobiles are a haust and software systems forced to bear the costs. unable to use their diesel pense,” said Kai Wegner,
popular alternative to gas- or buy back vehicles; if the The Leipzig-based admin- cars. “The auto industry a lawmaker who speaks
oline-powered ones in Ger- government will offer con- istrative court said cities that caused the harmful for Merkel’s party on urban
many, with about 9 million sumers incentives; or if own- won't be required to com- emissions has to upgrade issues.q
diesel cars and several mil-
lion trucks, buses and other Report:
vehicles affected by the
Overall, 1 in 3 passenger Italian mafia may have links to reporter's killing
ruling.
cars in Germany, home
to such automakers as By KAREL JANICEK Kuciak is the first journalist that Kuciak was working through her to officials from
Daimler, Volkswagen and Associated Press to be killed in Slovakia. The for, made the same claim Fico's leftist Smer-Social De-
BMW, are diesel-powered, PRAGUE (AP) — Italian or- government is offering 1 as Nicholson in their own mocracy party.
though the cleanest, most ganized crime figures may million euros ($1.23 million) story Tuesday based on Ku- The opposition has called
modern models would have been involved in the to anyone who helps au- ciak's reporting. on national police force
probably still be allowed shooting death of an inves- thorities find the people re- Nicholson said he was President Tibor Gaspar
even if cities decided on tigative journalist in Slova- sponsible. Slovakian police ready to testify but has not and Interior Minister Robert
a ban. "It's a great day for kia, a Canadian reporter say the slayings were likely been approached by po- Kalinak to resign and was
clean air in Germany," said said Tuesday as the coun- linked to Kuciak's reporting. lice yet. planning a protest rally in
Juergen Resch, head of the try's newspapers printed In an interview Tuesday "I'm not sure what caused Bratislava for Wednesday.
group Environmental Ac- black-and-white front pag- with the Sme daily, Slovak- Jan's death but I bet my Addressing reporters on
tion Germany, which had es to honor the slain jour- based Canadian journalist life that this is so," Nicholson Tuesday, Fico dismissed the
sued dozens of German cit- nalist. Tom Nicholson said Kuciak said. reports.
ies for failing to meet legally The bodies of 27-year-old told him before his death Making the story more ex- "You link innocent people
binding emissions limits. Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend that he was working on a plosive, Sme said two Italian to a double murder without
While diesel cars produce Martina Kusnirova were story about possible Italian businessmen with possible any evidence," Fico said.
less carbon dioxide and found Sunday evening in mafia involvement in fraud ties to the mafia operating "Don't do it."
tend to get better mileage their house in the town of linked to EU subsidies in in Slovakia did business with Fico also blamed the oppo-
than gas-powered vehi- Velka Maca, east of the eastern Slovakia. a senior adviser to Prime sition for misusing the case
cles, they emit higher levels capital, Bratislava. Aktuality.sk, a news website Minister Robert Fico and against his government.q