Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 31 Ukrainian citizens convicted of crimes in Belarus, the state news agency Belta reported on Saturday.
According to Lukashenko’s spokesperson, Natalia Eismont, the decision followed agreements reached between Lukashenko and U.S. President Donald Trump at Ukraine’s request.
Ukraine’s prisoner exchange coordination committee later confirmed on Telegram that 31 civilians had been returned from Belarus, saying: “Women and men detained in Belarus and sentenced to between two and eleven years are now returning to Ukraine.”
The committee expressed gratitude to the United States and President Trump for their efforts in securing the release of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel held in Belarus and Russia, adding that those freed would receive medical treatment and rehabilitation.
On Thursday, Lukashenko also released two Roman Catholic priests convicted of “serious crimes against the state” following talks with the Vatican, Belta reported.
A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko has freed several hundred prisoners since mid-2024 as part of efforts to improve ties with the West after years of sanctions over his human rights record and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, President Trump appointed a special envoy to Belarus to negotiate further prisoner releases.
Trump says U.S. found “major points of agreement” with Iran and has paused strikes on Iranian power plants, but Tehran denies any direc...
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Turkish authorities on Sunday arrested a reporter for allegedly spreading false information, sparking small demonstrations by journalists and civil...
As Denmark gears up for a general election on 24 March, opinion polls show a narrow lead for Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose numbers have b...
In a metro station in downtown Tehran, pictures of Iranian school children alleged to have been killed by U.S.-Israel attacks are being displayed along the walls.
Turkish authorities on Sunday arrested a reporter for allegedly spreading false information, sparking small demonstrations by journalists and civil society groups in İstanbul and Ankara.
As conflict continues to unsettle the Middle East, airlines are being forced to make difficult, fast-moving decisions - redrawing flight paths and searching for safe skies. Amid this uncertainty, Azerbaijan has emerged as a crucial gateway linking Europe and Asia.
Four weeks into the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, military and civilian officials have strongly warned of immediate tit-for-tat attacks against U.S. targeting of its power plants in reaction to blocking of the strategic waterway of Strait of Horumz.
The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet were killed after it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia airport late on Sunday, in an incident that closed the airport, authorities and U.S. media said.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that American forces could target Iranian power plants if the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and Iran, in return, warned that any attack on its energy infrastructure would trigger strikes on regional facilities.
Trump says U.S. found “major points of agreement” with Iran and has paused strikes on Iranian power plants, but Tehran denies any direct talks or negotiations, contradicting U.S. claims - latest on Middle East conflict.
Iran has launched long-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards the joint U.S.-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, in what Israeli officials said was a major escalation in the war.
Georgia bid farewell to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II on Sunday (22 March). He was considered one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the country’s modern history.
As Denmark gears up for a general election on 24 March, opinion polls show a narrow lead for Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose numbers have been boosted by her firm stance against U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to annex Greenland to the U.S.
Former French Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin has died at the age of 88, broadcaster BFM reported on Monday, citing party sources. The cause of death was not immediately known.
FinaFinal results from Slovenia’s parliamentary elections indicate a near tie between the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and the liberal Freedom Movement Slovenia (GS), leaving neither side with a clear path to power.
Violent clashes broke out between police and opposition protesters in Tirana on Sunday (22 March) as demonstrators were demanding the resignation of the Albanian government following corruption allegations against the deputy prime minister.
In UK's capital, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organisation in north London were set ablaze, police said on Monday, adding that the incident was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called the incident "sickening."
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