Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service coming live from London.
This is Owen Bennett Jones.
We begin with the news from Belarus that no fewer than 123 political prisoners have been released and some of them are the most important opposition figures in the country.
So why has this happened?
And what do the released men and women plan to do now?
Many have been flown out of the country.
Are they going to become exiled politicians unable to get back to Belarus?
Well, Maria Kalesnikova, who led street protests...
street protests against President Lukashenko in 2020, has spent the last five years in prison.
She has gone to Vilnius.
This is her sister, Tatiana Komic, who's also there.
She looks fine.
She looks good.
The first thing, actually, she said thank you to the U.S.
administration, President Trump, to Belarus,
Belarus government as well for leading and talking and having these negotiations.
She is very happy to be free.
Well,
there are suggestions that these releases were secured by the US for lifting sanctions on Belarus.
Tatsyana Komic was asked if that was a price worth paying for her sister's release.