Freeing the rest of us could be Trump's 'great victory', Belarusian dissident Tikhanovsky says
11:43
Issued on:
From the show
Exiled Belarusian opposition leaders Sergey Tikhanovsky and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya granted a joint interview to FRANCE 24 from Vilnius. Tikhanovsky, who was recently released after more than five years in prison, called on US President Donald Trump to "go further" and free the remaining Belarusian political prisoners. "Belarus can be a success story for all of us," he said, describing his release as the result of a "joint international effort" including Trump's team and European leaders.
Reunited with his wife and fellow Belarusian opposition leader Tikhanovskaya in Vilnius, Tikhanovsky explained that his daughter "didn't recognise" him when he returned home. "That broke my heart," he said. "She spent most of her life without me. But now I will be there for her."
He also insisted he "did not sign anything" to abandon politics in return for his freedom.
Tikhanovskaya warned that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko remains "very vulnerable" as "most Belarusians hate him", adding "we all understand that Lukashenko is [a] puppet of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
England's Carter suffers racist abuse at Euro 2025
The 27-year-old, who has started all of the defending champions' matches so far, said she would take a step back from social media to focus on the tournament. Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said his organisation "immediately contacted UK police" as soon as it was made aware of the abuse and vowed to ensure "those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice". The England team said instead of taking a knee to highlight racism, they would remain standing before Tuesday's semi-final against Italy, adding: "It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism." Writing on her social media accounts, Carter, who has 49 England caps, said: "From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. "Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don't agree or think it's OK to target someone's appearance or race. "As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with." England forward Lauren James suffered online racist abuse after a defeat for her club side Chelsea in 2023. England men's players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were targeted after the team's Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy. England boss Sarina Wiegman said: "I stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism." European football's governing body UEFA expressed its support for Carter while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X that "there is no place for racism in football or anywhere in society".
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Ukraine proposes fresh peace talks with Russia next week
Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers. "Security Council Secretary Umerov... reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week," Zelensky said in his evening address. "The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up," he added. Zelensky reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sitdown with Putin. "A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace," he said. At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support. Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions. The Kremlin said earlier this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after US President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions. Trump also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by NATO allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks. Russian strikes kill three Russia has escalated long-range aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities as well as frontline assaults and shelling over recent months, defying Trump's warning. Most lately on Saturday, it had fired missile and drone strikes that killed three people across Ukraine. Two people died after a Russian missile hit Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub, into which Russia's forces have recently advanced. An earlier Russian salvo of 20 drones on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least one person overnight. Russia had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight, causing extensive delays in the southern Rostov region, when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack that wounded one railway worker. Moscow and Kyiv are menacing each other with swarms of cheap drones to overwhelm each other's air defence, as the warring sides said on Saturday they had intercepted hundreds of drones, now launched in large amounts almost daily. As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv received 1,000 soldiers' bodies on Thursday, while Russia said it had received 19 from Ukraine. The European Union on Friday agreed an 18th package of sanctions on Moscow that targets Russian banks and lowers a price cap on oil exports, in a bid to curb its ability to fund the war.
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
'Clumsy' Japanese PM Ishiba's future in the balance
Opinion polls suggest that Ishiba's coalition could lose its majority in upper house elections on Sunday, a result that might push him to resign. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955, but whether anyone wants to replace Ishiba is another matter. "I wonder who else wants the job," Masahisa Endo, politics professor at Waseda University, told AFP. Ishiba, 68, a self-confessed defence "geek", is the son of a regional governor and is from Japan's small Christian minority. He won the party leadership in September, on his fifth try, to become the LDP's 10th separate prime minister since 2000, all of them men. Ishiba pledged to "create a new Japan" and revitalise depressed rural regions, and to address the "quiet emergency" of Japan's shrinking population. He immediately called lower house elections for October but that backfired spectactularly, with the LDP suffering its worst result in 15 years. That robbed the LDP and its coalition party Komeito of their majority, forcing them to bargain with opposition parties to pass legislation. Ishiba's policies on bringing down inflation and spurring growth have "flip-flopped" as a result, said Stefan Angrick at Moody's Analytics. "Ishiba's government has boxed itself in, promising only some belated and half-hearted financial support that will do little to improve the demand outlook," Angrick said. The government's popularity ratings have plummeted, with voters angry about price rises, especially for rice that is twice as expensive as a year ago. Clumsy ways Ishiba, the father of two daughters, also missed a chance to appear more modern by appointing only two women to his cabinet, down from five under predecessor Fumio Kishida. Ishiba's sometimes clumsy ways -- ranging from the less-than-perfectly tidy arrangement of his tuxedo to his table manners -- have also been rich fodder for social media memes. He drew ridicule after being snapped apparently napping in parliament and for failing to stand up to greet other world leaders at a gathering in South America. Worse was a video that emerged of Ishiba eating an onigiri rice ball -- a popular snack -- whole and munching on it without closing his mouth. "He eats like a three-year-old," one user said on social media platform X. "How could he have risen to the top with these manners?" asked another. No deal A major challenge has been dealing with US President Donald Trump, who has imposed tariffs on Japanese cars, steel and aluminium. Further levies of 25 percent on other Japanese imports will come into force on August 1 if there is no trade agreement. Ishiba secured an early invitation to the White House in February and has sent his tariffs envoy to Washington seven times, but there has been no deal yet. Then-premier Shinzo Abe -- dubbed a "Trump whisperer" -- fared better during Trump's first term, managing to shield Japan from any tariffs. Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, gifted Trump a gold-coloured golf club and was a frequent visitor to see the US president. According to Trump, Abe even nominated him for the Nobel prize. "There will never be another like him," he said after Abe's death.
