Belarus releases 123 prisoners in agreement with US, including Nobel Prize winner and opposition leader
Protesters hold posters in support of Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski during a solidarity demonstration in Vilnius. Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialiatski turned 62 on September 25, 2024. (Yauhen Yerchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Belarusian government announced Saturday that it has released 123 people, including foreigners, a Nobel Prize winner and several political opposition leaders, who were being held in prison on “espionage, terrorism, and extremism” charges.
Belarusian government officials said in a statement that the release is part of “agreements reached with U.S. President Donald Trump” and involves the United States lifting sanctions on the Belarusian potash industry.
U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale told reporters in Minsk Saturday that the U.S. was lifting sanctions against Belarusian potash producer Belaruskali, one of the European country’s largest state-owned companies.
Coale said the goal is to normalize relations between the U.S. and Belarus and that “more sanctions will be lifted” in the future.
Among the prisoners released were two prominent Belarusian activists, Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava.
Of the detainees, 114 were transferred to Ukraine while the remaining nine, including Bialiatski, were transferred to Lithuania, according to the Ukrainian government.
Shortly after her release, Kalesnikava was seen arriving at the Ukrainian border and reuniting with Viktar Babaryka and Maxim Znak, both of whom were former Belarusian prisoners.
Babaryka was imprisoned during the 2020 election while trying to run against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Kalesnikava was his campaign manager and took his place after he was arrested.
Bialiatski spoke with the press from Lithuania telling them, “being released means meeting with family, meeting with friends and continuing my work as a human rights defender.”
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his criminal trial on insurrection charges at a courtroom of the Seoul Central District Court on April 21, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. The second trial regarding former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s charge of leading a rebellion hold at the Seoul Central District Court. (Photo by Jung Yeon-Je – Pool/Getty Images)
(SEOUL, South Korea) — South Korean prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is standing trial on charges of leading an insurrection.
During a 17-hour closing hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors argued that Yoon’s alleged actions posed a grave threat to the constitutional order and warranted the maximum punishment allowed under South Korean law. The former president has been on trial since he was impeached last April on charges that he led an insurrection by attempting to impose martial law in December 2024. Insurrection is one of the few crimes still punishable by death in the country.
“The fact that prosecutors sought the death penalty may be because former President Yoon continues to maintain that his actions were justified and has shown no remorse or acknowledgment of wrongdoing,” Jungkun Seo, a professor at Seoul’s Kyung Hee University, told ABC News Wednesday.
“It was widely expected that the outcome would be either the death penalty or life imprisonment,” Seo said.
South Korea has not carried out an execution in nearly 30 years, and legal observers said the prosecution’s request was consistent with past practice in cases involving former leaders accused of insurrection, even if the likelihood of an execution remains low.
Many lawmakers from the Democratic Party welcomed the call for the death penalty following the hearing.
“Calling for the death penalty for Yoon is not a matter of choice but a necessity and cannot be considered excessive,” Moon Geum-ju, a Democratic Party floor spokesperson, said in a statement Wednesday.
Moon said suggesting a lesser sentence for someone accused of undermining the Constitution and plunging the country into crisis would be an affront to justice and common sense.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party appeared to distance themselves from the former president, declining to issue an official statement on the case.
Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk told reporters Wednesday that the special prosecutor’s sentencing request was not an issue he should comment on, adding that he expects the court to conduct a fair trial.
The presidential office said it expects the judiciary to rule in accordance with the law and public expectations.
Two former South Korean presidents were convicted of insurrection in the 1990s for their roles in a 1979 military coup. Prosecutors at the time sought the death penalty for former President Chun Doo-hwan and a life sentence for his successor, Roh Tae-woo.
Chun was initially sentenced to death, though the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. Roh was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Both men were released after serving about two years following a presidential pardon, which the government at the time described as necessary for national reconciliation.
The court is scheduled to deliver a final verdict on Feb. 19 at the Seoul Central District Court.
Fireworks light up the sky over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House during New Year’s Eve celebrations on January 01, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Countries across the globe are beginning to usher in 2026.
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first to ring in the new year, while Alaska and Hawaii will be among the last places to say goodbye to 2025.
New Zealand
At 6 a.m. ET, New Zealand was one of the first countries to reach 2026, ringing in the new year with a fireworks display.
Australia
In Australia, fireworks over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge went along as planned, but law enforcement presence was ramped up in Sydney in the wake of this month’s mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.
Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — At least four people were killed and 17 were injured in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv in what the local mayor called a “massive” Russian drone attack on Sunday night.
“Every night and every day bring new challenges for our city, new destructions and new work,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post to Telegram.
Kharkiv was among the targets of Russia’s latest overnight attack, which Ukraine’s air force said saw 162 drones launched into the country. Air defenses shot down or suppressed 125 drones, the air force said, with 37 craft impacting across 15 locations.
“The most damage was suffered by civilian infrastructure and private households in the Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions,” the air force said in a post to Telegram. “Unfortunately, there are civilian casualties.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down at least 93 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The latest exchange of strikes came as U.S., European and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the contentious 28-point American peace plan proposal put to Kyiv last week, with terms critics say would constitute a Ukrainian capitulation.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the talks were “probably the most productive and meaningful meeting we’ve had so far in this entire process since we became involved.”
Rubio told reporters that the presidents of both countries would have to approve any framework, but said he was “comfortable” they would.
“We’re making some changes and adjustments in hopes of further narrowing the differences and getting closer to an outcome that both Ukraine and the United States can be comfortable with,” Rubio said.
Rubio later Sunday said that all parties had made “great strides” on a potential peace settlement with Russia. He also said that the deadline for the parties to reach an agreement is “as soon as possible” and that the process could extend past a Thanksgiving deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“It evolved. This is a work — this is a living, breathing document every day with input, it changes,” he said of the proposal.
Trump told reporters on Saturday that there is room for further negotiation. Asked by reporters whether the 28-point plan was his last offer, Trump replied, “No.” He added, “One way or another we’ll get it ended.”
But on Sunday, the president criticized Ukraine and its European backers, saying Ukrainian “‘leadership’ has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts” and noting that “Europe continues to buy oil from Russia.”
Asked later on Sunday whether the president still considered the Ukrainians “ungrateful,” Rubio said he believed Trump was now “quite pleased” with progress at the negotiating table.
On Monday morning, Trump hinted at headway being made. “Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine???” he wrote on social media.
“Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” Trump added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said in a post to social media on Sunday that his delegation in Geneva “held a series of meetings — with the American side and with our European partners as well.”
“The delegation has just reported on the results of their discussions, and these were substantive conversations. A lot is changing — we are working very carefully on the steps needed to end the war,” Zelenskyy added.
“It is important that there is dialogue with the American representatives and there are signals President Trump’s team is hearing us,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“Ukraine has never wanted this war, and we will never be an obstacle to peace,” the president said. “Diplomacy has been reinvigorated, and that’s good. Very good. We expect that the outcome will be the right steps. The first priority is a reliable peace, guaranteed security, respect for our people, respect for everyone who gave their life defending Ukraine against Russian aggression.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Russia had “not received anything official yet” regarding the outcomes of the Geneva talks.
“We are, of course, closely monitoring media reports, which have been abundant over the past few days, including from Geneva,” Peskov said.
“We have not seen any plan yet,” Peskov continued. “We have read the statement following the discussions in Geneva. Some adjustments have been made to the text we saw earlier. We will wait. Apparently, the dialogue is continuing there, and some contacts will continue. So far, I repeat, we have not received anything officially.”
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting of his Security Council that the Kremlin had received the new 28-point U.S. proposal. “I believe that it could also form the basis for a final peace settlement, but this text has not been discussed with us in detail,” Putin said.
“I believe the reason is the same: the U.S. administration has not yet managed to secure the agreement of the Ukrainian side, as Ukraine is opposed to it,” Putin added. “Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under the illusion that they can inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield.”
