♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, u.s. president donald trump after the acquittal, now the anger, now the attacks. today, trump used words such as people for his opponents. it comes a day after u.s. senators throughout the impeachment charges against him. the president hailing his acquittal, but says he suffered a terrible ordeal and is branding the trial a disgrace. also coming up, the fallout from

the coronavirus. in beijing, a capital that now looks like a ghost town. >> this is usually a bustling commercial street. lots of souvenir shops, snack shops. tourist usually come to spend time here. today, i am the only one. >> german politics rocked by a scandal involving the far right. the premier of the eastern state steps down a day after being elected with the help of extremists. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs and the united states, welcome. u.s. president donald trump addressed the nation today, a day after he was acquitted in his own impeachment trial. on wednesday, lawmakers in the republican-controlled senate

found trump not guilty in abuse of power and obstruction of justice. he was alleged to have withheld military aid to ukraine to benefit his own reelection campaign. trump said he was the victim here, the victim of a long and corrupt process. >> we have been going through this now for over three years. it was people. it was -- it was people. it was corrupt. it was leaders and lawyers. this should never happen to another president ever. i do not know that other presidents would have been able to take it. some people said, no, they would not have. at a minimum, you have to focus on this because they can get away very quickly the matter who you have with you. it was a disgrace. brent: get away very quickly. let's talk about the president's first speech after the

impeachment trial. i am joined by my colleague. he is in washington. hello, pablo. judging by the speech, saying it could get away from you very easily, can we say any lessons have been learned from this impeachment trial? pablo: before we get to that, i would say, the two words i got from that speech are triumphant and also angry. he reiterated time and time again he was innocent. we spoke a word that he spoke we -- we spoke -- he think his legal team. he thanked his congressional family. he even apologized to them. what we get from this is he is the victim. for republicans to answer your question who voted to acquit him because they felt he learned his lesson, a good example would be susan collins of maine.

i am sure they are going to be action -- whether -- they are going to be asking whether he actually learned his lesson. this celebration lasted over an hour. he also had some harsh words for mitt romney of utah who voted with the democrats, who voted against acquitting him. as well as some of the usual suspects president trump when after with the lead manager in the senate trial, adam schiff and also nancy pelosi, the top democrat and also the speaker in the house of the representatives, who he described as a horrible person. brent: it is interesting -- you mentioned mitt romney because he is part of this group of religious opponents that the president talked about this morning at the national prayer breakfast. trump used words such as people. he said his opponents had used religion to justify their opposition.

here is what house speaker nancy pelosi had to say to that. >> hard for him because he is so off the track of our constitution, our values, our country. the air our children breathe and the rest. he really needs our prayers. he can say whatever he wants, but i do pray for him. i do so sincerely. brent: she prays for the president. the question for the democrats is, do they need prayers? they have problems of their own particularly in iowa following the fiasco of the caucus on monday. the democrats we understand, the chairman of the national democratic committee has already asked for a re-canvassing of iowa. he is saying do the boat all over again. is that a realistic option? pablo: interestingly at the moment, what is being said is that exactly. from reforms that took place in

the of aquatic party, it allowed for this to happen. it allows for a coterie -- a total re-cannabis and a recount of results is a possibility -- a recount of the results is a possibility. on who will actually be the candidate to run against president trump, who is decided at the national convention, which takes place later this year in the summertime. it looks like the state rules do permit this to take place. watching the media and reading from washington, there is still some questions that remain unanswered from what has been said by the democratic national committee chairman. brent: the u.s. president is trying to get political capital out of what happened with the caucus. we also have to remind ourselves the fiasco has to do with the way the caucus was carried out.

it does not have to do with the democratic candidates themselves, does it? >> it does not. it is to remind everybody -- there was an issue with the app that was used to get the results. the candidates are sort of focusing on the next primaries, which are taking place in new hampshire. they want to move on from this. it is coming at a bad time for the democrats. the acquittal of president trump and now this fiasco. it looks like there is a little bit of chaos. that is what is being said by the republicans and president trump. brent: our correspondent on this day after the verdict. thank you. the chinese hospital dr. who first sounded the alarm on the coronavirus is in critical condition after becoming infected with the virus himself. wuhan central hospital says it is doing all it can to save his

life. the death toll from the virus is approaching 600. germany and britain have announced more cases, the total in europe to 30. beijing is now -- is not at the center of the outbreak, but our correspondent found that streets and squares are deserted as the government attempts to bring the disease under control. >> a rare sight in the dry winters of beijing. the gate of the forbidden city covered in snow. a few people have come out to take in the spectacle. getting inside is out of the question, just like almost all public facilities. the historic site remains closed. >> it is good the government took these measures. we would appreciate even stricter measures. >> business activity has largely come to a halt across much of the capital. this is usually a bustling commercial street.

lots of souvenir shops, snack shops. tourists usually come time to spend -- usually come to spend time here. today, i am the only one. human interaction has become suspicious. this shop asks its customers to stay outside and communicate needs from the outside. some pharmacies take the same approach. >> it is a national emergency. we stand together. >> standing together should not be taken literally. residential complexes keep strangers out. in this compound, visitors have to register with id. >> people cannot get in in -- cannot get in even if they live here. >> people from the province where the virus originated are to be isolated in this hotel. discrimination against them is rampant. at the entrance to the subway

system, a mandatory temperature check. lots of space. trains are running as usual. it is the passengers who are lacking. this cirircle line connects some of beijing's mostst important locations, shopping areas, the railway station. it is usually quite crowded. today, you can see not m more tn 20 passengngers on this train. beijing has reported less than 300 cases so far. fear here has spread faster than the virus ever could. brent: you are watching dw news. still to come, w wikileaks founr julian asante's due to appear in court in london in connection to an tradition request from the u.s. the united nations tells us they

believe western democracies are manipulating evidence. a scandal over the involvement of the far-right in a normally obscure regional election has shaken german politics. yesterday, the right wing extremist alternative for germany party helped mainstream parties elect a new premier in an eastern state. today, the new premier resigned under nationwide pressure and outrage. his resignation cannot change the fact a taboo has been broken, a taboo against cooperating with the far-right in government. >> just 24 hours after becoming state premier, he announced his resignation. >> we will be requesting new elections in order to read the stain -- in order to rid the stain of the premier.

>> the pressure had proven to great. he found himself on the front page up almost every german newspaper. the election of the free democrats polititician with the help of the far-right had set off a political earthquake. the shockwaves reverberated all the way to south africa where angela merkel made her position clear. > as this was foreseeabl that is why the result must be reversed. he had been the head of the smallest party in the state parliament. his election by lawmakers was only made possible with votes from the afd and angela merkel's party in the state. for the first time in german postwar history, a far-right party was kingmaker. the handshake between the new state premier and the afd chief

left many disgusted. the head of the left party through her bouquet of flowers at his feet during the inauguration. other parties joined the chorus of criticism. >> it is an acceptable -- it is an unacceptable breach. especially with this vote. this was planned long ago. this was prepared. a very clear goal. >> within hours of the vote, people had gathered all over germany to protest. demonstrators continued into thursday, with protesters standing against fascism and rejecting the state premier who made it into office with the help of the far-right. brent: for more now joining me is my colleague. our political correspondent.

let's pick up with the political fallout. the freeee democrats are now saying they want to dissolve the state parliament. what does that mean? >> shortly elected premier -- brent: for one day. >> he stepped down and said he was calling for new elections. a redline has already been crossed in that traditional parties usually do not ever cooperate with the far-right. here, we sell free democrats and conservatives enabling the far-right party to cooperate and co-opt the candidate of the free democrats. it is the first time in the history of modern germany since the nazis came to power there is cooperation with the far-right. a big taboo has been breached this sent a shockwave throughout the country. we sell massive protest across the country for what is a local

election. people were shocked about it. there is a brief of -- a breach of trust. brent: it reminds me of an old saying, all politics is local. what we have seen is the free democrats turned their back on the far-right. what about the conservatives, the party of the german chancellor? why are they not doing the same? >> they did take a strong position. we saw the general secretary of the city saying yesterday that we need to call new elections. today, angela merkel also said it was inexcusable what happened. today was a bad day for democracy. that was her own words. she has been heard. you have to keep in mind that in that region, the cdu also had an interest to one the left party not in charge.

they wanted to prevent them from being in charge. there is a lot of soul-searching to do. brent: what we have seen in the state, could it have consequences at the federal level? >> once it is uncovered -- what it uncovered is that there is underlying tension throughout the germany -- throughout germany regarding the far-right. the far-right has been gaining ground more and more. a successful operation because they are trying to force traditional parties to form cooperations. it was quite successful. brent: we willll see if the new elections come. thank you. a group of celebrities and politicians in germany has launched an appeal to have julian assange released from

prison in britain. more than 130 public figures are urging the u.k. to follow advice on torture to release him on medical grounds. germany's foreign minister -- former foreign minister is among those who signed the letter. we will hear from the u.n. in a moment. first, let's take a look at the founder of wikileaks, which publishes news leaks and classified material. he is in a high security prison. he previously evaded capture by taking refuge in the embassy of ecuador. >> the first few months that julian assange spent in the ecuadorian embassy in london, it was defiant and optimistic gestures. seven years later, he would emerge as a broken man. when british police dragged the

wikileaks founder out of the diplomatic mission in 2019, he looked confused and was almost unrecognizable. a u.n. expert on torture said he showed symptoms of psychological torture. some fear the torture may still be happening today. how did we get here? and why? julian assange took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy in 2012 after sweden asked the u.k. to extradite the wikileaks founder to answer allegations of r reapn that countntry. -- of rate in that country. he has always denied the allegations, saying they were attempts to have him extradited to the united states where he is wanted on espionage charges. >> as wikileaks stand under ththreat, so doeses the freedomf exexpression andnd t the h heall of ourur societies. >> his supporterers share thisis view. they say the swedish grape

allegations were fabricated. and an excuse to punish him for the leaking of government documents and exposing possible workarounds. one high-profile leak was a video obtained from them yes -- from the u.s. military, which wikileaks says shows u.s. soldiers opening fire on baghdad and killing civilians and journalists. he is now in a maximum security prison in the u.k. and continues to fight against his extradition to the united states. if he loses his fight and is convicted in the u.s., the wikileaks founder faces up to 175 years in jail. the rate case in -- the rape case in sweden has been dropped. brent: i'm joined by the unititd nations special rep at short on

torture. it is good to have you on the show. our viewers watching and who maybe have followed the story may be asking, why is the u.n. involved here? has julian assange been tortured? >> yes, absolulutely. i can assure you it was not an easy step for me to get involved . i wawas myself a bitit p poisony the e public narrarative. when i wentt to visisit himnd te two memedical doctors examined m acaccording to a spealizized medical particle poetry -- focusing on torture victims. he showed all the symptoms of a person who had been psychologically tortured. brent: is the claim that he is being psychologically torturedd in a british persian, is that what i am hundred -- british prison, is that what i am understanding echo >> that was four weeks after his arrest. it is more about the

consequences of his confinement atat the ecuadoriaian embasassy. his state of health has deteriorated. his treatment has not improved. hayes process rights have been sysystematically violatedd, caug intense anxiety and on top of the e health effect he h has aly suffered, -- brent: i think people watching may be asking, considering julian assange chose to go to the ecuadorian assembly -- ecuadorian sm -- great embassy, can we talk about him being tortureded even though h he wast forced to be there? >> it is a fair question. if you look from the pererspecte of any asysylum seeker or refuge is voluntarily in his host state. it is not because it would be

acceptable for him to go back. that is the problem. he was voluntarily at the endlessly. -- at the embassy. he was unable to leave without risking violations of his human rights. torture does n not necessarily mean pain-and-suffering in order to get information. the main purpose in the world of torture is intimidate others, supporters or j journalists who might b be publishing secret information. brent: this initiative we had earlier, how helpful do you think the senators of 130 politicians and celebrities, how helpfuful can they b be in the ? >> i thihink it is incncredibly helpful l see politicians, formerer politiciaians, high-pre

personalitieies igniting the rik this case -- rececognizing the risk this case has for democracy. they can draw the publilic to that, the attention that so far the mainstream media has failed to draw. brent: the united states -- the united nations expert on torture. thank you for your time. here are some of the other stories making headlines. a palestinian man who opened fire on israeli security forces has been shot dead. two more palestinians were killed in the west bank as tensions in the region rise. israeli authorities arrested a man accused of ramming his car into a group of soldiers. the u.s. astronaut has returned to earth after shattering the record for the longest time a woman has spent in outer space. she was on board the

international space station for almost 11 months. she also led the first all-female spacewalk as part of her mission. the hills outside kabul were once used by the taliban to pound the afghan capital with rockets. today, the mountain range is home to a group of enthusiastic young snowboarders. i do not have a ski lift and get no official help, but the founders of the afghan snowboarding federation -- they have big plans for their sport. >> snowboarding seems an unlikely leisure pursuit in the hills outside the afghan capital, but it 1800 meters above sea level, it is one of the highest capital cities in the world. these local youths are making the most of winter. >> snowboarding is the new face of afghanistan. we have established the afghan

snowboarding federation test -- to show the new face of the world so that they can see in a country where there is fighting and ethnic problems, it is not all about the war. there are sports, and the youth is involved as well as boys and girls. >> in the 1990's, from these hills, taliban fighters rained down artillery and rockets on kabul. now, they are one of the few places in the country were awkward and his friends can snowboard in safety. another is a central pollen -- a central province, famous around the world for one of the most famous cultural crimes, the destruction of the ancient buddhist statues that once looked out over the valley. the taliban is not just a presence in memory. the group still controls about half of the country. >> at the taliban come back, it is impossible to snowboard

because they are not sports friendly people. they do not want peace. they do not want sports. if they come back, we will not be able to snowboard. >> the future of the taliban is in clear. -- is unclear. as things stand, he and his mates can practice their hubby in peace as long as the snow lasts. brent: kirk douglas has died at the age of 103. he made his name in hollywood's golden age and was one of the biggest box office stars of the 1950's and 1960's. his son, michael douglas, announced his father's passing saying, to the world, he was a legend, but to me and my brothers, he was simply dead. -- simply dad. u.s. president donald trump has lashed out as senators throughout impeachment charges

against him. trump said he suffered a terrible ordeal. he has branded the trial a national disgrace. the premier of germany's instant state is stepping down -- eastern state is stepping down a day after being controversially elected from the far rightht political party. he said his resignation was inevitable, to remove the stain of the far-right's involvement in politics. you are watching dw news from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. ♪ ♪

it kelly day at two id take. be able to choose what to live from paris will use an analysis from france twenty four on marco in these are the headlines. donald trumps launch the scorched earth attack on those who tried to force him from office he was of course but quit it the two counts. against him the trial. in the us senate. chinese doctor who sounded an early alert about the coronavirus outbreak has not died. you must see him being launches a chinese people's war on the corona virus the chihinese president spoke because there were five hundred and sixty three my dad. twenty eight thousand infected most are in china more more being identified worldwide