brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, paving the way for donald trump's impeachment trial. >> my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, we are here today to c css a very y important threshold in american history. brent: the u.s. house of representatives votes to send two articles of impeachment against the president to the senate, and they approve prosecutors for what will be only the third such trial in u.s. history. meanwhile at the white house,

president trump signs phase one of the trade agreement with china, aimed at ending an 18-month-long dispute. but major issues remain unresolved. what is next for the world's two biggest economies. also coming up tonight, russia's government resigns. the surprise move comes as president vladimir putin calls for reforms that could keep him in power well beyond the end of his presidential term. we will get the details from moscow. plus, will it erupt or will it not? we meet people fleeing the taal vovolcano in the philippines. they fear returning to scenes of complete devastation. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and all around the world, welcome. we begin in the united states, where the stage is now set for the impeachment trial of a u.s.

president for only the third time in american history. the u.s. house of representatives has voted to send two articles of impeachment against president donald trump to the u.s. senate. the vote was largely along party lines today. trump is charged with abuse of office and obstruction of congress in its efforts to investigate that abuse. the house has also approved a team of seven prosecutors, or managers for the trial. that trial is expected to start next week. for the latest i'm joined by my colleague, pablo foley elias. he's in washington dc. good evening to you, pablo. so what happens next? pablo: hi, brent. as you mentioned there, the resolution has been voted on and passed in the house of representatives to pass these articles of impeachment, which now pass on to the senate.

there is sort of a ceremonial aspect as well to today. we will be seeing the sergeant of arms, who will actually physically bring those articles of impeachment from the house of representatives over to the senate, and that marks the beginning of this next stage in the process. brent: will this be a real trial, the kind that we could expect to be in a courtroom? and will there be witnesses? pablo: well, it is a trial, but i suppose you have to look at it differently. you mentioned it before, there are managers that have been appointed. they act like the prosecution and they wilill be arguing the case in n front of the senate. they are members of the house of representatives, these managers, and they will be arguing for why president trump needs to be found guilty of these two charges, abuse of power and obstruction of congress. so that is basically the next

stage in this process. with regards to witnesses, democrats have been pushing for witnesses to be included in this trial in the senate. there will have to be a vote on that in the senate, but at the moment it is unclear whether they will actually get what they want. they will need the support of several republicans. there has been a lot of talk here in the u.s. media that some republicans do want witnesses and new evidence to be included in this senate trial. brent: we know the president was impeached last month. some time has passed now, we are getting ready for the trial. how divided is the u.s. over this impeachment with presidential elections just 10 months away? pablo: yeah, you are absolutely right. i mean, the country is very divided on this issue. if you look at all the recent surveys that have been carried out, it is very much split, practically down the middle for

those in favor and against this impeachment process. it is also, if you analyze it a little bit further, it is very much split down, perhaps unsurprisingly, down party lines. so, the majority of republicans saying they are very much against this impeachment process, and a significant majority of democrats saying that they are in favor of continuing with this process. so brent, the united states is very much divided on this issue. brent: very much divided, but we know where the attention will be next tuesday in the united states, that is for sure. dw's pablo foley elias on the story for us in washington. pablo, thank you. after 18 months of economic conflict, the united states and china have entered a trade truce, or at least the first part of one. president donald trump and china's chief trade negotiator today signed phase one of a new agreement just a short time ago in a ceremony at the white house.

it is aimed at lowering tensions in a trade war that has slowed growth around the globe. ahead of the signing, trump hailed the deal asas historic. >> today, we take a momentous step, , one that has n never ben taken bebefore with china, towas a future that is fair, as we signed phase one of the historic trade deal between the united states and china. together, we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security for american workers, farmers, and families. brent: this deal will ease some u.s. sanctions on china, and it will see beijing step up imports of american farm products. both sides are holding off, however, on imposing further tariffs, but many other hot button issues, they remain unresolved. reporter: the chinese vice premier said the two countries

can work together to achieve a win-win relationship, despite differences in political and economic models. but the f f managingirirector reminded china's trade czar at a meeting in washington that the deal was only a truce, not a permanent agreement. deal leaves tariffs on $3600 billion in chinese goods. it does not cover china's huge subsidies of statate owned firms or claims of cyber theft. these issues will be addressed during phase two of negotiations. >> these tariffs will stay in place until there is a phase two. if the president gets a phase two quickly, he will consider releasing tariffs as part of phase two. if not, there will not be any tariff relief. reporter: mnuchin even said tariffs could be raised again if china's is not -- china does not honor their obligations. the struggle between the two economic powers continues. it just prevents an escalation for now. according to the deal, the u.s. has agreed to stop labeling

china a currency manipulator. beijing will buy $200 billion worth of u.s. farm products, manufactured goods, and services. >> i think it would be a fight to fight to fight cycle between china and the united states. so both sides will continue to try to pull a strategic advantage against the other. reporter: no solution can be expected anytime soon on the strategic rivalry between the world's two biggest economies. u.s. presidential elections are coming up in november, and the chinese side feels they have enough domestic strength to avoid major compromises. brent: let's put this in some context. a reality check, if you will. do that i am joined by my colleague, kate ferguson. kate, good to see you. the u.s. president says this is a historic deal. is it? kate: it is about as historic as

anything that has lasted 18 months can be, but it is important symbolically. it is really important to remember that while u.s. donald trump started the trade war, the ideological rifts far pre-dated his presidency. we are talking like issues like how china treats foreign companies in their country.. traditionally if y you are a company operating from the united states, germany, anywhere, when you go to china you have to partner with a chinese company, and that of course involves a lot of technology transfer. brent: theft. kate: yeah, you cocould see it both ways. that is one reason why china has been able to advance technologically so rapidly. that is an issue trump's predecessor, obama had as well. so these issues are not really new. what is really interesting is it has also raised this question of who the winners and losers of globalization are. so, china has been accused by many countries of being protecectionist, but really trump's decision to start this war was the ultimate defensive move. he has been watching china grow. if there is one thing trump is

very good at, it is understanding who the winners and who the losers are, and he has been very worried about the prospect of china increasingly becoming a winner. so i think what is significant is this is really a protectionist stance on the part of the united states which is called into the -- brent: you say winners and losers. who then profits most from this agreement today? kate: on the surface, it is definitely the united states. china has agreed to buy $200 billion worth of american goods. as you mentioned, we're talking about farming products, manufactured goods, and energy. that sounds pretty significant, but it is hard to implement. for one, china said it will base this on market moves. but you will really have to create an artificial market for $200 billion worth of american goods. so, it will eithther involve chinese communist party officials eating a lot of soybeans -- brent: soybeans from the midwest. kate: exactly.

or they will have to stop buying goods from elsewhere. so it is quite difficult to implement this policy. and of course the existing tariffs, those $360 billion worth of them, remain in place. there will be no new levies for now, but the tariffs are staying for now. brent: what about phase two? kate: phase two is potentially where the substance is at, and that is where we might see some ideological questionons being addressed, especially the question of state subsidies. so, one reason that china has been able to advance so rapidly in recent years is because the government is helping companies, it is propping them up. and one company more than any other that has profited from this of course is huawei, which brings us to a whole host of other issues. huawei is a leader in 5g, the newest high-speed, highly reactive internet of the future. it will enable technology like self-driving cars. countries and companies all over the world want to get in on this game. and they are putting pressure on

their gogovernments to buy huawi products. saying, look, we will not be able to stay in this game if we do not buy from huawei. again, it is a question of ideology. what is a bigger risis not keeping up or blindly trusting the chinese government? brent: the policies start to merge. kate, we appreciate your reporting. thank you. here is a a brief look now at se of the other stories making headlines today. scientists are warning that more extreme weather events like wildfires and flooding are on the horizon after the hottest decade ever recorded. the average global temperature in 2019 was 1.1 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels. beyond 1.5.5 degrees, global warming is projected to haveve extreme consequences, including the melting of most arctic sea ice. china has rejected a report by human rights watch condemning

the treatment of the one million uighur muslims held in so-called political education camps. the country's foreign ministry says the document is biased and distorts the facts. the report also denounces beijing's use of mass surveillance and the silencing of critics. police in italy say they have broken up a large mafia operation that had been defrauding the european union. almost 100 people were arrested in earlyly morning raids in sicily. italian media say the group had stolen 10 million euros s intend for farmers. political drama in moscow today. the entire government resigned en masse. it came just hours after president vladimir putin delivered his state of the nation address in which he proposed changes to the country's constitution that would allow him to extend his grip on power after his term as president ends in 2024. today's government resignation may have been a shock, but it is not a crisis. putin even welcomed it. reporter: russian prime minister dmitry medvedev's decision to

step down came as a surprise. medvedev said the president's proposals to amend the country's constitution would significantly change russia's balance of power. he dutifully made the announcement public. >> 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 these circumstances, i believe it would be right for the incumbent government of the russian federation to resign. reporter: 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 popowers f the presidency. analysts believe putin could use this shakeupup to create a new b for himself when his current president of term ends in four years' time. under the russian constitution, presidents can only serve two

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 have done in this phase of our cooperation. i want to express my gratitude about the results of your work, even though we did not accomplish everything we wanted to. i hope we will succeed soon. reporter: some people on the streets of moscow were slightly less forgiving of medvedev's 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. >> medvedev's resignation is long overdue. it is the right decision, and putin is long overdue to control the economy the same way he controls politics.

reporter: putin has reportedly asked medvedev 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. brent: let's talk about that. let's go to moscow now where my colleague emily sherwin is following the story. good evening to you, emily. help me understand this. we have the government in russia today resigning en masse. we have the president, mr. putin, saying he approves. and then we have got dmitry medvedev, he is out of a job. who will replace him, and what is the role of the prime minister in russia? emily: well, we have now heard from president putin that he has proposed mikhail mishustin to replace dmitry medvedev. as you can tell by my mispronunciation of his name, he is a little-known figure in

russian politicscs. he so far has headed the russian federal tax service since 2010. he is known as an efficient bureaucrat. now, i would not say that that necessarily means that the role of the prime minister is being downgraded. the role of the president in russia has always been more important, and in fact, that is the real sea change after vladimir putin's speech today where he kind of increased the power of the parliament and downgraded the presidential power. but he did emphasize that russia would remain a presidential republic. brent: it is hard for people outside of russia to imagine vladimir putin giving up power voluntarily. i mean, one of his critics says that this move means that he plans to stay in power indefinitely. is that what is going on here? emily: well, in his speech today, the state of the nation

address, it did seem that putin is not planning on going anywhere soon. and in fact, that speech and the reforms, the proposed reforms for the constitution that he mentioned and explained today, those kind of give vladimir putin various potential options for his future. after all, presidents in russia can only serve two consecutive terms. putin's second consecutive term is up in 2024. and essentially since this term began, people have been discussing what could happen next. today he opened up the potential option of becoming the speaker of a strengthened parliament. that is one option. he could also become the head of a state council, which is an institution that he now wants to put into the constitution as well that is made up of regional governors. he could also become the head of a security council, which could be strengthened and become some kind of an advisory role in the

country. so, he has kind of opened up a lot of potential avenues for himself there, potentially creating a new job for himself in 2024. brent: emily sherwin with the latest on the political shakeup in russia tonight. emily, thank you. here in germany, a black lawmaker says bullet holes have been found in the window of his constituency office in the eastern city of halle. senegal-born chemist karamba diaby became one of germany's first black lawmakers when he was elected to the federal parliament in 2013. he is a member of the center-left spd, social democrats. diaby is no stranger to this kind of threat. he has faced racist slurs before and his office window has been smashed in the past. my colleague carl nasman has been on the story for us. he joins me now. carl, what more do we know about this?

carl: as you mentioned, karamba diaby, currently the only african-born mp in germany. he moved here from senegal many years ago. he posted a photo of the aftermath on his twitter account. we want to show that to you. here i it is. this is that picture. you can see at least three holes in that window of his office. he writes, an office window with his likeness was littered with what he says are several bullet holes. police are investing this. they say they were likely air pellets. it does not seem those objects penetrated both panes of glass. you mentioned the city of hahal. that is a city where in october, there was an anti-semitic attack outside of a synagogue. the attacker did not gain access, but killed two people. the suspect in that casese has admitted that there was a far-right motive to the attack. in terms of this case, we reached out to mr. diaby. a spokesperson told us that there were other buildings in the area that was also attacked, so motive is not 100% clear. but as we heard, diaby has been the victim of racist abuse

before as a politician here in germany. brent: and he is not the only politician. more politicians say that they have been targeted. carl: there have been several recent incidents in germany of german p politicians being threatened. they have even come under attack. police have linked to many of those incidents to the far right. let me just go through a few. three local mayors have recently resigned after they rereceived death threats. their cars were also attacked. a mayor in germany's most populous state, he said he recently got a gun license to defend himself. brent: it is very unusual here. carl: it is very unusual, and very hard to get one. last year, a local politician was shot and killed in his own home. the suspect in that attack is also believed to have far-right beliefs. we should also mention therere s been a threat against the very high profile afd politician, a far-right party. there was an envelope mailed to him with white powder in it. it turned out to be a hoax, but of course that could be

interpreted as a death threat. many of those incidents taking plplace in eastern gerermany, we far-right sentiments are on the rise, as well as a stronghold for the far-right afd party. and overall, the statistics say this is a german-wide problem across the country. all 16 states have seen a significant rise in threats and violence against politicians. brent: so what kind of reactions have we seen then to this latest attack? carl: many are rallying behind diaby. most significantly, foreign minister heiko maas. want to show you what heiko maas had to say today. these were strong words. he said quote, simply unbelievable, disgusting and cowardly. and you can see he continues, we will continue standing by your side for a free, tolerant, and diverse democracy. i think that last bit is important. a lot of germans are worried that perhaps the diversity of germany's democracy is in fact under attack. brent: carl nasman, as always, we appreciate your reporting. thank you. here is a brief look at some of the other stories that are making headlines this hour. sudan says it has put down a

rebellion by former security agents linked to its ousted ruler, omar al-bashir. five people were killed in fighting late tuesday in the capital, khartoum. security agents reportedly rejected a government restructuring plan. lebanon's capital beirut has been cleaning up after a night of protests in which almost 70 people were injured. demonstrators caused heavy damage to banks, which many blame for driving the country into its worst economic crisis in decades. protesters are staging what they call a week of wrath to demand an end to months of political vacuum. dozens of people in the united states are being treated for minor skin and lung problems -- take a look at this -- after a passenger plane dumped fuel over several schools. the airliner was making an emergency return to los angeles international airport after experiencing mechanical problems. the feferal aviatition authority says it is investigating.

in the philippines, tens of thousands of people are still fleeing the erupting taal volcano. many villages are already covered in a layer of ash amid warnings that a massive eruption could take place at any time. the volcano is located about 70 kilometers south of the capital manila in the middle of a lake. it started spewing ash on sunday. rescue teams have been working around-the-clock to get people to safety. dw's ana santos is traveling with one of those teams. ana: clouds of ash cover this road. but still, the rescuers press on, determined to drive those trapped in this volcanic danger zone to safety. >> we are doing rescue operations to evacuate people to higher groround. we have rescued a couple of people already this morning. we are moving to another town to rescue more.

ana: the taal volcano has been billowing smoke into ash since its eruption on sunday. it lies in the middle of a lake just over 60 kilometers south of the philippine capital, manila. although these filipinos do not live on the volcanic island, they are still in danger. ashfall and the likelihood of more eruptions are makakg evacuations here mandatory. others, like claire and her sisters, are choosing to get out while they can. >> we decided to evacuate today because we heard that things may get worse with the volcano. the safest thing to do is to leave. ana: some areas are too difficult to reach by truck, so these rescuers use motorbikes to collect the locals.

it does not matter how they find them. they simply know they have to get people out of this region as quickly as possible. brent: it was announced today the german city of dusseldorf will host the 2022 invictus games, an international sports event which features wounded or traumatized war veterans. the evenent is the braininchildf britain's prince harry, who himself is a former soldier. he created it back in 2014. athletes from 20 different nations will compete in nine sporting disciplines. this year's invictus games will be held in the netherlands. germany will then host the sixth edition two years later. stars from the world of tennis have played a charity match to raise money to help fight the australian bushfires. players including rafa nadal and serena williams took part in the fundraiser in melbourne ahead of the australian open. organizers of the rally for relief said they expect the event to bring in around two

million euros. the global tennis community has already raised millions, including several pledges to donate funds for every ace hit in australia. and here is a reminder of that top story we are following for you. the u.s. house of representatives has voted to send two articles of impeachment against president donald trump to the senate, setting the stage for only the third impeachment trial in u.s. history. trump is charged with abuse of office and obstruction of congress. you're watching "dw news." after a short break i will be back to take you through "the day". stick around for that. ♪ [captioning performed d the natitional captionining institu, which is resesponsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

the best day he got he de at to any que. yeah but it is welcome to live from paris will use an analysis from france twenty four i marco in these of the main world news headlines. vladimir putin's i'll play the russian government resigns all mass. president proposes a referendum on constititutional changes critics are s saying it's a hidden paycheckk keeping hold of power beyond routines to class end of his term in twenty twenty four. impeachment day the house votes to send the us president's a trial of his dealings with ukraine. seven democrats being sworn in as prosecutors in a historic moment. us political history what little mean for donald trump