this is g.w. news coming to you live from berlin temperatures embattled president signals he may be open to new elections the recent media are reporting that alexander lukashenko could hand over power after a constitutional referendum that says his disputed election victory continues to fuel anger and on breast also coming up an unprecedented online pedophile case comes to trial here in germany alongside the defendants more than $150.00 suspects have been identified and prosecutors say there are only about a trip. plus

a heat wave in the arctic visits the siberian town is very foundations are threatened by ever and longer so there's. a. flow on terry martin good to have you with us we start in belarus where there are reports indicating president i think senator lugar is ready to hold new elections but the recent state media are reporting that look at shaker could hand over power after a constitutional referendum and this would mark a reversal for the long ruling lucas shanker who has consistently rejected any calls to step down those calls have been growing louder ever since he was returned to office over a week ago in a controversial election. the bread and white flag of the opposition has one small been brainwashed on the streets of minced. this time by the black is the gathered

outside factories and the state television headquarters. go away they chanted directly to president alexander lukashenko who had come to win them over. a period unconcerned just 6 thought the new courtship dr would i want doesn't want to work at once to leave nobody will bully anyone nobody will push anyone please go ahead the doors are open to see what though the sewage national water all. the protests have been fueled by new promises from the opposition leader . i'm prepared to take responsibility and act as the nation's leader during this period so the country settles down and gets back to normality so that we can release all political prisoners and prepare the legal framework and conditions to hold another round of presidential elections in the shortest time possible.

the exiled opposition leader made her address from lithuania just one day after calling for the biggest protests in belarus yet estimated 200000 people called on the president to step down on sunday claiming the national election he won was great but. as the internal pressure grows so does international concern. the e.u. has announced it will hold an emergency summit about delivers on wednesday because it is the number one should we have already agreed on sanctions against those responsible for these human rights violations which is how these sanctions will be designed and what the further restrictive measures will be taken in the future behavior of the bellary sea and authorities to them for of course we are also considering the possibility of extending sanctions to other leading figures like to the front row to your president. until then on day 9 of taking

to the streets the protesters show no sign of relenting. well for more on this developing story we're joined now by clawson in moscow he's a russia analyst good to see you again constance a russian high russian embarrass them state media say president look is prepared to hold a new election what do you make of that well i think it's a way for a look at shinku to start leading our eye and i think that this is an unmistakable 1st step that most of sort of the other leaders take towards some kind of compromise index that i think that this is a possibility but i don't think that new elections will be held with mr lucas shankar but definitely this is a moment which signifies that probably he won't use more force against the protesters that he feels that he's ability to physically resist the protests is

very close to do disappearing and i think it's a significant moment in says that this is the steps signal that he's prepared to tool russia is a significant player here to look at shakos said over the weekend that russia's is ready to provide support to belarus what form do you think that support might take . although it can't be completely totally explained that mr putin will send in troops to basically keep mr lucas franco and the other groups within his obit but i think by the hour it becomes less and less possible i won't discount it completely but it becomes less and less fossil was a less probable frankly speaking the bloodshed will be so huge that i don't think it was beautiful risked but definitely deloris is extremely important for thought for putin probably even more than ukrainian subway because he sees in minsk

a possible example for people in moscow and elsewhere in russia so putin will probably let lucas shank ago although he wants him to exit in one piece and not the way you can just put it in for me in 1990 however after that he would engage in a major battle for their belarus with the e.u. which was mentioned in the news because she can't he just conclave it and throw western democracy oriented guns install itself in minsk and he has quite some possibilities for that money p.r. advisors intelligence information warfare i think you'll use pretty much everything probably apocryphal the russian army join sure that the next president of the others will be critical will be someone kremlin friendly i don't know whether he will succeed but that he will fight i am absolutely certain a lot at stake here and not just for bellerose that was russia analyst constantine i got in last thank you so much. now

a look at some of the other stories making news around the world this hour the funerals have been held in lebanon for 3 firefighters from the same family who died in the huge explosion at beirut pork the men were killed as they were responding to a fire that started before the blast ripped through large parts of the capital killing around $180.00 people and injuring those it's. in the united states house speaker nancy pelosi says she'll call back to lawmakers early from the summer recess to deal with the crisis at the u.s. postal service president trump who has admitted to holding back funding for the service has repeatedly claimed that a surge in mail in voting would leave the voter fraud in november selection. the trial has started today of the man suspect the main suspect of what could be germany's largest ever organized child sex abuse case while the $150.00 suspects are also being investigated in the case involving an online paedophile network that

shared images of child pornography critics say germany isn't doing enough to tackle sex crimes against children on the internet the defendant hid as he entered the courtroom evidence found in the 43 year old's home led to the biggest investigation into organized child sex abuse in german history. it's the most recent in a series of trials against men accused of abusing their own and other's children that attacked as i sat at the defendant is alleged to have sexually assaulted his daughter in $61.00 cases some of them are serious and he sent to film the abuse and then share the videos and chat groups uncovering these crimes has proved deeply disturbing even for the most experienced investigators the suspect allegedly began abusing his daughter when she was just a few months old he's also accused of belonging to a sprawling paedophile network. investigators found 30000 leads and have identified more than 150 suspects in germany and abroad the defendant's wife is the joint

plaintiff in the trial her lawyer says she was unaware of the abuse you know put says but time everyone involved in this trial hopes the defendant will shed light on what happened with that hope is what unites us all in this trial and it's a hope shared by my client might have been done to invention. the defendant refused to comment ahead of his trial but he has said he will testify during the proceeding for. temperatures across the arctic have been increasing at a rate that's about twice the global average causing a record heat wave in siberia this year a small remote town above the arctic circle in the russian region of ukraine salt temperatures that were nearly 20 degrees higher than average so i'm just now fear that the heat is causing the permafrost athol spelling disaster for both the environment and for the people who live there you know use only sure when reports from best young. you can see the heat shimmer even

now at the end of summer a few weeks ago they had set a new record 38 degrees celsius that's the highest temperature ever recorded within the arctic circle people here are usually proud of a different exterior their town is one of 2 places that claim to be the coldest on earth. we're used to the cold people here can't handle that sort of heat everyone bought electric fans they were totally sold out here people had ice cream and cold drinks we aren't prepared for these conditions. we swam and worked it was fine even in the winter when it's minus 60 degrees centigrade here we eat ice cream so working when it was 38 degrees wasn't a problem either. me i had discussions with them. the climate is changing every year and the ice is slowly melting people say the winters have gotten a bit warmer and the summer has moved by

a whole month it's longer now. it is not solely nice it's the buildings in that are on stilts designed to drive down into the permafrost and give them a solid base the pillars also keep the houses raised so they don't melt the ground underneath but rising temperatures could threaten the very foundations of this town . because the permafrost is melting houses here could collapse because they're built on pillars our public utilities are built on supports which have their foundations in the ground if they move there could be accidents there will be all sorts of problems if global warming intense allies who she. wants. to meet with. russia's arctic has already felt the effects of unstable foundations in late may a fuel reservoir. are near no real school collapsed and 21000 tonnes of diesel

spilled into surrounding rivers in subsoil the russian metals company in charge said the thawing permafrost was to blame scientists hope the environmental catastrophe and the reals will be a wake up call for off the already it's. the one. that you might until this happened no one paid attention to the issue of permafrost the 1st thing that contributes to its thought is the climate and the summer temperatures to some of summer temperatures here in central yakutia so in the taiga forest has increased by 10 to 12 percent since the year 2000. this year's summer may have been a novelty for people invent but it could spell an unstable future for russia's arctic. restrictions on south africa's economic activity will be eased from tuesday all on after president cyril ramaphosa said cove in 1000 infections have peaked with more than half

a 1000000 confirmed cases south africa has been hard hit by the pandemic the country implemented strict measures to curb the spread of the virus including a ban on alcohol and cigarettes sales but its lockdown has crushed businesses and livelihoods. here people are helping themselves we've been from this poor area in cape town and cooking for the neighbors who are even worse off than they are nearly 5 months of lockdown has pushed many into deeper poverty than they were before. my daughter can only work 2 or 3 days a week without the people from the soup kitchen i don't know what our children would be at. the women at the soup kitchen buy the ingredients with donations but like many other volunteer groups collecting enough money is getting tough. july 2 nations have. been struggling a lot. up until today we haven't had any assistance from the state

demonstrators clashed with police or to protest with better living standards there was sometimes violence like this before the pandemic but now it's getting worst aid organizations are predicting more unrest as millions of jobs are lost forever and the support offered by the state is not enough. there is some positive news the increase in covert 19 cases is slowing and some lock down measures are being listened. but not for the international tourists who are crucial for the economy current restrictions on international travel will remain in place. no more than 50 people will be permitted. the women from the soup kitchen to expect the pandemic to go away quickly they are starting to grow their own vegetables to make sure that there will always be enough ingredients for the soup. you're

watching g.w. news coming up next a business with christopher coke work u.s. drug maker novak starts amidst a trial of its coated 19 vaccine in south africa just as the country's experience of receiving a winter surge in your case. more coming up with chris of cover. we know that this is a scary time for the coronavirus is changing the world changing our lives so please take care of yourself keep your distance and wash your hands if you can stay at how we're d.w.b. for here for.