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A Belarusian “hit man” who served with the country’s special forces and is accused of the forced disappearance of three high-profile opposition figures will finally stand trial in Switzerland – 24 years after the three vanished. Yury Garavsky, 44, was arrested following a confession in which he said he was involved with a group linked to the kidnapping and presumed killings of adversaries of Belarus’s current president Alexander Lukashenko. In 2019, Garavsky gave testimony to German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle about his part in the 1999 killings of three of president Lukashenko’s political opponents. He was working for the interior ministry’s SOBR special forces unit then. He even claimed he was present during the executions of former interior minister Yury Zakharenko, opposition politician Viktor Gonchar and pro-opposition businessman Anatoly Krasovsky. Now a Swiss court will determine the veracity of his claims. Zakharenko had vanished in May 1999. In September that year, Gonchar and his friend Krasovsky were abducted. Families of the three have been waiting for the trial to start to begin. Garavsky, who sought asylum in Switzerland in 2018 after fleeing Belarus capital Minsk, pointed out in his interview earlier that his superior Dmitry Pavlichenko shot the three victims in the chest. Mr Pavlichenko, however, has denied the allegations. The BBC reported that daughters of the two abducted men, both of whom left Belarus shortly after their fathers’ kidnappings, are set to appear in court this week. Both said the trial in the city of St Gallen will provide them with some solace. Garavsky is facing trial in Switzerland, where he was arrested, due to the country’s adherence to a UN convention against forced disappearance. He had said during the 2019 interview with DW that the actual orders to abduct the politicians were not written. “There was never anything written or any video confirmation. Everything was ordered verbally – I guess based on the wishes of President Lukashenko.” “I feel repentant and guilty. I feel that if these people remained alive, things would be different in Belarus,” he said. “Their bodies have probably decomposed, but the bones should be there.” Read More Poland imposes EU ban on all Russian-registered passenger cars Kim Jong-un shown Russia’s nuclear capable bombers and hypersonic missiles Ukraine is the spotlight at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? North Korean leader to visit Russia's Pacific fleet as he continues trip focused on arms cooperation Putin meets the leader of Belarus, who suggests joining Russia's move to boost ties with North Korea Lithuania to issue special passports to Belarus citizens staying legally in the Baltic country

By Filipp Lebedev and Gleb Stolyarov At least $14.3 million worth of coal produced in areas of Ukraine

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has accused India of involvement in Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing.

Crews are working to recover the debris of an F-35 fighter jet that went missing in South Carolina over the weekend as an investigation is underway into the "mishap" that forced its pilot to eject, according to the Marine Corps and a defense official with knowledge of the search.

Blasts rocked Ukraine’s western city of Lviv in the early hours of Tuesday as Russia launched large-scale air attacks that struck an industrial warehouse, officials said. Local officials said air defence systems were engaged in repelling a Russian air attack that started in the early hours. From around 1am BST the entire western half of Ukraine was covered by air raid alerts. The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, and regional governor Maxim Kozitsky asked people to stay indoors due to the threat of continuing attacks in the region. “As a result of the strike on the territory of Lviv, we recorded a fire at an industrial warehouse,” he said. Follow latest live updates on coverage of Ukraine war here One injured person in the air attack was found under the wreckage, the mayor said. “There is a threat of a second attack. Air defence works in our region. Do not leave shelters, please!” the mayor said on his Telegram channel, starting the alert messages around 7am local time. “These are the sounds of air defence!!” he said. It is not immediately known if the attacks were caused using missiles and drones. The heavy aerial attacks from Russia on Ukraine commenced as the war neared 600 days of conflict and coincided with the start of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the US on Monday. The war-time president is making his second visit to the country after his last trip in December. He is likely to deliver a powerful address at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday. He will also address world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Mr Zelensky will come face-to-face with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in a first since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February last year. The Russian leader is also expected to make remarks at the meeting. Moscow is a veto-wielding member of the security council. Mr Zelensky is scheduled to spend some time Thursday on Capitol Hill and meet with president Joe Biden at the White House. Read More Heading for UN, Ukraine's president questions why Russia still has a place there 'Stop it!' UN's nuclear chief pushes Iran to end block on international inspectors Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv commander says Russian defensive line breached near villages of Bakhmut How Ukraine’s battle for the Black Sea is inflicting serious pain on Putin’s forces Russian defensive lines breached in capture of villages near Bakhmut, Ukraine commander says

Sir Keir Starmer will meet French president Emmanuel Macron as experts say he risks “demanding more than the EU is willing to give” with his insistence on seeking closer ties with Brussels. The Labour leader will hold talks in Paris on Tuesday, during which post-Brexit relations are expected to feature prominently, against a backdrop of debate over what any renegotiations with the bloc might involve. It comes as the UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) research group publishes a new report that finds using the existing Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to reduce trade barriers will be “very challenging”. Sir Keir indicated in an interview with the Financial Times that he would seek to use a reassessment of the agreement in two years time to try to get “a much better deal” for the UK. The trade deal signed by Boris Johnson faces its first five-yearly review in 2025, though the extent of the talks are uncertain. UKICE says the onus will be on Britain to give the EU an incentive to shift its position, given the bloc is “relatively happy” with the existing partnership. Closer alignment on veterinary standards in order to ease trade, which Labour has cited as a priority, is highlighted in its report as one of the potential changes which would benefit the UK. But it adds that any new negotiations would potentially be lengthy and complex, and that time-consuming domestic issues like the economy and the NHS are likely to leave “limited bandwidth” for a major reassessment. Experts also warn that a review could even “inflame tensions” over implementation issues and that the EU is likely to prefer a lighter, technical re-evaluation. Anand Menon, director of UKICE, said: “Keir Starmer’s desire to secure a ‘much better’ Brexit deal for the UK is all well and good. “However, he failed to explain how tinkering with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement will make a meaningful economic difference. Moreover, he runs the risk of demanding more than the European Union is willing to give. “The UK is not a priority for the EU, which remains relatively happy with the TCA. The key for a Labour government will be figuring out a way to provide the EU with an incentive to restart negotiations over Brexit.” In its report, UKICE says Labour would need to set out a “much more detailed plan to demonstrate it is a serious negotiating partner with a realistic grasp of the issues at hand” and refine its “long list of ideas” into a more coherent set of goals. Sir Keir’s visit to Paris is the latest in a flurry of international engagements undertaken by Labour as the party seeks to raise its profile on the global stage ahead of a likely general election next year. Coinciding with his trip will be an appearance from shadow defence secretary John Healey in Washington DC, where he will make a speech calling on the US and UK to “work together” to defend democracy. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute alongside Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips, Mr Healey will propose the countries jointly establish and lead a new “democratic resilience centre” to protect shared values and collectively monitor threats. The centre would be open to other Nato allies to join and could be a forerunner for a fully-fledged Nato body, he will say. Mr Healey and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy will meet officials from the White House, the US Department of Defence and the US Department of State during their visit. He will say: “For Labour, the US is the UK’s most essential ally, especially on defence and security. “Our countries should be on high alert ahead of the UK general election and US presidential election in 2024. This is the time to launch democratic resilience work together to better protect our democratic values and systems. “Democracy and freedom is hardwired into Nato’s founding treaties, alongside collective defence. Our deep conviction in democracy means we must also act to defend our democracies when under attack.” It comes amid a series of overseas engagements before party conference season, with Sir Keir having spent last week meeting fellow centre-left leaders in Montreal, Canada, including the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau. That visit followed a trip to The Hague to hold talks with Europol officials on the shared challenge of people-smuggling gangs profiting from small boat crossings in the Channel. Read More UK Labour leader Keir Starmer says he'll seek closer ties with the EU if he wins the next election Sir Keir Starmer says he speaks to Barack Obama ‘frequently’ Starmer: Tory claims that Labour will join EU migrant quota scheme are ‘garbage’ Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Hunter Biden has gone on the offensive against his Republican critics

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has returned home from a trip to Russia where he deepened a “comradely fellowship and friendly ties” with President Vladimir Putin

The world's oldest country has long struggled with how to provide for its ageing and declining population.

The search continues for former NFL player Sergio Brown after his mother was found dead with assault injuries near a creek behind her suburban Chicago home, according to the Maywood Police Department.

“Brazil is back."

The classified documents prosecution of Donald Trump would seem, on paper at least, to be the most straightforward of the four criminal cases the former president is facing