Belarus frees 123 prisoners as US lifts sanctions
Belarus has freed 123 prisoners, including prominent opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, after the US agreed to lift sanctions on the country, BBC reported.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski is also among those who have been released following talks in Minsk with US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Belarus, John Coale.
The US has agreed to lift sanctions on potash, a key ingredient in fertiliser and an important export for Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia, according to BBC.
US bombers join Japanese jets in show of force after China-Russia drills, Tokyo says
U.S. nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported.
Japan and the U.S. "reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and confirmed the readiness posture of both the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The flight of two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers with three Japanese F-35 stealth fighters and three F-15 air-superiority jets was the first time the U.S. had asserted its military presence since China began military exercises in the region last week amid heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing, according to Reuters.
Russia could attack Nato within five years, says alliance chief in stark new warning
Russia could attack a Nato country within the next five years, the Western military alliance's chief has said in a stark new warning, BBC reported.
"Russia is already escalating its covert campaign against our societies," Mark Rutte said in a speech in Germany. "We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured."
He echoed similar statements about Russia's intentions made by Western intelligence agencies, which Moscow dismisses as hysteria, according to BBC.
Thai PM dissolves parliament to 'return power to people'
Thailand has dissolved parliament after nearly a week of fresh clashes along its border with Cambodia, with a general election to be called within 45 to 60 days, BBC reported.
In a royal decree published on Friday, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cited the deadly border dispute among other challenges his minority government has struggled to contain since it took office three months ago.
"The appropriate solution is to dissolve parliament… which is a way to return political power to the people," he said, according to BBC.
