this week. this is the news live from berlin more extreme weather will be part of our future australia's bushfires are just one result of the warmest decade ever recorded and a major new study is showing that the carbon dioxide released by those fires is making global conditions even worse also coming up the german parliament debates a controversial new law that would require citizens to opt out of having their organs removed after death for transplantation. germany currently has one of the

lowest organ donor rates in europe talk about the ethical dimensions. and speaker of the house nancy pelosi signs articles of impeachment against president truong they were then delivered to the senate where the trial will take place only the 3rd such trial in u.s. history. i'm brian thomas great to have you with us scientists are warning that more extreme weather events like wildfires and flooding are on the horizon after the warmest decade ever recorded now as australia continues to burn experts have calculated the effect that the massive bushfires will have on the global climate we'll talk to an expert after this report. a thick haze blankets new south wales has exhausted crews

continue to battle the wildfires there the vast cloud of smoke already extends across the pacific past south america but an invisible product of the flames could have a bigger long term impact on global warming the blazes are releasing vast amounts of c o 2 authorities at the u.n. say the problem is twofold fires emit carbon dioxide and obviously they burn up those very forests which are so vital for acting as carbon sinks and it's open carbon dioxide the australian government estimates the country currently a meds around $560000000.00 tons of carbon dioxide annually now experts say that in the last few months alone the out of control fires have pumped an additional 400000000 tons of c o 2 into the atmosphere in the past scientists have generally viewed wildfires as carbon neutral and believed fresh plant growth eventually absorb the c o 2 emitted by burning forests but changes in precipitation patterns and drought

are affecting how quickly some woodlands regenerate and many researchers are worried that in a vicious circle wildfires like those in australia could make climate change happen even faster so is this the future joining us now from sydney is professor richard kingsford from the university of new south wales school of environmental studies thanks so much for coming in today professor 1st off scientists in the u.k. are warning that the fires are straley are a sign of what is to come do you share those conclusions. well we live on the driest inherited continent on earth and we have a very flammable landscape and i guess where right at the forefront of the challenge i think that the globe faces because with such a dry power of the world and as we get hotter and drier in some places

and fire is a natural part of our. continent we're going to experience as we are in australia more severe and longer and more frequent fires and that's certainly a problem ok now in europe in what areas on the planet along with australia as we're seeing right now are most at risk of the worsening conditions. well it's really 1st of all going to be the dry land areas for the world now there's almost half of the world would be classified as dry land places in africa south america north america we've seen fires in california but even places in the amazon last year we saw big fires it really is about the nexus between rising temperatures lower rainfall and flammability of you know the vegetation and the forests that serve combination so there are

a lot of areas that naturally have fire but the issue here is are we going to see more intense more frequent prize ok what kind of effect so these fires having of course a knock on effects secondary effects on the egos us system and the quality of life for your. yes well in terms of quality of life big cities here i'm in sydney and we've been having very poor quality with you know blankets of smoke coming across the melbourne is got the big tennis open at the moment and they're trying they had to close stop some of the qualifying rounds earlier this week and of course camber our capital is also experiencing considerable problems with mark's being handed out to the population there in terms of ecosystems because these fires seem to have gone to places that fires don't usually go to some of the rainforest

areas that are within the dry eucalypt areas and because they have been so extensive more than $5000000.00 him it's now estimated. you know there are estimates that more than a 1000000000 animals mind of bain wiped out by the fires and of course then there are the challenges of our we need where in the middle of a drought as well thankfully in the last couple of days we've been seeing a bit of rain but that that the challenge is really serious professor richard kingsford in sydney today thanks so much for coming in thanks very much. let's get you brief now some of the other stories making the news at this hour germany's government is set to announce a timeline for decommissioning lignite coal plants after receiving agreement with the country's coal producing states details we publish once they're finalized that

his government plans to phase out coal by 2038. u.s. president donald trump and chinese vice premier new hay have signed the 1st part of a new trade agreement deals in china purchasing billions and u.s. agricultural and manufacturing goods as walls energy supplies stock markets posted major gains on that site. 'd police and protesters of class and lebanese capital beirut for another night of clashes began after a crowd gathered to police station to demand the release of protesters taken into custody a day earlier. while russia's foreign minister begin the approval process for the man nominated by president putin to be the new prime minister loyalist a majority in the parliament the duma so it's likely that the appointment of mikhail mr stan will be quickly approved stuff falls the shock resignation of the

government in a wake up call by putin for constitutional changes russian prime minister dmitri medvedev to step down came as a surprise fed you have said the president's proposals to amend the country's constitution would significantly change russia's balance of power he queue to flee made the announcement public. because we as the government of the russian federation should provide the president of our country with the opportunity to make all necessary decisions to change the russian political system. in the circumstances i believe it would be right for the incumbent government of the russian federation to resign. the news came just hours after president putin's state of the nation address. in that speech putin suggested changing the constitution to grant parliament more powers in effect weakening the powers of the presidency analysts believe putin could use the shake up to create

a new job for himself when his current presidential term ends in 4 years time under the russian constitution presidents can only serve to consecutive terms some believe putin may even take on a new role in parliament although medvedev has become increasingly unpopular with the russian public in recent years putin praised his service. i want to thank you for everything you've done in this phase of our cooperation i want to express my gratitude about the results of your work even though we didn't accomplish everything we wanted to i hope we will succeed soon. some people on the streets of moscow were slightly less forgiving of madrid gives tenure. in principle the only question is why it took such a long time to be honest such a government should have been expelled many years ago. you can. use the resignation is long overdue it's the right decision and putin is long overdue to

control the economy the same way he controls politics. putin has reportedly asked madrid you have to move to russia's national security council to work on defense and security affairs but the president appears to be leaving his own future career options open. earlier we spoke with did abusively sure when in moscow about president putin's future well in his speech today the state of the union of the nation address it did seem that putin isn't planning on going anywhere soon and in fact that speech and though the reforms the proposed reforms to the constitution that he mentioned and explained today those kind of give. various potential options for his future after all presidents in russia can only serve 2 consecutive terms in the 2nd consecutive term is up in 2024 and essentially since

this term began people have been discussing what could happen next and today he opened up a potential option of becoming the speaker of a strengthened parliament that's one option he could also become the head of a state council which is an institution that he wants to now put into the constitution as well that's made up of regional governors he could also become the head of the security council which could be strengthened and become some kind of have some kind of an advisory role in the country so he's kind of opened up a lot of potential avenues for himself there. potentially creating a new job for himself in 2024. emily sure when they're reporting from moscow well the united states house democrats have delivered the formal articles of impeachment against president trump to the senate the trials to begin there on tuesday it will be only the 3rd presidential impeachment trial in american history. a ritual

with historic significance lawmakers will comprise session from the house of representatives to the senate to deliver the articles of impeachment house has. read 798 a resolution of points on the right values of the peach but. down on john from the president of the united states. in just a few minutes early house speaker nancy pelosi signed the 2 hospitals one for abuse of power and one for obstruction of the house she stressed the significance of the occasion this is as serious as it gets for any of us only the vote to declare war would be something more serious than that we take it very seriously it's not personal it's not political it's not partisan it's patriotic

publicans on doing the exact opposite this is a political impeachment this has nothing to do with the fact we've shown that there was no nothing done wrong but that does not matter when the train is on the tracks the whistle is blowing impeachment matters and the only thing that matters a long time where the only rule mirja see here is that there are 2020 alexion in which the democrats can't stand to see the fact this president is going to win to get. the vote that set the impeachment trial in motion took place in the house here that i haven't the journal stance of her. with 22821938 vote largely along party lines the democratic controlled house agreed to send the 2 articles of impeachment to the senate and triggered the impeachment trial. the house also appointed 7 impeachment managers to prosecute the case against trump the us president stands accused of abusing his power by pressuring ukraine to investigate democratic rival joe biden and for obstructing the house investigation

into the case. the trial is expected to begin next week a guilty verdict that would remove trump from office would require a 2 thirds majority in the senate. but with republicans in control of the opportunity that prospect seems very remote. or here in germany parliament is beginning debate about controversial legislation to help people desperate for organ donations germany has one of the lowest organ donation rates in europe so thousands of people sometimes have to wait years or an organ the new law would dramatically cut the waiting lists. functionalist job as a business consultant kept him on the road but then he was diagnosed with genetic lung disease he fought to stay healthy as long as he could but it became clear his health depended on getting a donated long time asked. when i 1st spoke to the doctors

and they told me i needed a lung transplant if i was shot as. it's my lung and i would have preferred to live the rest of my life with my own along. having someone else's lung was a concept he would have to get used to. or just a few more examinations than his name could go on the waiting list for dawna like function out there our own 1500 people in germany who are waiting for lifesaving organs to be donated and many of them have been waiting for us. does but the problem is dramatic in all of europe germany has the lowest number of organ donors the longest waiting lists and the highest number of patients whose lives are in danger if they do not receive an organ donation. oddly this is the case even though more than 80 percent of germans a positive about organ donations according to doctors one problem is that death and organ donation are in many families people simply don't talk about it and if it's

not clear what the deceased would have wanted most relatives decided against organ donation or even one of patients wants them donate an organ often the donation doesn't take place so organs cannot be transplanted and presents on the waiting list. that was the case 900 times in 2018 doctors hope that the number of organ donors will increase when the so-called opting out system is implemented meaning anyone who has not opted out will be an eligible organ donor and according to the transplantation expert opting out in no way restricts the freedom of choice that each individual has it gets clarity to doctors and relatives can order the new legal structure gives complete freedom of choice for or against donation it's not about convincing anyone to donate organs. function supports the new legislation so more people will donate organs while others like him can live longer.

ok well this organ donor opt out program has proven very controversial sparked an emotional at times and republic debate here let's bring in our chief political editor michelle good morning to you michelle. the rejection of this legislation let's start there goes across party lines with opponents calling it the ball state intrusion into the private sphere and with both the catholic and protestant churches the germany saying it undermines the value of human life now what's the government responding to that. well even among government members there are different views on this german chancellor angela merkel backs again spawn the health ministers drive to change the dynamics of the open debate here and many because after all it is a life and death masha the other end of the scale you have the head of the german ethics committee actually seeing

a serious concern saying this simply changes the relationship between the state and citizen unless a citizen actively declares that they don't want to donate the state would have the right to intrude and i guess that comes the any further intrusion or more intrusion then taking somebodies organs so that that would have an inherent risk of people who have simply not dealt with the issue of becoming a subject of not just scientific intrusion but also the state touching their very essential rights now that's the opposing view and it's important to understand that there are no significant party lines on this that m.p.'s voting later today will simply be bound by their conscience because this is seen across party lines assessed as such an essential matter it is indeed can you walk us through what's at stake in the bonus dog today the parliament and the m.p.'s apparently can vote for for 2 different options. yes in fact there's 3 overall but

fundamentally the 2 different directions one again spawn the health ministers proposal which from the age of 16 would see people become donors of organs unless during their lifetime they've said otherwise and put this in writing with minors under the age of 18 the parents would still have the right to veto this and on the other and we have proponents of more information of actually attaching your application to get legal documents like your your personal id to a massive information campaign critics say that simply this hasn't worked in the past and that's where we stand so we will have a very interesting and open debate in the bonus types today should and should be a very good one today is there any way to know how this is going to go is is there

any likelihood that is going to pass or not pass and i was looking it's a tricky one because the party lines simply don't apply m.p.'s only bound by their conscience but my guess is that spawn the health minister who's seen as a rising star among them ackles conservative c.d.u. party wouldn't enter this arena unless he was fairly certain that he can get through with this piece of legislation but it's an open vote so a very interesting one ok we'll know more later today chief political editor michelle just missed by sarah much. let's get you some other news today the motorcade of venezuela in the opposition leader has been attacked by men willing traffic cones and metal bars on the capital caracas why doe's on his way to the country's parliament last convoy was stopped by armed men and security forces. japan has confirmed its 1st case of a new coronavirus already observed in china

a man returning from the chinese city of haunt us a positive for the infection he calls the top cold and serious diseases one person has died after contracting. china has rejected a report by human rights watch condemning the treatment of the 1000000 we are muslims held in so-called political reeducation camps country's foreign ministry says the document is biased and distorts the facts the report also denounces beijing's use of mass surveillance the silencing of its critics abroad. well the german city of dozen or for host the 2022 invictus games now they're an international sports event which features wounded or traumatized were that the event was created by britain's prince harry himself a former soldiers of the 2000. athletes from 20 different nations will compete in 9 sporting disciplines this year's invictus games will be held in the netherlands and

germany will then host the 6th edition 2 years later. well the german city of those will door has been announced as the 2022 host of the invictus games press harrington's here to talk about that good morning to crescent morning can you tell us more 1st off about these invictus right the invictus games where you touched on it you know the brainchild of prince harry you know and the precursor it was actually inspired by the u.s. is the united states where your games a similar event held between 201-2014 during this period of time prince harry was then serving in the british army as a captain helicopter pilot and at this moment in 2013 he opened the actual games and that inspired him to bring it across the atlantic ocean and start the invictus games and you know it's been you know quite the of it is are in a lot of injured better and sounds great roy does why was germany chosen to host the games and 2022 well you know when you look at germany you look at the number of

active soldiers they have nearly 200000 in even the german parliament they were always supporters of the invictus game stating that they wanted to make sure of the city a clear signal that they did support you know the german veterans and even prince harry touched on it in said he thought germany was the perfect place to carry the mantle forward in such a successful games and the mayor of dusseldorf himself actually chimed in and said he's very proud to be chosen to host a tournament and he plans for it to be. carried out with heart any motion so all in all you know it does really you know just show the word. that even if you do returned you know for conflict injured you still can become part of society and participate and compete ok a very high level i imagine as well what impact have the games have have they been raising awareness of some of the difficulties were veterans who were wounded and traumatised face yeah i'll just use one as an example a german of veteran keven folly he came out and say the games played important role

in demonstrating you know what even soldiers wounded are capable of doing you know and that's the when the big win in take away from this whole situation prince harry chimed in as well say the secret of the success of the games it has been accepting the mental health is a real key to recovery you know in all in all you know mentally obviously when you do achieve something you think is outside of your reach you get the support of the crowd cheering you on and so forth and then there's his patriotic side as well you know i think the athletes have definitely you know gain more confidence and acceptance of society overall ok and it's great for them to know the you know that they can bring that discipline back to their lives and get on track and compete in 9 different disciplines right right now i did different disciplines you know we have will share basketball sitting volleyball indoor rowing you know among others and you know we did see the one picture of the world basketball is so on you know

these are typically paralympic events you know but of course of these events you know when it started you know it started with the bag in the michelle obama chimed in as well it's definitely gained momentum and i think germany is definitely the perfect place to carry forward ok crosses over great to see you thanks for coming on ok. this is deja vu news these are our top stories scientists are warning that the world will increasingly face more extreme weather events like the current bushfires stronger plugs are also set to become more frequent the last decade was the hottest decade ever. russia's parliament has to begin the approval process for mikhail then the man nominated by president putin as the new prime minister this fall as the shock resignation of the government after a call by president putin for constitutional changes. in the u.s. house democrats have delivered the formal articles of impeachment against president

donald trump to the senate files to begin their tuesday it will be only the 3rd presidential trial in american history. police and protesters have clashed in the lebanese capital beirut for another night of violence began after a crowd gathered at a police station to demand the release of protesters taken into custody a day early. this is deja news from berlin don't forget there's always more to our twitter feed or go to our website you know dot com. is our business news i'm brian thomas we're entire news team thanks so much to be.

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