The search for the next Secretary-General of the United Nations launched Tuesday, as member states were invited to send nominations to replace Antonio Guterres for the term starting in 2027.

In a letter from #UN leaders to 193 member states, the 80-year-old global intergovernmental organization is seeking candidates with extensive experience in international relations, diplomacy and language skills.

“The position of Secretary-General is one of great importance and one that requires the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity and a firm commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” said the joint letter from Sierra Leone ambassador and current Security Council president Michael Imran Kanu and General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.

Some member states are advocating for a woman to be selected, and in its letter UN leadership noted “with regret that no woman has ever held the position of Secretary-General” and called on members “to strongly consider nominating women.”

Some names that are already in the mix include former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, the Argentinian International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi, and Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, who is currently leading the UN agency for trade and development (UNCTAD).

Candidates must be presented by a state or group of states, and submit a vision statement and list funding sources.

There is a tradition of geographical rotation, which would make it Latin America’s turn this time around, but it’s not always followed. The letter notes “the importance of regional diversity” without specifying a required area.

Candidates may undergo public interviews, a transparency procedure first used during the 2016 selection that let to Guterres’ first term.

Security council members will begin the formal selection process by the end of July, and the five permanent members with veto power -- United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France -- hold the candidate’s future in their hands.

Once the Security Council makes its recommendation, the Assembly can elect the Secretary-General to a five-year term that begins January 1, 2027, and is renewable once.

#Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro begins 27-year prison sentence for coup attempt.

#BRASILIA, Brazil — Former #Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday started his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt, to the surprise of many in the South American nation who doubted he would ever end up behind bars.

Supreme Court #Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has overseen the case, ruled Bolsonaro will remain in custody after being preemptively arrested on Saturday.

Supporters and detractors of the embattled leader gathered outside the federal police headquarters after the order was issued, some calling for Bolsonaro’s release and others toasting to his imprisonment.

The far-right leader had been under house arrest since August and was taken in on Saturday after trying to break his ankle monitor. Bolsonaro blamed “hallucinations”, a claim that de Moraes dismissed in his preemptive arrest order.

Bolsonaro will not have any contact with the few other inmates at the federal police headquarters. His 12-square-metre room has a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a TV set and a desk, according to federal police. He will have free access to his doctors and lawyers, but others will have to get their access approved by the Supreme Court.
Exhausted appeals

De Moraes determined on Tuesday that Bolsonaro’s defence had exhausted all appeals of his conviction. His lawyers disagree and promise to keep filing requests for house arrest due to the former leader’s poor health. The Supreme Court justice has already ruled against it, but that decision could be revised if circumstances change.

“There is no legal possibility of any other appeal,” de Moraes said in his decision.

Brazil’s criminal law also could have allowed the 70-year-old to be transferred to a local penitentiary or to a prison room in a military facility in the capital Brasilia.

The former president and several of his allies were convicted by a panel of Supreme Court justices for attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democracy following his 2022 election defeat.

The plot included plans to kill President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice de Moraes. The plan also involved encouraging an insurrection in early 2023.

The former president was also found guilty of charges including leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.

Bolsonaro has always denied wrongdoing.
Champagne and tears

Outside the federal police building, about a dozen Bolsonaro supporters dressed in yellow and green of the Brazilian flag cried foul and asked Congress to pass a bill to give the former president and his allies some kind of amnesty. Some chose to insult de Moraes, the media and Lula supporters. A few still pleaded for help from U.S. President Donald Trump against Brazil’s left.

“I am outraged. This is the best president of my life, my friend. This is a great injustice,” said Elaine Leandro, 61, a hard core Bolsonaro supporter who says she will come to the federal police headquarters every day until he is released. “I hate you, Alexandre de Moraes. You deserve hell.”

Sao Paulo city councilor Keit Lima, 34, had very different feelings. She brought champagne and shared it with other Black women who had come from a march in Brasilia to celebrate Bolsonaro’s imprisonment.

“Today we can breath and continue fighting for our democracy,” Lima said. “Our democracy is young, but we want it to live long.”

In other Brazilian cities, supporters prayed for the former president while detractors celebrated.
Other convictions

Two others convicted, Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sergio Nogueira, both Army generals, were sent to a military facility in Brasilia to start serving their sentences. Former Justice Minister Anderson Torres is now imprisoned at the Papuda penitentiary, also in Brazil’s capital.

Adm. Almir Garnier will serve his term at Navy facilities in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro’s running mate and former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto, another army general, will remain in prison at a military facility in Rio de Janeiro.

De Moraes also confirmed that lawmaker and former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency Alexandre Ramagem is on the loose in the United States.

The judge also ordered lower house Speaker Hugo Motta to strip Ramagem of his seat.

Motta has the power to put a possible amnesty for Bolsonaro to a vote, though party leaders have said in recent months that it is very unlikely because it would be struck down later by the Supreme Court if approved.

Bolsonaro remains a key figure in Brazilian politics, despite being ineligible to run for office until at least until 2030 after a separate ruling by Brazil’s top electoral court. The first day of his prison sentence should mark an extension of that deadline to 2033.

Polls show he would be a competitive candidate in next year’s vote if allowed to run.
U.S. tensions

The former president is an ally of Trump, who has called the trial of the former Brazilian leader a “witch hunt.” Bolsonaro was mentioned in a July order by the U.S. administration to raise tariffs on several Brazilian exports by 50 per cent.

Relations between the two countries have improved since, with Lula and Trump meeting in Malaysia at the ASEAN summit in October. Most of those higher tariffs have been dropped.

The U.S. also imposed sanctions on de Moraes and other Brazilian officials.

The measures in support of Bolsonaro did not have their desired effect and the trial proceeded nevertheless. Lula’s popularity was boosted by the perception that he was defending Brazilian sovereignty.

Bolsonaro is not the first former president to spend time behind bars. His predecessor Michel Temer (2016-2018) and his successor Lula have also been to prison. Fernando Collor de Mello, who governed between 1990 and 1992, is currently under house arrest due to a corruption conviction.

Bolsonaro is the first to be convicted of attempting a coup.

Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press

Some U.S. families are ‘adopting’ turkeys for Thanksgiving instead of eating them.

ERIE, Colo. — “Gus” the turkey has been spending Thanksgiving week much differently than millions of other unlucky gobblers across the U.S.

As he trots in a sprawling animal sanctuary on the Colorado plains, he is stopped every few steps by staff who pet him, hug him or even give him a peck on his red face. Gus has been there since 2023 after being pardoned by the governor.

“What do you think? Do you want to do snuggles today?” Lanette Cook, education and engagement manager at the Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary in Erie, says to Gus.

Gus is among a growing number of turkeys that are being “adopted” instead of being covered in gravy and eaten at Thanksgiving dinner tables.

An increasing number of farm animal sanctuaries across the country have started promoting this alternative version of Thanksgiving in which families “adopt” turkeys and donate money to their lifelong care. In return, they receive photos, certificates and sometimes even one-on-one visits with the birds.

The goal: Spare a few of the tens of millions of turkeys slaughtered this time of year, many of which are raised in what animal rights advocates say are inhumane conditions in factory farms.

At Luvin Arms, a US$25 donation comes with a certificate, photo and either a virtual or in-person visit, explained Kelly Nix, its executive director. Since launching the program in 2022, the sanctuary, located about 25 miles (40 kilometres) north of Denver, has seen the number of sponsorships double every year. And this year they’re on track to reach their goal of US$18,000, she said.

Luvin Arms’ website features Gus and a gaggle of turkeys along with their personality traits (Gus is very talkative!) as part of its sponsor-a-turkey program. It encourages the public to donate for the birds for Thanksgiving and maybe even rethink their holiday traditions.

The funds have helped pay for extending the turkeys’ outdoor pasture area, along with feeding and rescuing more turkeys. They’ve helped with veterinary bills, which can sometimes cost thousands of dollars because of the medical complications that arise for turkeys that come from factory farms, which breed them to grow very big in a short period of time, said Nix. In the wild, turkeys tend to live an average of three or four years, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation.

But the sanctuary says the program is about more than just the turkeys or money. There’s also an important educational factor, including the conditions in factory farms and that turkeys are more than just centerpieces.

“Even if it makes you stop and double think what it is you’re about to do,” said Nix. “Or that you’re like, ‘wow this is a life of a sentient being,’ for us that’s a conversation starter.”

Farm Sanctuary, which is located in New York and California, is believed to be the first to launch this type of turkey adoption program, starting in 1986. Gene Baur, its president and co-founder, said initially the public was confused about the program and the concept of rescuing farm animals altogether.

In the nearly four decades since, the sanctuary has rescued thousands of turkeys. And the public has not only caught on to the concept but in some years has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, Baur said.

“We grow up with certain traditions. But just because something is a tradition doesn’t mean that it needs to remain as a tradition,” said Baur.

Lizzie Parra’s family has been adopting a turkey from the organization since 2021, ever since they visited a sanctuary in Pittsburgh and a turkey followed them around, seemingly desperate to be a part of their tour group.

She, her husband and 11-year-old son are vegan and so always leave turkey off their Thanksgiving table. But Parra said the adoption program gives them a chance to help save turkeys while raising awareness.

“This is just an opportunity for us to tell people that they can, at least for one meal, kind of make the same compassionate choice,” she said.

Barn Sanctuary has had a similar program since 2023 in Chelsea, Michigan. Chase DeBack, its advocacy, education and engagement coordinator, said it’s about shining a more positive light on the birds and their distinct personalities.

He rattles off some of the organization’s residents like they’re close friends: Lewis isn’t much of a people person. Sabrina and Hilda are always interested in what people are bringing into the coop.

“We really wanted to shine a light on the unique personalities that turkeys have and how loving and caring they are for humans and for each other,” said DeBack.

___

Golden reported from Seattle.

Hallie Golden And Thomas Peipert, The Associated Press

#Afghanistan says #Pakistani airstrikes in east of the country have killed 10 people, mostly children.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Tuesday accused Pakistan of launching overnight strikes in three eastern provinces, killing 10 civilians, including nine children, in a sign of worsening tensions between the two neighbours.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesperson for the Afghan government, said on X that Pakistan “bombed” the home of a civilian in Khost province, killing nine children and a woman. He said additional strikes were carried out in the provinces of Kunar and Paktika, injuring four other people.

Mujahid described the attacks as “atrocities,” and said the strikes were “a violation of Afghan territory.” Afghanistan, he added in his post on X, “considers the use of its airspace and territory and defense of its people to be its legitimate right, and at the appropriate time, it will give the necessary response.”
Rising tension

Pakistan’s military and government did not immediately comment on the allegation, which comes more than a month after cross-border clashes erupted when the Afghan government claimed Pakistani drone strikes hit Kabul.

However, the ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey between the two sides in October was still holding Tuesday despite the alleged overnight strikes by Pakistan deep inside Afghanistan. There was no immediate comment from Qatar and Turkey.

Iran in recent weeks has also offered to play a role in defusing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tuesday on X that he met with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, a day after arriving on a previously scheduled visit. Dar’s office was also expected to release a statement about the meeting.

In Khost, residents combed through the rubble of the destroyed home, retrieving belongings.

“You see the cruelty with your own eyes, that young children, a woman and nine children, were martyred,” said Muhammad Iqbal, who said the dead were his cousin’s family.

Local tribal leader Mer Adam Khan said the attack was carried out by a drone that was flying over the area at around midnight. “It is not known where it came from and by whom,” he said, adding that the home that was destroyed was that of a local man, whom he identified as Shariat Khan.

“He has not interfered in any government. He lives a poor life here,” the tribal leader said.
Recent attacks in Pakistan

The latest escalation follows a deadly attack a day earlier in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, where two suicide bombers and a gunman stormed the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary. Three officers were killed and 11 others were wounded in the Monday morning attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Peshawar attack, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

It is a separate group but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, and many of its leaders are believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. Kabul in 2022 brokered a brief ceasefire between the TTP and Pakistan. However, the militant group ended the truce after accusing Pakistan of violating it.

Pakistan has intensified intelligence-based operations against militants in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, the military said security forces killed 22 militants during a raid on what it described as a hideout of “Indian-backed” fighters in Bannu, a district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

In a statement, the army referred to the killed insurgents as Khawarij, a term the government and the military use for militants they allege are supported by Afghanistan and India. Kabul and New Delhi deny providing any support to such groups.

The statement said Pakistan “will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”

Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to prevent TTP militants from using Afghan territory to launch attacks. Kabul denies the accusation, but relations further deteriorated after Afghanistan blamed Pakistan for the Oct. 9 drone strikes on its capital and threatened retaliation.

The clashes that followed killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and militants before the sides agreed to the Oct. 19 ceasefire.
Peace talks

Two subsequent rounds of talks in Istanbul failed to resolve the dispute, when Pakistan said Afghanistan had refused to provide a written guarantee that TTP fighters would not operate from Afghan soil.

The Afghan government insists it does not allow anyone to use its soil for attacks against any country, including Pakistan.

The lingering tensions have stalled bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with all border crossings between the two neighbors remaining shut since last month. It has also affected movement of people, as residents from both sides have been unable to travel to meet with relatives and friends since early October.

___

Abdul Qahar Afghan and Munir Ahmed, The Associated Press

Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.

#Brazilian Supreme Court upholds Bolsonaro’s incarceration after ankle monitor tampering.

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld former President Jair Bolsonaro’s incarceration after he admitted to trying to break his ankle monitor while under house arrest. A justice saw the action as an attempt to escape and avoid a 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt.

Bolsonaro, 70, was arrested and kept in a cell at the country’s federal police headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, early Saturday.

A four-member panel of the court unanimously ruled that Bolsonaro should remain under preemptive arrest.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who issued the arrest warrant on Saturday, considered Bolsonaro to be a flight risk. The former president is set to begin serving his 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup to remain in office after his 2022 election defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

De Moraes’ decision was approved by his peers Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin and Carmen Lúcia in an online session of the court.

Bolsonaro told an assistant judge on Sunday that a change in his medication caused him to have a nervous breakdown and hallucinations, which led him to try and break his ankle monitor. His doctors and lawyers repeated his claims while talking to reporters.

However, De Moraes wrote in his decision that “Bolsonaro ... confessed he had broken the ankle monitoring in a serious foul play, repeated non-compliance with precautionary measures (that allowed him to stay in house arrest) and evident disrespect to the court.”

The judge was informed that the far-right leader’s ankle monitor was tampered with at 12:08 a.m. local time on Saturday. The arrest order came hours later.

Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August. Supporters and detractors of the former president have taken to the streets in several Brazilian cities since the news broke on Saturday.

On a rainy Monday in Brasilia, few demonstrators appeared in front of the federal police headquarters. As some drove by, they honked, either shouting insults at Bolsonaro or showing support for Lula.

As lawmakers start coming back to the city for what is likely to be a busy and tense week, one of the sons of the former president, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, told journalists he will keep pushing for an amnesty bill for his father — a move that has lost steam over the last few months.

“We will do this all over 2026,” said Flávio Bolsonaro, who is also a presidential hopeful in next year’s presidential election. Other right-leaning politicians would rather have a candidate outside of the family, such as Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers can file other appeals until the end of Monday, but that does not rule out the Supreme Court from ordering the former president to start serving his prison sentence as early as Tuesday if de Moraes decides so.

De Moraes has not hinted whether he will make that decision so quickly, though.

Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press

#TOKYO — A man driving a stolen car struck 12 people in Tokyo on Monday, killing one person and seriously injuring a woman, Japanese media reported. The driver was arrested after fleeing the scene.

Police didn’t immediately comment, but they said a representative would provide an update as soon as possible.

Kyodo News reported that a seriously injured man in his 80s was confirmed dead several hours later. Of the 11 other people injured, a woman in her 20s was seriously injured and remains unconscious, according to Nippon TV.

The car, which turned out to be a stolen vehicle, drove onto a walkway for pedestrians and struck people, the report said. Police arrested the driver, a man who fled the scene. He’s under investigation for a suspected hit-and-run, reports said.

Other details weren’t immediately available. Monday was a national holiday in Japan.

The Associated Press

#Driver arrested in Tokyo after car hits about 10 people, seriously injuring 2, local media say

Tackling global crime groups a focus of G7 security meeting, European official says. OTTAWA — Magnus Brunner, the European commissioner for internal affairs and migration, says security officials from around the globe are discussing ways to better fight organized crime.

Brunner, attending an Ottawa gathering of G7 interior and security ministers, says Europe can learn a lot from Canada on tackling organized crime groups as they become more sophisticated and global in their reach.

Brunner says international co-operation, including information sharing, is key to combating organized crime, including the lucrative drug trade.

The G7, an informal grouping of leading economies, includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union.

The two-day meeting, which wraps up today, was also expected to focus on the problems of migrant smuggling and the intimidation of diaspora communities by authoritarian states.

Participants were also slated to discuss tactics to deal with the online challenges of terrorist and violent extremist content, cybercrime and the internet-related dimensions of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press

Canada joins Europe rejecting Trump’s #Ukraine plan, Anand says sovereignty is key.

For Canada, disruptive geopolitics led to a technology pact with India, a recent foe, along with a cut to Ottawa’s funding for global health and talks with countries grappling with American and Chinese trade coercion.

“It is a great day for multilateralism,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters in Johannesburg.

“Canada is utilizing every opportunity, multilaterally and bilaterally, to ensure that our interests are asserted -- not only in terms of our economic robustness domestically, but also in terms of our core values.”

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a boycott of the summit, accusing South Africa of enabling anti-white violence. Johannesburg says Trump’s claims do not reflect crime statistics or reality.

The boycott had analysts concerned the G20 would not have a joint declaration, which would mar the first leaders’ summit held on the African continent.

But early Saturday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced countries had found “overwhelming consensus” to adopt an agreement, which spanned 122 paragraphs.

The agreement included calls for tackling violence against women, with large protests across South Africa on Friday that coincided with the country’s government declaring femicide a national disaster.

Ramaphosa’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya told reporters that issuing a declaration was the right decision after 12 months of work by countries representing most of the world’s population.

“We need to move forward; we cannot be held back by one country, by its own whims,” he told reporters.

South Africa convened G20 leaders in a morning session on inclusive economic growth such as reforming financing for development, and an afternoon session on climate change, food systems and clean energy.

Magwenya called the U.S. boycott “a short-term blip,” noting the U.S. will chair the G20 next, and that the U.K. has said it’s ready to take on the 2027 presidency that follows.

Argentina’s delegation said it hadn’t consented to the declaration, but Ramaphosa said countries can voice disagreements with specific parts, without it nullifying the declaration.

Magwenya also said South Africa is rejecting an American proposal to formally receive the chairmanship Sunday by sending the temporary head of the American embassy in Pretoria, instead of a high-ranking official.

“It’s a breach of protocol. It has never happened before and it was never going to happen for the first time here,” he said.

The U.S. faced further pushback over the Trump administration’s proposed peace deal for Ukraine, which has been widely seen as favouring Moscow.

The plan calls for Ukraine to hand over territory, reduce the size of its army and to not join the NATO alliance, with limited security guarantees for Kyiv.

Canada joined European nations and Japan in issuing a statement, saying leaders support American efforts toward peace but feel the plan needs more work.

Anand would not specify exactly what is wrong with Trump’s plan when asked, but said broadly that Canada’s long-standing belief is that Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty is key and it’s up to Kyiv to decide on its future, and be at the table for any peace talks.

She added that Ukraine is “top priority” in Canada’s foreign policy, for ensuring a rules-based international order.

Elsewhere during the summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney took part in an event between the European Union and Vietnam, which is chairing a trade bloc of Pacific Rim countries including Canada who believe in rules-based trade.

Carney has tried to position Ottawa as a bridge for countries who believe in free trade, and reject coercive practices such as American tariffs and Chinese import bans.

Canada is part of the Pacific Rim trade bloc -- called the CPTPP -- and has a free-trade agreement with the European Union, which is exploring more trade with the Pacific bloc.

Carney also took part in a brief meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, launching a partnership on emerging technologies.

The trilateral agreement aims to have the three democracies work together to diversify supply chains, use clean energy and help with further uptake of artificial intelligence.

The move comes as Canada resets its relationship with India after two years of strain related to the RCMP saying New Delhi has a role in the murder and extortion of Canadian citizens.

Carney also met Saturday with leaders from Turkey, France, the U.K., Germany, Jamaica, Norway, the European Union and the World Trade Organization.

In his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as prime minister, Carney is spending roughly 48 hours in South Africa and not visiting any other country.

The visit comes amid criticism over the government’s Africa strategy, which the Liberals released after years of delays and just days before calling an election.

Ottawa allocated no new funds to the strategy, while it set aside $2.3 billion for the 2022 Indo-Pacific strategy, and Canada’s special envoy for Africa, Ben Marc Diendere, has warned that Ottawa is ceding influence to other countries by not taking a co-ordinated approach to business, aid and security ties with the continent.

Meanwhile, Carney arrived in Johannesburg just after Canadian officials in the city announced Ottawa would for the first time ever cut back its support for the Global Fund, a major health organization that tackles infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV.

Canada will contribute $1 billion over the next three years, down more than 17 per cent from the last contribution in 2022, and HIV activists say this will result in deaths from people who can’t access life-saving drugs amid U.S. aid cuts. The government says it’s trying to contain expenditures to deal with the U.S. trade war.

Anand noted that Canada’s contribution this year represents a larger percentage share of the total Global Fund contributions than past years, which have overall decreased.

She said Canada is still a major foreign-aid donor, adding Ottawa is still dedicated to a collaborative relationship with African countries through the Africa strategy.

“There is focus not only on trade and development programs but also generating mutual prosperity -- and making sure that mutual prosperity and economic benefit accrue to Africans and Canadians alike,” she said.

“We’re developing mutually beneficial relationships with reliable partners in Africa, and we’re safeguarding Canada’s interests.”

Carney is set to take questions from media early Sunday, and depart for Ottawa that evening, following various G20 meetings.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

#Belarus pardons 31 Ukrainians after deal with Trump. They were released “as a gesture of goodwill”, in accordance with agreements reached between Lukashenko and U.S. President Donald Trump at Ukraine’s request, Belarusian state agency Belta said, citing Lukashenko’s spokesperson, Natalia Eismont. Those freed were handed over to Kyiv, according to the report.

Earlier this week, Lukashenko pardoned two jailed Catholic priests at the request of the Vatican.

Belarus, Russia’s close and dependent ally, has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory to send troops and tanks into Ukraine, and later to place nuclear weapons there. Moscow and Kyiv have also conducted prisoner swaps on Belarusian land.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron first for over 30 years, has recently tried to repair relations with the West. Weeks after a phone call with Trump in August, he pardoned 51 political prisoners under a U.S.-brokered deal that saw some sanctions lifted from the country’s national airline, Belavia.

Trump later announced that lawyer John Cole, who helped broker the deal, would be appointed U.S. Special Envoy to Belarus and work to release more prisoners.

There are 1,257 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, according to prominent human rights centre Viasna. They include Ales Bialiatski, the centre’s founder, who has received the Nobel Peace Prize for his activism.

According to Belarusian authorities, Minsk and Washington are set to hold further talks in December.

“Belarus is open to dialogue,” Lukashenko’s press service said in a statement Saturday. “Negotiations with various countries, chiefly the U.S., are now actively ongoing.”

Valery Karbalevich, a Belarusian political scientist and commentator, said Minsk is attempting to return to its own policy of manoeuvring between Moscow and the West.

“Lukashenko is seeking to reduce his total dependence on the Kremlin. Therefore, he is willing to trade political prisoners like commodities, hoping for an easing of Western sanctions,” Karbalevich told The Associated Press.

“Trump is giving Lukashenko a chance to thaw relations with the U.S., which also paves the way for the easing of European sanctions,” he said, adding these had “hit Belarus much harder” than those imposed by the U.S.

The Associated Press