Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners yesterday in what state media called a humanitarian gesture, two days before an election in which he is set to further extend his 31-year rule.

A woman whose four young boys died in a fire after she left them alone at home while she went to Sainsbury&s has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has doubled down on President Donald Trump&s claim the war in Ukraine could have been prevented had he been in the White House in 2022.

Amid expectations in Moscow that President Donald Trump will speak by phone in the coming days with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian officials are staking out hard-line positions on the Ukraine war ahead of any talks and playing down any imminent major breakthrough on U.S.-Russia ties.