anchor: a group of democrats draft articles of impeachment against president trump, accusing him of inciting insurrection. >> he is one of the most incompetent presidents in the history of the united states of america. anchor: joe biden calls the president unfit for the drop, -- for the job, but the president elect wants to focus on economic growth. ♪

you are watching al jazeera. also coming up, coronavirus cases overwhelm london's hospitals. the city's mayor declares a major incident. the plants smothering the largest lake in cameroon. ♪ thank you for joining us. with just under two weeks left in office, u.s. president donald trump is facing the possibility of an unprecedented second impeachment. a group of democrats have drafted formal charges of misconduct to be presented next week. that is after a mob of trump supporters encouraged by the president stormed the u.s. capitol building on wednesday. president-elect joe biden refuses to say whether he will back such a move, and it is up to congress to decide.

he says his job is to fix the economy and tackle the pandemic. >> he is not fit to serve. he is not fit to serve. he is one of the most incompetent presidents in the history of the united states of america. and so, the idea that i think he should not be out of office yesterday is not an issue. the question is, what happens with 14 days left to go? i think it is important we get on with the business of getting him out of office the quickest way that that will happen, us being sworn in. what action happens before or after that is a judgment for congress to make. anchor: biden has also commented on president trump's decision not to attend his inauguration, saying it was a good decision and one of the very few things they both agreed on. meanwhile, u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi has asked military leaders to ensure trump does not try to launch an attack or a

nuclear strike during his last days in office. we have got our correspondent standing by in wilmington, delaware, with more on what joe biden had to say. first, we go to our correspondent in washington. what more do we know about these impeachment papers that are circulating, and what have been the reactions? correspondent: these draft documents of the impeachment documents are just a draft. they have not been released publicly, but they have been leaked to journalists here in washington. they have been written up by a group of democrats and are expected to go to nancy pelosi on monday for public circulation and be taken up in the house on monday. however, it is important to note that nancy pelosi the speaker of the house, has not made her final decision on the wording of this.

nevertheless, we have got this draft and it says the impeachment proceedings, the draft articles would be accusing donald trump of high crimes and misdemeanors by enticing the insurrection and willfully made statements that encouraged eminent, lawless activity at the capital, and that trump has them and straight it he will remain a threat if allowed to stay in -- trump has demonstrated he will remain a threat if allowed to stay in office. republicans have said this is politically motivated and it will only further divide the country. in terms of pressure that donald trump is on right now, it is only growing, not just from democrats but also republicans. the latest republican coming out publicly saying the president should step down immediately is lisa murkowski, a republican senator from the state of alaska. in an interview to a local newspaper in alaska, she said

trump is no longer fit to be president, and called on him to step down. significant because murkowski is the second most senior woman in the senate, and she is quite powerful and has a lot of sway in the senate. her calling for trump to step down immediately is another call of pressure on the president. anchor: meanwhile, there is concern from democrats that trump could be a threat to national security within the next two weeks. correspondent: this is really remarkable. nancy pelosi circulated a letter to her colleagues in congress, where she said she spoke to the chairman of the joint chief of staff mark milley. i am going to read you what nancy pelosi said. she said, i talked to him to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and

ordering a nuclear strike. hello c went on to say, the situation of this -- poulos he went on to say, the situation of this unhinged president could not be more dangerous and we must do what we can to protect the american people from his unbalanced assault on our democracy. pelosi telling colleagues that the chairman of the joint chiefs said all precautions are being made, that trump is not allowed to launch any preeminent military strike that could put american people in harm's way. clearly unprecedented that within 12 days of the handover of power in the united states and the inauguration of joe biden, we are at a point where the speaker of the house of the house of representatives feels the need to secure the nuclear codes out of the hands of a president. anchor: thank you. let's cross over to our

correspondent in delaware. joe biden, the president elect, is refusing to be drawn into this debate over whether or not to impeach donald trump. he is instead trying to focus on his agenda as he prepares to take office in 12 days. correspondent: that's right. he he only spoke about impeachment when asked, trying to focus on his agenda moving forward. he spoke at an event that was to unveil his formal cabinet picks, , the most diverse cabinet in u.s. history, he claimed, with a majority of women in his cabinet. he claimed on the senate to improve -- to approve them as soon as possible so he can hit the ground running when he takes office on the 20th of january, in a couple weeks' time. he talked about the need to talk about a stimulus package right

away, a package that would be unveiled next week. he talked about the need to increase the vaccination rollouts so it is getting to more americans. his goal is to have 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days. all of that will have to be done with the help of congress. he did say -- he did talk about a dismal monthly jobs report that was released today, making this a very urgent situation. >> this december jobs report shows millions of americans are still hurting through no fault of their own. we lost another 140,000 jobs, the first negative jobs report since the height of the pandemic in the spring. more people, more people have just lost a job while many have been out of work for a long time.

correspondent: biden talking about plans to submit a $1 trillion stimulus package to congress. he did say he was planning to speak with nancy pelosi this afternoon. according to his staff, that discussion will involve talks about that bill, but it is hard to imagine that impeachment will not come up when he is talking with nancy pelosi. again, joe biden insisting he will leave it to congress -- leave it in congress' hands. anchor: thank you very much for that. let's discuss democrat efforts to impeach with a professor from american university. he is also the author of "the case for impeachment," and he joins us on skype. always good to have you on.

house democrats are planning to introduce these new articles of impeachment against president trump on monday. the first question many people are asking, especially outside the u.s., is why impeach and convict a president who only has a few days left in office? why not ride out 12 days? >> the simple reason is trump needs to be held accountable, for what is arguably the most immoral, despicable, and dangerous act ever committed by a u.s. president. and that is inciting people to storm the capitol, to disrupt the constitutional functions of the congress, to engage in violence that we know no -- that we now know has resulted in five deaths. trump has never been held accountable for anything in his entire life. he needs to be held accountable, a statement needs to be made.

moreover, there is precedent for trying a public official after they have left office. ulysses grant's secretary was a member of his cabinet, he was tried after he resigned. he was acquitted. but why might it be important to try the president after he has resigned? because impeachment involves two things, conviction and removal, but conviction and also barring an impeached and convicted president from ever seeking that office again. so, it is the right thing to do, and it could well have consequences. anchor: nancy pelosi says there are several options to impeach, but the timeline looks very tight. how would this play out, and is conviction likely this time around? the house impeach trump into 2019, but the republican led senate acquitted him in early

2020. do you think it will be different this time around if this goes ahead? guest: i think it could well be different this time around. first of all, impeachment can take place on a dime. the u.s. gives the house sole authority over impeachment. all they have to do is vote. they don't have to investigate. the president's own words damn him, and his own words for almost two months, riling up his followers with lies that the election was stolen from him and they should help him to reverse those steel. -- to reverse the steal. it is significant because it would make donald trump the only president in u.s. history to be impeached twice. while it may not be possible, depending on the motivation of the senators, they could hold a trial the next day.

they could have a trial after he has left. anchor: i find it surprising that more republicans are not thinking about the fact that to impose impeachment is to ensure that trump continues to be a major factor in party politics for the foreseeable future. do you think that is what they want? guest: republicans are facing a real dilemma. a recent poll showed, and it was shocking, 45% of republicans supported the insurrection that led to five deaths. 43% opposed it. you have this lunatic fringe within the republican party that is almost half of it that supports this kind of subversion of our constitution, this kind of violence and insurrection that leads to deaths. republicans are really facing a dilemma. do you appeal to this far out fringe trump base, or do you embrace sanity, the

constitution, and law & order? this is a crisis for the republican party politically. anchor: thank you for shedding light on this for us. we appreciate your time. guest: take care. anchor: still ahead on al jazeera -- correspondent: the french government is trying to accelerate their covid immunization campaign, but it is not easy in a country where so many people are suspicious of vaccines. anchor: and what is new at whatsapp? fears over privacy. ♪ ♪ >> the last of the proper storm systems is on its way out of the u.s.

the previous one is just saying goodbye to east canada, and the next one is coming in only slowly from the pacific. we see what is left from afterwards's cold air that has been swept out. it is on the low side when you look at the southern states. the forecast for new orleans of 10 degrees is a big disappointment. it has got a cold wind as well. no showers until monday. do you remember what last happened? we had a wide storm system only a couple days ago that gave a couple tornadoes in texas. the same system is building up again, warmth in the south, cold from the north. it will be cold and snowing in parts of texas. at the same time, california is enjoying the sunshine for the most part. when you throw a cold front out of the u.s., it tends to push up from cuba and the bahamas, and

it feeds more clouds toward honduras or nicaragua. these countries could be pretty wet this weekend. ♪ >> she is seven years old, she is a hard worker, and her dad is her best friend. together, they work hard to make their dreams come true. viewfinder, china's little rock star. on al jazeera. ♪

♪ anchor: you are watching al jazeera come alive from doha. donald trump is basing the possibility of an unprecedented second impeachment. he is accused of inciting and insurrection. meanwhile, president-elect joe biden says it is up to congress to decide whether an impeachment goes ahead. he says his priorities are bringing the coronavirus pandemic under control and stimulating economic growth. the u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi says she has spoken with the military to ensure president trump does not launch an attack during his last days in office. pelosi told her fellow democrats she wants to stop an "unhinged president" from using the nuclear codes.

the u.k. reported more than 1300 coronavirus deaths on friday, the highest daily number. since the pandemic began london's mayor has declared a major incident as hospital struggle with the high number of admissions. sadiq khan is warning the british capital is at a crisis point. one in 30 people in london were infected with the virus. our correspondent has more from london. correspondent: the mayor of london, sadiq khan, declaring a major incident, a major medical emergency across london's hospitals, is echoing dire warnings from anih leaders that they are struggling to cope with the infection rate. according to the office of national statistics, one in 30 londoners are currently suffering from the coronavirus, with admission rates taking

place at over 800 people per day. that is the equivalent of the entire capacity of sir thomas' hospital, one of the major hospitals in london. a worst-case scenario picture is being painted that if things continue as they are, by the middle of the month there could be a shortage of critical care beds in the several thousands. friday, the government introduced brand-new entry requirements at the borders into england, soon to be expanded across the u.k. in due course. a negative coronavirus test is required, taken within 72 hours for all people trying to enter the country. you may be surprised to learn that is only happening now. other countries have been doing this for a long time. the government has long argued the quarantine system is a better way of monitoring entry to the borders. but such as the desperation to ensure the south african variant of the virus, more verlander

perhaps even -- more virulent than the u.k. version, they are desperate to keep it out. anchor: germany has signed two deals for extra doses of coronavirus vaccines, contrary to what it agreed to do. under the eu, member countries agreed not to negotiate additional vaccine deals. additional deliveries would start only after other you countries have been supplied. a new french government figure reveals that a quarter of the country's doctors do not intend to be vaccinated. natosha butler reports on why france has one of the highest rates of vaccine skepticism in the world. correspondent: in the southern french city of marseille, this man has thought long and hard about whether he wants a covid vaccine. he has decided he does not.

he worries the global rush for a remedy has skipped procedures. >> the world is playing a game of chance. i am not against people getting vaccinated. i just don't feel the personal need to do so. i am in in age category where my risks are lower, so i am happy to wait. correspondent: many people in france question the safety of covid vaccines. researchers say that less than 40% of people in franch -- in france intend to be vaccinated. it is one of the lowest rates in europe. but not entirely surprising because france has one of the world's highest rates of vaccine skepticism. vaccines were discovered by louis pasteur. his legacy is a source of national pride, but it has not prevented the growth of anti-vaccine sentiment in the country, fueled by social media

and the pandemic. this sociologist says the french suspicion of vaccines is linked to past health scandals and a lack of trust in government. >> there are two incidents that mark the french. in the 1990's, people suspected the link between the hepatitis vaccine and multiple sclerosis. it was not true, but it created mistrust. it was the same case with h1n1 in 2009. they believed the government was colluding with pharmaceutical industries, and that has had a lasting impact. correspondent: the government's image has not been helped by the slow start to the vaccine campaign in the country, partly due to ministers' reluctance to be seen. pushing vaccines many do not wantsome say better informing people about side effects could change minds.

rising infections have created a sense of urgency. governments urge doctors and social media influencers to help spread their message, but it is clear that unraveling decades of mistrust will not be easy. anchor: the united arab emirates will reopen its air, sea, and land borders as part of the u.s.-backed deal. they agreed this week to restore ties with qatar after a 3.5 year blockade. the messaging service whatsapp is updating its privacy policies, allowing the platform to share more data with its parent company, facebook. this has sparked criticism among users. users are being forced to accept the new policy by february 8 to keep access to the app. some say they are considering switching to other services.

our guest works at the american university of london. guest: facebook has long been seeking to commercialize whatsapp. it has been successful in terms of the international user base, particularly in the developing world. they have not managed to get much money out of it. compared to other products, it has not had a lot of data to sell because it is encrypted and more private than other services. they are looking to commercialize it with linking to further businesses and finding new ways to let people pay through it and buy services. that is really at the core of today's decision. it is a blurring of the whatsapp business model and facebook business model. whatsapp has many trackers embedded in it and other data sharing tools embedded in the app. not as many as facebook messenger, but still a lot.

whatsapp is going down an unfortunate path of privacy, and users would be wise to abandon it now if they don't want to take that ride. anchor: a south korean court has ordered japan to pay compensation to the 12 surviving women forced into sexual slavery during world war ii. courts say the treatment of the women amounted to a crime against humanity. but the japanese government has described the ruling as regrettable and unacceptable. rob mcbride reports from seoul. correspondent: the culmination of the case that has gone on for eight years. this was a significant ruling. >> i feel deeply moved. it is the very first court ruling in favor of these victims. correspondent: the case was brought on behalf of 12 surviving so-called comfort women, or their families. young women or girls were forced

to work in wartime brothels by the japanese imperial army during world war ii. the court ruled all had endured unimaginable mental and physical pain and had not been compensated. they were each awarded the equivalent of more than $90,000 u.s. >> this could have wider consequences. japan prides itself on being a civilized country, yet it has not addressed this humanitarian issue since its defeat in 1945. correspondent: japan has refused to recognize this case, maintaining it goes against the internationally held norm of sovereign immunity,, that no nation can prosecute another through its courts. > we demand that south korea take the appropriate response to correct this breach of international law. correspondent: as far as japan is concerned, this issue is over. they say all matters related to south korea's wartime suffering

was settled by an agreement in 1965 when the countries normalized relations, and that a further compensation agreement specifically for the comfort women was signed in 2015. it was meant to settle the matter finally and irreversibly. tokyo has been angered by other court rulings in favor of south korean victims of wartime fall slaver -- walwartime forced labor. this latest ruling looks likely to sour relations. but for the women, this represents a form of justice after more than 75 years. anchor: uganda's police chief says reporters have been beaten for their own good, and there is space inside prisons for any spike. the buildup has been marred by brutal crackdowns on the opposition.

thursday, police confronted the president's rival ding a news conference. dozens of protesters have been killed in uganda in recent weeks. plants native to south america are invading cameroon largest freshwater lake and is threatening the livelihoods of fishermen, who say the plans are clogging up their nets. our correspondent has the story. correspondent: many fishermen, including richard, first noticed something strange growing in the. lake five years ago since then -- in the lake five years ago. since then, endemic species have disappeared. fishermen say they have lost about 80% of their income because of the scarcity of fish. >> since the arrival of this plant, i have hardly caught any fish. it had a huge impact on my life.

i wanted to build myself a house, but i can't. i can't pay for electricity. it is so bad, i can't pay for my children schooling -- for my children's schooling. correspondent: the plant reduces oxygen in the water. it thrives in slow-moving, nutrient rich freshwater. >> it comes from south america, and based on the studies we conducted, we were able to establish the hypothesis that the plant arrived either in the wind or by a bird that left the continent and threw the plant into the lake. correspondent: fishermen have tried to remove the plant by hand without much success. it regenerates in about 10 days. they are appealing for government help, but comes ovation nests -- but conservationists think they have a solution. >> the plant releases biomass

every 10 days, so it is a rapid proliferation, which is why we have added a biological control to this. once we have the government's permission, we will release insects. after two or three years, we will overcome this plant. correspondent: around 400 fishermen rely on the lake for their income. for them, any help cannot come soon enough. ♪ anchor: some breaking news in the last few minutes. the social media website twitter has permanently suspended u.s. president donald trump's account, citing the risk of further incitement. this just happened a few minutes ago. twitter says it has permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.

the president is facing the possibility of an unprecedented second impeachment. a group of democrats have drafted formal charges of misconduct to be presented next week, accusing him of inciting insurrection after wednesday's violence on capitol hill. president-elect joe biden says it is up to congress to decide whether impeachment goes ahead. he says his brother artie's are bringing -- his priorities are bringing the virus under control and stimulating economic growth. correspondent: nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, has not made her final decision on the wording of this. nevertheless, we have this draft, and it says the impeachment proceedings, the draft articles, would be accusing donald trump of high crimes and misdemeanors by enticing the insurrection, and willfully made statements that encouraged imminent, lawless activity at the capitol, and

trump has demonstrated he will remain a threat if allowed to stay in office. the white house has responded and said this is a politically motivated impeachment proceeding and it would only further divide the country. anchor: the u.k. reported more than 1300 coronavirus deaths on friday, the highest daily number since the pandemic began. london's mayor has declared a major incident for the city as hospitals struggle with the high number of admissions. the united arab emirates will reopen its air and sea borders with qatar in the coming hours. saudi arabia, the uae, brain, and egypt agreed to restore ties with qatar after a 3.5 year blockade. much more on those stories on our website at al jazeera.com. i have more news for you after "risking it all."

>> it is being seen as the bloodiest general election in uganda's history. dozens have been killed and a crackdown is ongoing. as voters head to the polls on january 14, we will examine whether this election can pave the way for change. uganda elections on al jazeera. ♪

♪ >> yusuf is on a mission. yes to set up a lumber camp before nightfall. the house he is delivering will become home for him and other would condors in -- wood cutters in borneo's rain forests. . among the challenges, unpredicted all-terrain. -- unpredictable terrain. [speaking foreign language]

[engines revving] [speaking foreign language] >> behind of, two other trucks have also come to a standstill. [speaking foreign language] ♪ >> borneo's rain forest is

shared by three countries, indonesia, malaysia, and brunei. it is home to hundreds of endemic plants and animals. a rich and unique habitat that is slowly dying. it's abundant resources overexploited. its rare woods decimated. today, less than half the trees remain. yet, the procession of trucks never ends. the forest tries to slow their progress as best as it can. but here, wood means money. loaded trucks stop at nothing to get their cargo to ports and big cities seven days a week. each journey is fraught with challenges. for drivers, overcoming them earns them a salary of about $550 a month. ♪ yusuf has now been carrying this house on the back of his truck for seven hours.

he is tired, but remains focused. ♪ >> upon arrival, they have to negotiate a difficult unloading. with no crane to help, they must rely on their own resourcefulness. this in big meant under the bulldozer acts as unloading ash this embankment under the bulldozer -- this embankment under the bulldozer acts as an unloading dock.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> the house's still not over -- the house's journey is still not over. it is headed for the riverbank where the men will live in the depths of the jungle for 11 months.

♪ as the loggers prepare for tomorrow's work, the torrential rain pours down on the camp. it is not without consequence. on their days off, the men only earn half of their usual salary. none will risk working with a chainsaw or driving on earth that has been reduced to mud. ♪ after three days of rain, the loggers have taken up their work. each of them makes sure to speed up the cutting and transporting of the wood, hoping to earn a

bonus for their extra effort. they want to make up the wages they have lost. this giant tree grows one centimeter every year. it has taken thousands of years to grow to this size. its wood is the hardest and densest in the world, earning the name ironwood. even once on the ground, it is still managing to make the loggers' lives difficult. the sheer weight of the tree is driving the bulldozer toward the ravine.

even in their steel cages, the drivers have to be careful. >> [speaking foreign language] >> moving the trunk is proving to be a big challenge, especially as the bulldozer is now stuck. to free it, the forest will once again pay a heavy price. ♪

[chainsaw buzzing] >> another tree is felled to help slide under the bulldozer's tracks. ♪ the battle between wood and steel lasts for more than an hour.

yu itsuf is heading out but the rain has transformed the tracks into muddy trenches. this journey promises to be especially difficult as they will be tackling completely unexplored tracks. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> the bulldozer devours everything in its path, creating a trail for the drivers. >> [speaking foreign language] each new track rings its own unknown dangers. according to the drivers, they have -- there have never been any deaths, but many injuries.

each one of them accepts the risk as an occupational hazard. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the drivers earned a fixed salary with added bonuses if they transport more wood than expected. it is not looking promising for today's bonus. the bulldozer driver brings back bad news -- the road is inaccessible, unless the drivers use this technique, nicknamed the conga.

the return journey promises to be eventful. he will take on the same route in the opposite direction, fully loaded, transporting the giant wood blocks to the riverbank. ♪

>> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] ♪

>> even on the most dangerous journey, yusuf thinks of his family some 500 kilometers away in indonesia. >> [speaking foreign language] >> today's journey is over for yusuf, but the logs he delivered, the journey is just beginning.

tomorrow, they will take a completely different route to reach the sea and the shipping ports. after 10 hours of driving and logging, the men are exhausted. deep in the middle of the forest, temperatures average around 30 degrees celsius. the humidity is a suffocating 80%. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language]

>> there are thousands of tons of tree trunks piled on this riverbed. transporting them requires massive quantities of petrol, an expensive option. instead, the logs will complete the journey to the shipping ports by water, a small outboard motor to keep it moving forward. this job is for the hill and river dwelling tribe. it takes considerable know-how. the ropes holding the raft together will easily trap their hands and feet.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> the river itself can present different challenges. there are twists and turns, and the currents can be unpredictable. the small engine is struggling. it eventually gives up. >> [speaking foreign language]

al[engine rumbling] >> [speaking foreign language] ♪

>> [speaking foreign language] >> on this day, close to 30 rafts are headed down the river. in what many describe as an ecological massacre i, forestry companies benefit the most. communities often replace the deforested areas. sometimes mother nature seems to exact a little revenge.

♪ 20 years ago, and housing development of around 100 houses built here was swept away by a her hurricane and huge waves. that prompted the property developer to make a change. >> [speaking foreign language] >> instead of rebuilding the houses, the builder decided to start gardening. after removing the rubble, they

planted hundreds of thousands of trees. they now form a green barrier, preventing the erosion of the coast. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language]

>> he built his housing development within a few months. it took him 20 years to replant 100 hectares of growth. >> [speaking foreign language] >> today, some of borneo's endemic plants and animals are once again starting to return to the area. >> [speaking foreign language]

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