happening on the ground in the wood and in the land now more than ever the world needs w.h.o. making a healthier world. that everyone. responded john trunk former president no stage is not guilty as charged in article. the news was greeted with immediate praise from trump is hinting heavily about his political future. and money inside with full coverage of trump's acquittal and while the former president is celebrating is republican party is very divided. and an extraordinary

post verdict attack party leader mitch mcconnell says trump is responsible for the assault on capitol hill. there's no question about. their present troubles practically. and morally responsible. for provoking. also had me at most military rulers to give themselves more power as as they face intensifying anger over last week's. donald trump says his political movement has only just begun after being acquitted by the u.s. senate in his 2nd impeachment trial in 12 months democrats fell 10 votes short of a conviction as fellow republicans largely swung behind the former president to shield him from responsibility for the deadly capitol hill riots on january 6th the

. $57.00 days for ease 3. 2 thirds of the senators present not having been very guilty the judges that responded john trump former president states is not guilty as charged in articles of impeachment reacting almost immediately via a statement trump sank his legal team and hinted at plans for the future saying he has much to share in the months ahead leading republican senator mitch mcconnell was among those who voted to acquit but afterwards he delivered a searing attack on trump for his behavior there's no question none present trouble is practically. and morally responsible for evoking the events of the day. no question about

the people who storm is building believe they were acting on the wishes and truck of their president. well we have and i've got to get monitoring father trump reaction from west palm beach in florida near the former president's resort a fast less tense alan fischer is live for us in capitol hill so very eventful day allan talk astraea the highlights here. a real day of history you have been just talking to stacey class kid who was one of the impeachment managers saying that they're very pleased with the job they've done they believe they have convinced a majority of the u.s. senate and a majority of the u.s. public that donald trump was indeed the inciter in chief at the day started with quite a bit of a surprise because the democrats announced that they were going to call witnesses we weren't expecting that we thought we were moving straight on to the closing arguments at the quoted a number of reports that appeared in the american media late on friday night saying that they really had to speak to the people who were quoted in the one of them

a republican congresswoman who is talking about what kevin mccarthy the leader of the republicans in the house had said to donald trump at the height of the insurrection well they decided to go into recess there was a discussion and then it came out that those comments would be entered into the record but there would be no witnesses called that came to sit in both parties because they really want to get this done quite quickly with then moved on to the closing arguments with the democrats going over the arguments that they have presented to the senate over the last couple of days jimmy raskin saying this was the time for senators to meet a moment of history that this wasn't about donald trump this was about saving the republic and we had from madeline deal one of the impeachment managers saying history has phoned as we know must face the right way as for donald trump's lawyers or the echoed a lot of what donald trump has been saying claiming that this was a witch hunt that it was all because of hatred of democrats towards donald trump

that the whole process was unconstitutional and that this should clear donald trump immediately well we had the vote 57 senators voted to impeach 43 against. one of those where a republican one of them has already been censured by his state party for voting against donald trump but 57 votes isn't enough to get your conviction in the senate in the u.s. you need a 2 thirds majority $67.00 so they feel 10 short so donald trump walks away from his 2nd impeachment he is the only president ever to be impeached twice he's the only president ever to walk away from that impeachment process twice as well and alan what should we make of what mitch mcconnell said just minutes after voting to acquit donald trump rating the former president in that blistering speech i mean what do we make of it. well if you're being generous she would say that mitch mcconnell perhaps used the harshest words he's ever used to vote donald trump the

fact that he was responsible for what happened here on capitol hill on january the 6th if you were slightly more cynical if you were a democrat if you are someone who voted to impeach donald trump you would say that mitch mcconnell is trying to have his cake and eat it because not only is he criticizing donald trump but he also voted to clear him he was the man who said that the democrats didn't bring the articles of impeachment to the senate in time donald trump had left office there for the senate wasn't in a position to start impeaching a private citizen yet it was donald it was mitch mcconnell who actually delayed the articles of impeachment being delivered to the senate by telling the house of representatives that he wouldn't pull the hearing before january the 20th a key date of course because that's the day that donald trump left office headed don't to florida and was no longer president of the united states but it also shows that there is a split in the republican party there are those who are very much the establishment wing people like mitt romney and mitch mcconnell and there are those who support

donald trump and they do so for a number of reasons but one of the big reasons among the likes of ted cruz josh hawley marco rubio is that they intend to run for the republican nomination for president in 2024 and they believe that by sticking with donald trump they will be able to convince his supporters to back them now the democrats may have lost the vote here in the senate but what they have done is tie the events of the 6th of january to donald trump and his presidency and his legacy for all time and fresh air there for us in washington many thanks. one of donald trump's defense lawyers michael vanderveen says it's time for the people and politicians of united states to move on and face pressing issues like the pandemic. this contrie needs to cool the temperature we need to unite as a people there are so many common priorities that we all share that face

this country in a really important way this team of lawyers are simply that we're trial lawyers we're not politicians we are not on the left side of the right side or any side at all we have a constitutional duty to defend our clients and we did that to the best of our abilities. he's more of the statement donald trump released just moments after the verdict it is a sad commentary of our times that one political party in america is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law i always have and always will be a champion for the unwavering rule of law this has been the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country he then goes on to say our historic patriotic and beautiful movement to make america great again has a gun. let's go down to got to his in west palm beach in florida so talk us through this response from donald trump what can we make of it.

well i think the one message from that statement that was released within minutes of him being acquitted is that don trump is going nowhere and he told his supporters that his role to make america great again has only just begun and there will be big announcements in the months to come so it's pretty clear at the moment this is in many ways donald trump's republican party he is a looming figure here but the wider question is i think what does this do to the republican party who are the republican party going forward are they people like marjorie tele green who believes in q and on or are they people like liz cheney who voted against trump and it's more of a moderate republican there's no question now that don't trump has political plans going forward the big question is what are those plans is he going to run in 2024 as many people believe or is he going to seek revenge on those 7 republicans that

voted him guilty in all of this so we haven't heard or we haven't seen from donald trump since this all began this is the longest period i think in the last few years that he stayed this quiet for this long of course he's not on twitter anymore one of his favorite platforms before he was banned from that and i'm not imagining seeing him on t.v. any time soon because it's the weekend here on monday it's present state which is a national holiday and we all know that president former president trump likes prime time so. i guess the country is waiting with bated breath to see what he says next in particular to see what he says about mitch mcconnell after that scathing speech in which one of the most senior republicans laid the blame squarely at trump's feet so the impact of this man can. be understated over the last few years he managed to reform the entire party in his own image i think the bigger question

is is that the image they want to go forward with because there's a question about i want to elections they can win when he just appeals to such you know a large majority of people but they tend to be white non-college educated people and you can't win elections in the future with such a small demographic in a country like this is that it's changing so rapidly but donald trump i think when he does appear on t.v. will say i see i told you so i was right and i'm not going anywhere and andy there clearly is a split isn't there in the republican party 7 voted to convict him mitt mitch mcconnell's comments even though he didn't vote to convict him we've also heard from nikki haley in in recent days distancing herself from trump there clearly is this split so where do they go next. i mean a nikki haley examples a great example she gave a long interview to politico in which you said we should have never followed him we

should have never listened to him he was wrong now she's obviously got our eyes on 2024 she's a more report a moderate republican someone who's highly respected the daughter of immigrants grew up poor you know her narrative is ideal to run in 2024 but if she's going to run against trouble that's going to be a tough call for someone even as popular as nikki haley because almost 75000000 people voted for trump back in november presidential election and as we know those people remain extremely loyal to donald trump and we all know how much he likes loyalty so his shadow is is casting a dark shape across this entire party i think many people within the republican party will be watching to see what his next move is watching to see what he says because the impact this man can make is still significant but there is another important point to make in those that are lots of other criminal cases coming trump's way in particular case in the u.s. state of georgia following that hour long call with broad raffensperger the

republican secretary of state in which trump's pacifically asked for the number of votes to win a state that a natural fact he lost that's now a criminal investigation there are other ones going on and you heard mcconnell saying that the child may face justice for what he did on january the 6th as someone who is now out of office and doesn't enjoy the protections of the presidency so no matter what happens to trump no matter what he does we could see him in court we could see him facing some serious charges and in the next few years another point i'd like to make is is those people that took part in that and so wretched i think when they appear in court in the months to come their lawyers are going to say look my client did what they did because the president told them to do it that may solidify the idea among the american people that this insurrection ingenue the 6 does lay at his feet and those 5 people that died in. no while they may not get the answers and the justice they want that may help swing more moderate

voters but but who knows trump is a very powerful figure going forward and it looks like he will remain that way and he's got to get to speak to you andy gallagher there speaking to us from west palm beach in florida a long time trumpet adverse or mitt romney was one of the 7 republican senators who voted in favor of conviction afterwards he tweeted trump violated his oath of office by failing to protect the capital the vice president and others in the capital bill cassidy from the state of louisiana said our constitution and our country are more important than any one person i voted to convict a president because he is guilty and senator richard burr from virginia put out a statement part of which read the facts are clear the president promoted unfounded conspiracy theories to cast doubt on the integrity of a free and fair election because he did not like the results but we have some

reaction from u.s. house speaker democrat nancy pelosi she took specific issue with mitch mcconnell's logic for voting against impeachment saying he was the one who delay the trial in the 1st place for mitch mcconnell who created the situation where it could not have been heard before that 20 year or even begun before the 20th in the senate to say all the things he said oh my gosh about donald trump and how horrible he was and is and then said but that attack at the time that the democrat the house chose to bring it over now we didn't choose you chose not to receive it so i think that's really important. let's bring in clare finkelstein she's professor of law and professor of philosophy loss of

a university of pennsylvania she joins us from philadelphia many thanks for speaking to us claire what's your reaction to this verdict it's hard to see it as anything but a clear victory for donald trump it's incredibly disturbing that with the democrats controlling not only the white house but both houses of congress that they could not convict on an impeachment a president who sent even by the views of mitch mcconnell provoked an armed insurrection against the u.s. government is quite extraordinary that that failed and really shows the strength to hold that donald trump house on the republican party. the democrats. chance i doubt is that phone really where you are. that's coming from my followers . i'm sorry about that question like do you think democrats missed their big chance here because witness testimony would have really pin down what trump

knew on january 6th and whether whether mike pence for example was in danger. yes i wrote an op ed that was published this morning with richard painter saying that what was critical now was witnesses was absolutely essential to call in witnesses that might have really confronted the commitment of a number of these g.o.p. senators to their willingness to acquit donald trump and i think that the g.o.p. was very afraid of having witnesses call and of course the democrats had the votes to do it so why did they back down that's a profound concern. i've heard a number of different possible explanations will probably learn more in the in the hours and and weeks to come but i think it's very possible that what happened was mitch mcconnell really did a number here he outmaneuvered democrats yet again and he said if you're going to

call witnesses we're not going to get any business done for the next week while your witnesses are getting called while the trial is being. is taking place and we are not going to vote for a covert relief and we're not going to we're not going to confirm america orland we're not going to do anything else that you have on your agenda. and that he intimidated them into into pulling the demand for witnesses i think that would have been a profound mistake the whole point of course of being the majority party now is that in effect they call the shots but with the existence of the filibuster it would have been possible i suppose for the republicans to really threw a monkey wrench in the plans and i think democrats were worried about what was going to ensue in the next several weeks if they did go ahead with witnesses 7 republicans did vote to convict truong what does that tell us about the split that currently exists in the republican party. there's

a profound split in the republican party and the republicans are really a party in crisis at this point because we have republicans even even mitch mcconnell whose behavior said one thing and his words said another that represents the split in the republican party right there. which is that only republicans who are not planning to run for office again which is the majority of the republicans who did vote to convict him did vote with the democrats have the courage to vote in favor of conviction those who are absolutely steadfast in insisting on the innocence of donald trump here are primarily those with political ambitions and they to see their red and in the republican party as buttered on the side of donald trump they have fused themselves forever to donald trump he will control the

agenda and of course it gives him a wonderful platform from which to run again in 2024 which you would think would be against their interest particularly people like holly and cruz who may be interested in running in that primary themselves and trying to run for president so what donald trump has controlled the republican party increasingly over the past 4 years and that he is still the face of the republican party mitch mcconnell has a serious problem in keeping his party together which is i think why he did the dance he did voting to acquit though he was signaling all along that he might go ahead and support conviction and then giving a very strong speech suggesting that he does not doubt that the house managers made out their case incitement to insurrection ok many thanks for your thoughts and that

assess claire finkelstein professor of law and professor of philosophy university of pennsylvania. thank you for having. let's hear some more of a closing argument starting with trump's defense lawyer michael vanderveen hey accuse the impeachment managers of violating the former president's rights of setting a bad precedent they have carried out a grossly unconstitutional effort to punish mr trump for protected 1st amendment speech it's an egregious violation of his constitutional rights since a 100 not a single word encouraging violence this action can only be seen as an effort to censor disfavored political speech and discriminate against a disapproved viewpoint it is an unprecedented action with the potential to do grave and lasting damage to both the presidency and the separation of

powers and the future of democratic self-government this trial is not born from hatred far from it's born from love of country our desire to see america at its best and in those moments that i spoke of civil rights act so much more we remember those moments because they helped define and in shrine america at its best i firmly believe that our certification of the electoral college votes in the early hours of january 7th our refusal to let our republic be threatened and taken down by a violent mob will go down in history as one of those moments too and i believe that this body can rise to the occasion once again today. let's take

a look at some of the well. as military rulers the granting themselves new powers to monitor and detain people involved in process acts of us a troubled by the increase in nighttime raids by police but neighbors all banding together to prevent the arrests and reports. buddhist monks are among the many marching in yangon they lead prayers outside the u.s. embassy to call for the release of unsung suchi and other civilian leaders. who have not given me that i'm going to be just one talk country to escape from under the military dictatorship to be peaceful and developed we don't want to go back to the darkest era before 2010 we want peace and we are against the military dictatorship more marched in the capital naypyidaw joining thousands for an 8th day of protests which denounce nighttime raids against coup opponents. while a curfew is in place from 8 pm until 4 am local time people have been out and on edge neighborhood watch groups do their best to warn when police are coming in some

cases they turn away to avoid confrontation and others people are taken away was. a local watchdog group for political prisoners says the raids are targeting dissenting voices a lot of us. you know were involved in the pro-democracy movement in the past are on like a high of a lot like a we we activated our city of the protocols and we don't even sleep in one place we move one after another there are a lot of activists even though they are not arrested a concern that they may be talking to next the un human rights council has called on the gentle to release all who've been arbitrarily detained the army responded on saturday by suspending laws requiring court orders to detain suspects for more than a day for searching private property and surveillance more than 350 people have been arrested since the coup on february 1st real social peaceful protests related

the ruling party's offices. records i'm from. moreover it place prescriptions on people's freedom of speech by preparing a telecommunications bill intended to control access the internet. a state t.v. channels broadcast pictures of vandalism in attacks on police vehicles if you did how do i would it you're not reality the head of the military general men on playing has been on the airwaves repeating allegations of voter fraud in last november's parliamentary elections more errors have been found in the voter rolls he says the nation must join hands with the military for the successful realization of democracy as protests grow in size and begin to affect its flow of cash the military is about to give itself even more powers to cybersecurity law the human rights watch calls the dream of despots everywhere they can protest more difficult to organize and the pictures of them riskier to share and al-jazeera. well health organization investigators says china has refused to hand over rule

data of ours cases the w.h.o. tame probing the origins of the pandemic had wanted more information about the 1st cases in move hand in december of 2019 the investigation has been plagued by delays concerns over access and bickering between beijing and washington well china has defended its handling of the probe in the ideal world you would go through it. and that's what we call it and that's standard practice for an outright investigation in this situation the chinese guy was the dolls we would have liked i guess to iran gaza but that can still come dozens of cars have crashed in a motorway pile up in northern italy 2 people killed dozens more have been injured the vehicles lost control in the icy conditions near children. cases

in the netherlands are hoping to get a once in a generation chance to tackle the 11 cities tour it takes place on natural ice and the last time it was cold enough was back in 1907 reports. the cracking noise of natural ice is music to the ears of peter becker it's been nearly a decade since dutch waters have been covered with such a layer of ice for 24 years peter has been waiting for the tour of all ice skating tourists a journey on skates between 11 cities which takes thousands of ice skaters 200 kilometers to cities in the north of the country. i like the extreme challenge of the tour but also want to enjoy the beautiful landscape skating through fields and cities and a large audience cheering you on at something for this is how peter imagines to have because in reality all he has been doing is practicing because every skater

selected by the committee has to be prepared to go at any time during his or whatever the best it begins in summer that's when i prepare equipment is ready and i make sure i'm always sharp and when to start freezing the ice skate fever is unstoppable you make sure you're ready to go the 11 cities 2 or took place 15 times in the 20th century but this century meteorologist predicted dutch will be lucky if it happens a maximum 3 times if at all due to global warming 11 so these 2 are turned skaters into heroes and by the nation to gather something badly needed now during the lockdown but even before the magical 15 centimeters of thickness needed for the race was reached hopes already dashed not only global warming but now all of that is posing a threat. organizers have announced that it will be too dangerous to hold such a large event attracting more than a 1000000 people a bit a massive here but it has not time but this skating fever i think it's

a beautiful it feels like your life again and we haven't been alive for almost a year so it really feels like i can imagine everybody's out here feeling to say i did have a normal commission that i really missed this and it makes up for everything i work in a hospital and i've seen a lot but this makes me forget that it makes me feel happy we're going to enjoy this so that. these are busy days for the ice master who keeps checking the quality of the ice we are measuring about 99 and a half centimeters today. just which is quite good but still not enough for us to get on the ice with our heavy material only a few more centimeters are needed for the 11 cities tour but looking at the weather forecast there won't be enough ice again this winter that brings mixed feelings for peter was desperate to escape the tour but can't bear the thought of the event

getting the go ahead but then being cancelled due to the been there make steps fast and al-jazeera in so mere the netherlands. france and russia have reburied the remains of 126 people more than 200 years often they were killed in battle oh mostly french and russian soldiers who lost during the obama parts failed invasion of russia 812 the dead received military aulus in a ceremony in western russia tended by descendants the remains were discovered during construction work in 2019. this is al jazeera these are your top stories former u.s. president donald trump has been acquitted in a 2nd impeachment trial democrats fell 10 votes short of conviction republicans largely swung behind the former president to shield him from.