from berlin. . the revenge of a dictator. that is how belarus opposition is describing the prison sentence handed down t siarh ikhanouski. he dared to challenge lish think about was arrested before the vote. is there any -- any hope left for democracy in belarus? the british parliament approves

new covid-19 restrictions to find an exponential spread of omicron cases, and the who is warning countries not to underestimate the new variant. u.s. president joe biden says he will travel tomorrow to kentucky to visit victims of friday's unprecedented swarm of tornadoes. tens of thousands are still without power, heat, or running water in towns that have been leveled by the storms. i'm brent goff. to her viewers watching on pbs in the united states into all of you around the world, welcome. is this the end of democratic hopes in belarus? today, a court and belarus sentenced opposition figure siarhei tsikhanouski to 18 years in prison for organizing antigovernment protests. he was arrested last year as he campaigned against belarus's's

authoritarian leader, alexander lubin jacob. his wife, who took his place as opposition leader, has called the severe sentence the revenge of a dictator. >> even before the verdict against her public -- her husband was announced. >> i have an idea how many years he will get. it will be difficult psychologically to accept. on the other hand, be it one year, be it 20 or 100 years, all this is not normal. it is illegal and you can't accept it. reporter: in the end, siarhei tsikhanouski was served an 18 year prison sentence. he refused to turn his face to the state media in court. five other codefendants were sentenced with him. tsikhanouski is charged with

inciting mass unrest and hatred in society. but how did he go from blogger to enemy of the state? conflict with authorities fueled his political activism. he won a huge following, publishing videos in which he talked about corruption with people from across belarus. in may 2020, he announced a run for president and was arrested shortly after. his wife ran for office instead. but long-term leader alexander lukashenko prevailed in a vote widely criticized as fraudulent. his government suppressed the ensuing mass protests and arrested thousands. according to human rights group -- a human rights gup, there are morehan 0 politica prisoners in belarus. among them, victor, another challenger of lukashenko. and another person, a prominent

government critic. from exile, siarhei tsikhanouski continues to raise her voice. she has urged the west to keep up the pressure on lukashenko by imposing sanctions and not recognizing him as president. she has called the verdict against her husband an act of revenge by the dictator. >> i will try to do something very difficult. maybe impossible. to bring close the moment when we will see each other again in a new belarus. brent: germany's foreign minister has condemned the prison sentence given to tsikhanouski. she said, i have taken note of the scandalous verdicts against siarhei tsikhanouski and others. the verdicts are a disgrace to the rule of law and to the international obligations of

belarus. joining me now is our correspondent, he has reported many times from belarus about the political situation. he joins me tonight from kiev in neighboring ukraine. it is good to see you. talk to me about tsikhanouski's role in belarusian politics and his hopes for democracy that he imbibed? nick: he is someone who came to politics relatively recently, in a country where basically, the opposition had been marginalized under 12 -- under more than 20 years of rule by alexander lukashenko, and basically didn't play any significant role in average people's lives. he was someone who, through his own troubles as a businessman, took to youtube, and talked about the normal problems of every day people in the regions of belarus and their conflicts and problems with local government and the system. in a short space of time, he

picked up a following, tens of thousands of soup -- of subscribers. in the summer of 2020, the head of the elections, he said he would run for president. within a few days, he was behind bars where he has been ever since. brent: i asked at the beginning of the program, is this the end of democratic hopes in belarus? what does this prison sentence mean for the opposition in the country? nick: i think it is definitely a clear signal from government, from ruler alexander lukashenko that he is in no mood of -- no mood to compromise or have debate with the opposition. he feels he can carry on as normal and put everyone behind bars and scare the rest into at least silence. among opposition supporters, this was not unexpected. there is a lot of anger. i think people have retreated into the private sphere and are organizing on social media. even if you are communicating in spaces you think are encrypted as save, we have seen people

ending up in jail for sending links to independent media and private messages to one another. when people get arrested, the phones get taken, the police look at it and they get put in jail. belarusian opposition is hoping people will sit quiet and wait this out, and wait for the next moment where the government is in greater difficulties. no one was really expecting what we saw. it is difficult to predict how this will develop, and how their chances are after -- in the future. brent: our correspondent nick connolly with the latest on that sentencing in belarus. nick, thank you. here is a look at the other stories that are making headlines around the world. russia supreme court today adjourned until the end of the year, a trial against memorial, one of the country's's most prominent human rights groups. gathering in front of the court, they urged authorities to not dissolve the group. it is accused of violating laws

that limit ties with what russia calls foreign agents. police in hungary say seven migrants have been killed and three injured in a car crash. the driver who survived has been arrested and will be charged with human trafficking. police say the driver fell to stop -- failed to stop at a checkpoint, and then lost control of the vehicle. a truck carrying gasoline has exploded in northern haiti, killing more than 40 people, injuring dozens. officials say the blast happened late monday in the city -- in a city. three days of national mourning will be observed in memory of the victims. the world health organization is warning the new coronavirus variant, omicron, is spreading at an unprecedented rate. lawmakers today approved covid-19 restrictions in the u.k. where omicron cases are increasing exponentially. health authorities say infections relating to the variant are doubling every two to three days.

initial findings from south africa suggest omicron may be less severe, less dangerous, then the delta variant. but the w.h.o.'s director general is warning that it should not be under estimated. >> 77 countries have now reported cases of omicron, and the reality is that omicron is probably in most countries, even if it has not been detected yet. omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. we are concerned that people are dismissing omicron as mild. surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus. brent: i'm joined by mohammed and vote near, a viral infection and vaccine expert in lancaster, england. it is good to see you again. we are hearing the warnings from the w.h.o., that omicron is spreading at an unprecedented

rate. i know in the u.k., that is what we are hearing. what about the number of deaths connected to this variant? are we really in an omicron emergency? >> i think we have seen the severity of the disease, but what we know that this virus is highly transmissible. now, we have data from south africa, from norway, denmark, and the united kingdom. all of these four countries clearly indicate this is transmissible, that it is breaching the immunity that has already been established by the vaccine or a previous infection. these are the characteristics of the viruses that will become successful and would become the most predominant strain around the world. that is what we have seen with the delta and alpha when they emerged in the beginning. we had a lot of information about the transmission, because that is easy to study. the severity, it took five weeks

before we had a conclusive idea. based on the data coming out from the u.k. and south africa, it appears to be overall severity of the disease is less, and very few people needed external source of us -- of oxygen, which is good news. brent: it is good news. if we are not seeing a surge in fatalities from this new variant, then how much does it matter if and when omicron does become the dominant coronavirus variant worldwide? >> absolutely. i think this is our best case scenario. let's hope it does pan out like that. if that is the case, but it would be spreading lavishly, it becomes the dominant spirit -- dominant strain. that a person doesn't need hospitalization, it is not really a problem for the community, because we are living with five other coronaviruses. we don't really care about those because those don't cause disease. therefore, if this would become

that level of lease severity, that would be the best case scenario to get out of this pandemic. brent: in the u.k., we have the prime minister saying the goal is for all adults to be fully vaccinated and boosted by the end of this month. because of omicron. we know that is very ambitious. even if that is achieved, will that be the best way to combat this pandemic? nick: not really. it would depend on how the severity of the disease would be assessed. if the severity of the disease would be equal to the delta variant, or even into alpha and beta variants which are very concerning, then i think the booster is a medium-term solution. it is not long-term solution, particularly when we know the two doses does not provide much protection against this infection. it is around 30%, whereas hospitalization can be prevented

by up to 70% of doses. which means the booster is critical to increase the level of antibodies, but that is not the answer for all of the questions. we have to minimize transmission untilhose pressing questions are clearly defined,, so that we will be able to know the future and the long-term control of this infection. brent: we will keep waiting for the data and hoping this best case scenario will be the real scenario that we will be dealing with. as always, good talking with you. thank you. >> thank you for having me. brent: you are watching dw news. . still to come, the spanish city making roads car free every friday so that kids can cycle to school safely. we will take a ride in just a moment. u.s. president joe biden will travel to kentucky on wednesday to see for himself the devastation caused by an unprecedented swarm of tornadoes. the twisters hit kentucky and

other southeastern states friday night. at least 88 people were killed, more than 100 are still missing. in mayfield, kentucky, one of the hardest hit towns, survivors are preparing for a christmas without heating, electricity, or running water. >> this is my daddy's box. this is my daddy's box. it had all of his things that he had. reporter: as the dust slowly settles, teresa is counting her blessings. >> the lord works in mysterious ways. and about two and a half, three weeks ago, my daughter came in and said mother, we are buying you tickets to a blue man group in las vegas on friday, december 10. reporter: that night, disaster struck at her home of mayfield, kentucky. her story, a rare ray of light

amid blinding tragedy. governor andy beshear and his wife, struggling to come to grips with kentucky's nightmare. >> these tornadoes would have marked one of the most awful days in our state's history, no matter when they struck. . that is more painful that this tragedy happened just a few weeks before christmas. as a mom, wife, daughter, and friend, -- >> as a mom, wife, daughter, and friend, she can only imagine the pain and grief that kentuckians are feeling at the moment. she knows so many of you feel the same way, and wants to know how you can help make this season a little easier for those that are hurting. reporter: a 15 minute drive from mayfield, in a town, survivors are bracing for a christmas unlike any other at this church turned south -- turn shelter. >> we're pretty much going to be

here for christmas, new year's, and for his birthday in this little shelter in this church. reporter: many here are happy to be alive. >> christmas time, you want to be at home, enjoy the family, the holidays, and christmas lights up, and all that good stuff. i'm just so grateful that i will be able to have my son for christmas. reporter: with over 1000 homes destroyed in kentucky alone, and many still without water and power, president joe biden has signed an executive order to get help to the affected areas faster. pres. biden: this administration has made it clear to every governor, whatever they need, when they need it, when they need it, make it known to me. we will get it to them as rapidly as we can. reporter: president biden says he will travel to kentucky on wednesday, hoping to help people

like teresa rise from the ruins. brent: i'm joined by ethan, from the convoy of hope, that is a nonprofit relief organization based in springfield, missouri. it is good to have you on the program. i understand your organization is sending help to the tornado victims in kentucky and tennessee. what are they telling you? what do they need most urgently right now? ethan: right now, they just need the basics. they need food and water and tarps ancleaning supplies. hygiene kits for people who have lost everything. it is really the basics they need right now. and that is what we are loading up here in our truckload. truckload after truckload full of items are being loaded up here and sent to tennessee and kentucky, just those areas that we saw in the story that were so hard-hit. the people need the very basics, they needope that tomorrow is going to be a betr day than today. brent: just seeing what is

behind you there, you are going to be a lifesaver for countless people in that area. we have also heard from the u.s. president that he is promising help. what type of help from the federal government would be most effective from your point of view? ethan: i think what we see as the biggest need is long-term recovery. helping these people who have literally had their homes devastated, wiped out. they need help from fema, to get some money to fill in the gaps with insurance that they may or may not have, to be able to start the rebuilding process. because the rebuilding process becomes a healing process, as people are able to realize a new dream coming to life. it gives them new hope for tomorrow that yes, we lost our house, we lost a lot of items from the house, those are things we still have memories, and we still have hope that tomorrow is

going to be better because we are building this new house that will become the new part of our family. brent: i know your organization, then name is convoy of hope. that also speaks to the faith that a lot of people in this part of the u.s. have and depend on. talk to me, for our global international viewers, talk to me about the role that religion and faith are playing right now in these traumatized people's ability to cope and make it another day? ethan: i tell you, we have some of the best of convoy of hope disaster experts in the nation. they go to a lot of situations like this. they have talked to a lot of people who are at their wits end. they've lost everything. and they feel hopeless in that moment. they need somebody to talk to. what we do, as best we can,'s form relationships.

we are able to talk with them. tell them it is going to be ok. pray with them, if that is what they would like to do. and just let them know that there is more to life than just a house. you have your life. we are going to get better. things are going to improve. and it starts right here with a cold glass of water. brent: even with convoy of hope, we appreciate your time tonight and wish you and all of the people working with you all of the best. you are doing very important work. thank you. ethan: thank you for the time. brent: 38 degrees celsius, that is 100 degrees fahrenheit, that would be a very hot day at the beach. it would be a disaster at the north pole. scientists in siberia have confirmed 100 degrees was reached in the arctic last year. that is the highest temperature on record there. the united nations says it is an alarm bell for the crisis that is known as climate change. reporter: welcome to the polar

court. it is supposed to be one of the coldest inhabited places on earth. last summer, as these images show, it set a different record. 30 degrees celsius. the highest temperature ever measured in the arctic. >> the heat that we saw in siberia in 2020 would have been almost impossible without climate change. the arctic, as wmo keeps saying, is one of the fastest warming parts of the world. it is warming more than twice as fast as the global average. reporter: with the heat came the drought. even the waterlogged vastness of siberia burned. this year, according to nasa, smoke from the siberian wildfires reached the north pole for the first time in recorded history. and every acre that burns releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. but that was not the only

alarming temperature record announced by the u.n. this one was recorded on the others of the globe. >> last year also, there was a new temperature record in the antarctic continent of 18.3 degrees celsius. that was recorded at an argentinian base called esperanza. reporter: that is not all that is happening in antarctica. scientists monitoring the glacier, the size of great britain, say it is melting so fast that it is dumping 50 billion tons of ice into the ocean each year. the dramatic acceleration of this melting will lead to the glacier's rapid retreat and could cause its eventual collapse. brent: all right. here in europe and spain, there is a new project in the city of barcelona that is trying to encourage children to do something green. to get to school by bike. they are clearing cars off the roads to encourage them.

for one hour every friday morning, it is all aboard the bike bus. reporter: liam grand is focused. it is a special morning. on fridays going to school is different. he won't be on the back of his mom's bicycle like on the other days. the four-year-old is writing his own bike. along with dozens of other children here in barcelona, they are taking the organized bike bus to school. >> the children love it. it gives them a tom amis. and it is something different, something new. reporter: it is a party on wheels. with music, and applause for the little ones. they've got the whole street to themselves. normally, there would be many cars that would scare them. now, they don't need to be

afraid. every friday, the way to school is blocked from cars for around one hour so the kids can cycle. it is a project organized by parents who wanted to change. >> that is the idea, to make the street more peaceful and other streets in the city. even if there are bike lanes, for children like them who are five or six years old, it is still a little difficult to maintain the direction in a bike lane. there are lots of scooters and bicycles, people passed by very quickly. that is sometimes a bit dangerous for the younger ones. reporter: district -- a district counselor supports the initiative. he who has just been given permission for another route. >> the city is very hostile for little boys and girls. this is a way to gain space for them so they can cycle on the streets and go to school. reporter: he hopes soon families can operate the route on their

own without the help of the local police. the kids are loving it. >> because we are altogether and we like going by bike. >> it is really good that the children can cycle without fearing the cars. reporter: the parents also want less cars on the streets to reduce emissions. barcelona is in the admit -- is in the process of improving bike lanes. the city council needs to take into account all road users, the pedestrians, motorists, or cyclists. >> the routes from home to the school are perfectly walkable, and the bicle is just another way. that is why we need to treat it as another element. and this is why we are working on making the school surrounding less building -- less busy and increasing biklanes. reporter: wider and family-friendly bike lanes that are separate from car traffic may pop up in the future. but- >> even if there are plans like

go in that direction, and if the city council supports this view, the changes are very slow. reporter: until then, the party on wheels continues. and with more and more children joining, this year, it is to stay. brent: you are watching dw news. the top story we are following for you, according to belarus, it has ended -- it has sentenced siarhei tsikhanouski to 18 years in prison. he was arrested after campaigning again it -- campaigning against xander lukashenko. his wife calls the prison sentence revenge of the dictator. this is dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. images from a snowy scandinavia in time for christmas. let's hope climate change does not make the white stuff a christmas memory.

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>> welcome back to france 24 in paris. these are our top stories. 100 conservative mps rebel against boris johnson's government in a vote over covid-19 passes to enter certain venues in england. the dutch prime minister says the restrictions will be extended through the christmas and new year periods. and the probe into the u.s. capitol attack.