- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island
- Argentina held, Brazil leave it late in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
- Obama blasts 'crazy' Trump in first rally for Harris
- 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, a plea in favour of world order?
- Fry homers as Guardians down Tigers to stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Japan PM presses China's Li on airspace intrusion
- In Trump 'Truths,' conspiracies, attacks -- and doubts about the election
- How Sebastian Stan found a 'relatable' Trump for 'The Apprentice' biopic
- Panama's water wheel trash collector keeps plastic at bay
- It's still 'the economy, stupid,' says US political guru Carville
- Five key dates in the history of the America's Cup
- Zelensky to meet Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- At least 10 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Far from eye, Hurricane Milton's deadly tornados rampaged Florida
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Argentina held, Bolivia stun Colombia in 2026 qualifiers
- Socceroos have 'nothing to fear' from Japan
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
- Bolivia stun Colombia in World Cup qualifiers
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Greece earn late win against England in Nations League, Italy-Belgium stalemate
- Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
- Pavlidis dedicates 'special' Greece win over England to tragic Baldock
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- 'Like a quake': Beirut shaken after deadliest strikes on centre
- Fallen giants Ghana in AFCON trouble after Sudan draw
- Asian leaders meet in Laos with US, Russia on world turmoil
- England gamble backfires as Pavlidis fires emotional Greece to victory
- Obama stumps for Harris, Trump talks US protectionism
- New-look France ease past Israel in Nations League
- Belgium fight back to draw with 10-man Italy in Nations League
- 'Get a life': Hurricane whips up US election storm
- Japan stay perfect in World Cup qualifying
- Relief as Lebanon evacuees dock in Turkey
- Lebanon says 22 dead in Israeli strikes on central Beirut
- NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Table tennis and Netflix push Ukraine teen into French Open contention
- Civilians flee Gaza's Jabalia in tightening Israeli siege
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 18
- At least 10 dead in Florida from tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton
- Warhol's rare 'Queen' collection opens at Dutch museum
- Three-time NBA champion Green retires
- MLB Twins up for sale after 40 years
- S.Sudan floods affect 893,000, over 241,000 displaced: UN
Belarus frees 'some political prisoners': exiled opposition leader
Reclusive Belarus on Monday freed five political prisoners in a rare amnesty by President Alexander Lukashenko, who has waged a crackdown on opponents throughout his three-decade rule.
Lukashenko intensified that campaign when huge nationwide protests erupted after he claimed victory in a 2020 presidential election that rights groups said was fraudulent.
Leading rights group Viasna estimates that Belarus has more than 1,400 political prisoners -- including its founder, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski -- with thousands more having fled the country.
"Today we witnessed the first cases of some political prisoners being released in Belarus," exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya posted on X.
Viasna said three men and two women were released in the amnesty.
It named one man as 67-year-old Rygor Kastusev, leader of the banned National Front party, who was arrested in 2021 after standing against Lukashenko in the 2010 presidential election.
Viasna also said two more men and two women were being released but could not yet reveal their identities for security reasons.
There was no official statement from Minsk or coverage on major state media of the amnesty, but Lukashenko had said a day earlier it was likely.
He told reporters on Tuesday "not to be surprised" if some political prisoners with serious illnesses who were arrested over the 2020 protests were released in the coming days.
"They are really seriously ill, mostly with cancer," the Belta state news agency quoted him as saying.
"I am glad to see these people free and reunited with their loved ones," Tikhanovskaya added, but said "many" were still behind bars.
"More than 200 political prisoners in Belarus are in critical health conditions," she said on Tuesday, after Lukashenko's comments.
"Already, at least six have died behind bars. They must be released unconditionally. Their urgent release is not a political issue, but a humanitarian one," Tikhanovskaya said.
- Russian ally -
Lukashenko, who will mark 30 years as president this month, was attending a military parade in Minsk on Wednesday, where he compared the European Union and United States to Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler.
For years he tried to balance relations between Russia, Belarus's key ally, and the European Union.
But that broke down in 2020 when his riot police waged an unrelenting crackdown on peaceful protests after he claimed victory in a presidential poll marred by widespread allegations of fraud.
At the height of the August 2020 protests he flew over crowds of demonstrators in a helicopter, wearing riot gear and carrying an assault rifle, footage released by his office showed.
And in 2022 he allowed Russia to use Belarus as a launching pad for its invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a wave of Western sanctions being placed on his country.
Tikhanovskaya's husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, is among those jailed in Belarus.
A spokesperson for Tikhanovskaya told AFP there was no talk of him being among those released.
Tikhanovskaya stood against Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election in place of her husband, a popular anti-Lukashenko campaigner, who was arrested after announcing his plan to run.
She claimed victory in the eventual vote and fled to EU member Lithuania.
Other opposition leaders, including Maria Kolesnikova, who tore up her passport as authorities were trying to force her to leave the country, have been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars.
From exile, Tikhanovskaya has continued to campaign against Lukashenko, including over his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
L.Davis--AMWN