to as a deeply disturbing question. people in power investigates allegations of systemic discrimination against the pandemics disable victims and asks has there been a shameful failure to protect some of the world's most vulnerable citizens. disabled victims to. the article of impeachment now before the senate is an unjust and blatantly unconstitutional act of political vengeance. he simply didn't do it defense says there's no proof the former president in sight of the capitol hill attack. i'm come out santamaria here in doha this is the world news from al-jazeera protesters in nigeria are returning to the scene of the controversial deaths of 12

demonstrators last year in lagos activists plan a rally at the very spot they were killed. also in the news france holds off on a 3rd lockdown the critics warn that may be a risky strategy. and a disturbing trend divergent on the u.s. west coast a rise in attacks on asian americans. donald trump's 2nd impeachment trial is nearly finished with a final vote in the senate expected as early as this weekend lawyers for the former president wraps up their defense describing the trial as unconstitutional they say democrats pushing for a conviction just want revenge trump accused of inciting the january 6 riots on capitol hill allan fisher has all the details. the time team took it to markedly short time to wrap up its defense just under 4 hours it argued that the proceedings

were unconstitutional were rushed and were driven by a hatred of donald trump this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts the evidence and the interests of the american people the senate should promptly and decisively vote to reject it far from promoting insurrection against the united states the president's remarks explicitly encourage those in attendance to exercise their rights peacefully and patriotically if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore this is ordinary political rhetoric you have to get your people to fight and if they don't fight we have to primary the hell out of the ones that don't fight hatred is at the heart of the house managers frivolous attempts to blame donald trump for the criminal acts of the rioters based

on double here stay for hearsay statements of fringe right wing groups based on no real evidence other than rank speculation hatred is a dangerous thing they have not and can not prove mr trump explicitly or implicitly encourage the use of violence or lawless action to walk down to the capitol the only gets you. are brave senators and congressmen and women make no mistake and i will repeat it now and any time i'm ever asked january 6th was a terrible day for our country the attack on this building shocked us all. president trump did not incite or caused the horrific violence that occurred on january 6th 2021 the senate then moved to

a question and answer session it was combative it was fractious and it allowed both sides to repeat well worn lines this is an article of impeachment for incitement this is not an article of impeachment for anything else so one count they could have charged anything they wanted this process is so on constitutional because it violates due process i'm not even to get into the jurisdiction part. the due process part should be enough to give anybody who loves our constitution and loves our country great pause to do anything but acquit donald trump at no point was the president informed the vice president was in any danger because the house rushed through this impeachment in 7 days we don't come here in anger contrary to what you've heard today we come here in the spirit of protecting our

republic and that's what it's all about. there was a moment of unity at the end of the day when both sides agreed to present the congressional gold medal to capitol hill the officer who led the rioters away from the senate chamber eugene goodman actions probably saved lives that day the senate will meet on saturday that is the possibility they could call witnesses but really we're looking at moving towards a vote on the acquittal of donald trump let's run it through what will happen next the senate reconvening for its 5th day of the 2nd impeachment trial. first duty is to vote on whether to subpoena witnesses or documents u.s. media is reporting both sides are just likely to move straight to the next phase so that will mean closing arguments house impeachment managers and trump's defense lawyers each get 2 hours to wrap up their case before the final vote could be as early as saturday 2 thirds majority of the evenly split senate is required for

conviction. well as we heard earlier the u.s. senate has paid tribute as well to a man they say is the hero of the capital riots eugene goodman was awarded the congressional gold medal its highest civilian honor goodman kept rioters out of the house chamber senate majority leader chuck schumer thanked him for going above and beyond here in this trial we saw a new video powerful video showing calmness under pressure his courage in the line of duty his foresight in the midst of chaos and his willingness to make himself a target of the mobs rage so that others might reach safety officer goodman is in the chamber tonight officer goodman thank you. on to other news me and mark 1st of all where people are out on the streets protesting for an 8th consecutive day against the military coup 6

6. they want the generals to release deposed leader unsung suchi who's under arrest police have increased their efforts to crack down on the gatherings though they say there are 19 restrictions and security forces have arrested protesters in overnight raids as well. meanwhile the u.n. human rights council adopted a resolution calling for a release and all political prisoners in fact to have been detained since the coup the original texts had to be watered down to get china and russia on board and china is still distancing itself from the measure the resolution also demands the military to reinstate the civilian government and use restraint with protesters scott hired lawyers in bangkok covering events for a scot you were saying earlier that actually today is the potential to be bigger than any of the previous day's rallies. it very well could come on that's kind of how it was building up throughout today on saturday you know friday that was

a lot of people you know there are official numbers coming out this isn't the police department of yangon or mandalay or nate the door saying yes there are x. thousands of people out on the streets this is based on what the organizers and people on the ground some of our contacts on the ground saying comparing it to previous days and they've said that today is shaping up to be even bigger than yes a friday and friday was again according to this kind of collective idea that that was indeed the biggest day for the coup protest movement this civil disobedience diffs obedience movement so we've been seeing the scaling up you know right the way through come on even when we had a pretty violent day on tuesday they came out on wednesday there was thought that you know you had this crackdown by security forces by police in many cities on tuesday the concern was that that might of you know raise concern enough that people weren't going to come out in the numbers 8 seen wasn't the case they kept coming and coming and coming even after the head of the military said that you know

for covert reasons as you pointed out come on people should not gather in large numbers that hasn't stopped them either so they keep coming out and right now we're seeing things kind of how we did on friday and that is that in young gone a lot of people coming out the most people coming out in the commercial capital several different locations embassies as well as this major intersection near the university of yang gone building throughout the day but the most important thing right now everything has stayed peaceful from what we've been able to tell so the purchase carry on which in itself is something as we said i just wonder if it's making any difference or any progress if i can put it that way scott because again the the the other thing we're always waiting for is for the military to step up its response. well i think one thing we can say is that the reaction and the manner in which they're coming out onto the streets it's definitely different from what we saw in past uprisings within me and more than

that and several of those we saw a brutal violent crackdown because of the generational difference and the technology difference quite honestly you know in the last 56 years when the economy has really started to build to rebuild itself in myanmar this generation generations e. has really taken to the internet taking to social media so i would imagine the military was kind of put aback by how quickly they were able to can communicate quickly they're able to mobilize and then also you have different sectors of life it's not just generations e they're the ones who are out there being more most active i guess. is that you know many different walks of life have come out in the past it was uprisings with just students maybe like in 1988 or the student led but this time it is labor unions it's aviation workers it's teachers it's medical professionals it is students and so you have many different walks of life so they're using social media

and these groups to get people out in big numbers. so a little different this time isn't it thank you scott toddlers in bangkok following events in may and ma. there are protests expected in nigeria's largest city lagos softer activists called for a rally at the spot where 12 people were killed last year during protests a number of arrests have been made already. supporters of the end sods movements against police violence are angry at a decision by a judicial panel to reopen the lake he told kate it's been closed since those killings that many say reopening the toll gate is just ill timed any considerate to the victims made idriss cover those protests for us in october and he's back there in lagos what's been happening right. now come out it's been. kept in most games between the police and protesters the

police this time around. for an event that may happen. say they want to try to avoid the event to make it to $1021.00 thousands and thousands of protests just porcupine this particular location here in make mistakes but traffic protesting and demanding an end to east brutality in lagos then the government then announced tough you in town which of course then later shifted but again and lots of people got bored in between coffee and a coffee out and then the police were here to disperse the protesters and then violent is for justice 0 protest organizers is system at least 12 of them were killed the government says there is no evidence that that has happened but then the protesters continue to demand justice for victims of those disturbances across the country who have seen how did you shall punish those of inquiry have been set up to

investigate the events of the 20th of october and what followed later what we saw later after october 20th was that they wanted riots across nigeria riots broke out government offices private residences businesses and almost every facet of life was . brought down by protest all right just across the country but just caught up with so much stuff here in naples didn't get to the government. and to often be told because he said it's crossing with a lot in terms of running for justice i thought was odd to have all the talking one investigations us to come to. recommend using something was such a promise it was still ok should open for business and just i said i was in frankly i don't even want to grab enough details to be taking place here they want this place shut down this was misprinted and they want to i want to make to the times of the protest last year the oh ok i'll have to leave it there in fact the picture

just froze their communications a little delicate fare but we'll keep an eye on the situation in lagos later he still ahead though a damning new report by a special u.n. investigator says sanctions against men as well as government made the humanitarian situation worse and the international criminal court has a new lead prosecutor after a long drawn out process at the united nations. how low it remains fine and dry across much of indochina not seep out into the philippines as well one or 2 showers coming through here one will be on the shops i could cause a little localized flooding but the wetter weather by far will be across northern parts of borneo some heavy downpours coming through here and the seasonal rains

well while scattered there across a good part of southeast asia malaysia and indonesia seeing more heavy showers as we go on through the coming days then some sharp showers there too into jobs again the possibility little bit a localized flooding and we see some shops i was to into parts of australia is turning drier and find across the southeast as we go through the next couple of days that a wet weather there still into that eastern side of new south wales just pushed. into the outback into queensland we'll see some heavier rain from time to time here and that's running all the way over towards the top end to wards and northern parts of the southern areas of w.i. that's where the warm sunshine is set to continue getting up to 35 degrees celsius on sunday we should see the temperatures picking up nicely into the southeast as we go on through the next couple of days just 22 celsius there for melbourne on sunday but warming up nicely for monday with a high of 26. on

counting the cost where has the wrongs of oil wealth gone from fan from civil servants to corrupt politicians to take a closer look and the m.r.i. name technology behind covert 19 vaccines how long before it's used to find the cure for cancer counting the cost for now just. play an important role. you have al-jazeera and these are the top stories 2nd impeachment trials nearly

finished with a final vote in the senate expected as early as this weekend lawyers for the former president wrapped up their defense by calling the trial unconstitutional. protests are expected in nigeria's largest city lagos that they are happening activists and really decision to reopen the lucky toll gate where 12 people were killed last year during protests against police violence. and who protesters are out on the streets of me in march for an 8 day in a row they want the generals to release the deposed leader and son to a change in the house arrest. the united states is due to lift its terrorist designation for yemen's who tees on tuesday president joe biden the united nations and aid groups will fear the designation could only worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis but this shift in policy does come with a warning because of the. the u.s. state department says yemen's who will be taken off its list of terror groups it's

a move that could reflect a shift of u.s. policy in the middle east but the announcement comes with a warning after the who these admitted they attacked a saudi airport on wednesday the u.s. says if the violence continues sanctions will follow if the who the leadership is under any illusion that the intent to revoke this designation suggests that we are going to let up the pressure on them they are sorely mistaken the who these however are defending their actions what to know how but even by war is legitimate because it is based on the right for self-defense when saudi and the u.a.e. stop their war on yemen we will stop immediately and without the need for any dialogue or political solutions in the past we stopped attacking saudi arabia hoping that it can change its policies and stop its aggression we have in the past introduced many concessions therefore we emphasize once again that we are not waiting for a change of heart inside the american administration or inside the saudi or your

leadership. the war in yemen has led to a humanitarian crisis leaving millions of people on the brink of starvation more than 80 percent of the population lives in areas controlled by who many fear keeping the group on the terror list or f t o would make the crisis worse as it limits the access of aid workers with f t o designation in place those aid workers ace handled the jail time and you know it just really shuts down the flow international humanitarian assistance. the war between who the rebels and yemen is internationally recognized government is widely seen as a proxy conflict between saudi arabia and iran and now taking the coup thieves off the u.s. terror list could have wider political implications i think it's going to possibly upset the saudi u.a.e. led coalition on that same token it's going to help cool temperatures in yemen and

possibly will temperatures tween the u.s. and iran while the war appears to be far from over people in yemen hope new policies will eventually lead to more concessions and peace agreements. up a civilian al-jazeera. the head of the world health organization says the origins of the corona virus pandemic are still not clear even after its investigative mission to china experts haven't confirmed the source during that trip to work on where the virus was found in late 2019 the team says it likely originated at bats but they don't know how it jumped to humans. in france most schools of shut for the winter mid term breaking without travel restrictions actually within france some people are heading away on holiday from the spike high daily infection rates the president on expect the

unexpected they decided not to impose a 3rd full lockdown and critics say that is a risk but the reports from the coastal town of all 3 are in normandy. the february went to holidays underway in france and in all flown out tourists have begun to arrive to enjoy the picturesque harbor on normandy east coast this couple say they feel lucky to be here because like most people in friends they had expected to be in lockdown we only think and we're happy to be able to travel as we really thought we would be confined again so we're trying to make the most of things even if the situation means we can't enjoy a restaurant or bar for several weeks french ministers had suggested that a 3rd nationwide lockdown was imminent because kovi case is the high and more contagious strains are spreading so french president emmanuel maxwell sudden decision not to impose one took most people by surprise and forced the government to change its tune just today are. certainly exists apart to avoid

a letdown it may be narrow but it's there and will be wrong not to try and follow it. the government has tightened existing measures it's extended a nighttime curfew and imposed more restrictions on shops and travel in and out of france restaurants bars cultural and sports centers remain shot but schools are open my call is said to be worried about the impact of another knock down on the economy and on people's mental health but with the pandemic showing no immediate solutions over basing in the country it is clearly a political gamble that is going to the president is taking a risk as it's his decision even though the government announced it obviously he wants to protect the economy so he's waiting as long as possible to see if a full law. dan is needed it's a big gamble but if it pays off it will put him in a strong position before next year's presidential election but this doctor says there's no room for gambling when it comes to people's lives and without

a strict look down the health situation could deteriorate rapidly this might be a big mistake actually because the situation in france is is really bad so we are seeing high plateau. plateau because the number of contaminations per day is still increasing the government has not totally ruled out another lock down but they hope the tighter restrictions some regional measures and a stepped up vaccine rollout will help avoid 11 year before the next election it is clear that macro has a lot to gain if his strategy succeeds but he could also have much to lose if it does not natasha butler al jazeera. moment. and one other note from france the health authority there says people who have already been infected with covert 19 can receive just one dose of the vaccine all jobs approved by the e.u. are designed to be given in 2 doses a few weeks apart but a small u.s.

study showed recovered patients had high antibody levels after just the one dose single dose regimen would help speed up france's vaccination program as the government's been criticized for its slow roll out a british human rights lawyer has been elected as the new chief prosecutor for the international criminal court karim khan will serve a 9 year term once he replaces the outgoing leader in june a diplomatic editor james baines was following the voting from u.n. headquarters in new york. this was a long drawn out process argentina. australia for the 1st time since the international criminal court started work almost 2 decades ago the $123.00 countries that a part of the court elected the new chief prosecutor after counted it couldn't be agreed by consensus having received the highest number of votes after 2 rounds of

voting there was a victor mr karim khan of the united kingdom has been elected prosecutor of the international criminal court for a period of 9 years karim carne is the 3rd person to take on this important role that always proves to be controversial he is an experienced prosecutor who currently heads unit tab the u.n. unit based in baghdad that's charged with collecting the evidence of crimes carried out by eisel although this is an independent legal position everything about the international criminal court ends up being politically charged a number of his early decisions a bound to be controversial whichever course he takes. the court recently decided that its jurisdiction extends to the palestinian territories this is enraged israel because the current chief prosecutor for 2 bensouda has said she believes both the israeli military and palestinian groups

a possible perpetrators of war crimes has been sued are also launched investigations into crimes in afghanistan the us is not a signatory to the court and the idea that u.s. troops could be charged so enraged the trumpet ministration because the i.c.c. continues to target americans that issued travel bans on senior i.c.c. officials including misspend suitor prohibiting her from coming to the u.s. james bays out zira at the united nations. a u.n. envoy says international sanctions are making venezuela's humanitarian crisis worse un special rapporteur alaina do hands been in the country for the last 12 days she's now urging the u.s. the u.k. and portugal to give the government in caracas access to frozen funds the u.s. imposed sanctions 2 years ago citing corruption under president nicolas maduro while recognizing that devastate an african union later all functions on the broad

scope of human rights especially the right to food right to house right to life right to education and right development i call the government of the need and the office of high commissioner for human rights to implement fully duration agreement signed between them and the un special coordinator for the middle east peace process has welcomed the recent summit of palestinian factions as an important advancement towards elections rivals fatah and hamas and 12 other factions met in cairo earlier in the wake they agreed to hold long delayed legislative and presidential votes in may and july the un said it would support the election preparations funny this is supposed to be a time of lunar new year celebrations for asian communities worldwide but there are attacks rising against asian americans at the moment a particular problem on the u.s.

west coast just a warning some viewers may find images in robredo report disturbing the videos are shocking. in san francisco a man attacks 84 year old vito rotten apoc d. injuring him so badly he later died in oakland's historically chinese neighborhood a 91 year old man is violently pushed to the ground smashing his head on the curb and causing serious injuries surveillance video in an oakland chinatown shop shows an assailant waiting till an elderly woman takes out money then tries to violently rob her before racing off researchers see an uptick in crimes against asian americans we don't doubt that a racially motivated are not and so we're not calling about a crimes because we have no clear racial bias and tent. we do know though that american idol we have targeted in our data i'm asian american are we are

disproportionately represented and that's why it's so horrific among asian communities a wave of attacks has turned what should be a time of celebration the lunar new year and dawning of the year of the ox into a season of fear instead we think it can many many seniors who lead inside chinatown they are also afraid it will on their own streets in the too violent attack seen here police have arrested suspects and charged them with crimes we've increased our routine patrols and our chinatown area community members are coming out and walk in and be a more visible in our chinatown area in san francisco community members have started a sidewalk patrol group what we want to do is to make our old really feel safe you know there are a lot are out and about right now to a degree because of the chinese new year and when a new year and we just wanted to feel safe activists say the assaults reflect

a bigger problem in us society it's part of the again deep rooted systemic racism in america. see some people as belonging and others as outsiders and right now are cast as perpetual foreigners and rats. researchers at san francisco state university recorded 2800 racist incidents involving asian americans last year ranging from verbal abuse and spitting to physical assault rob reynolds al jazeera los angeles. let's take you through the headlines on al-jazeera donald trump's 2nd impeachment trial is nearly finished final vote in the senate is expected as early as this weekend lawyers for the former president wrapped up the defense describing the trial as unconstitutional.