Melania Trump says 8 Ukrainian children are reunited with families after ongoing talks with Putin

Melania Trump says 8 Ukrainian children are reunited with families after ongoing talks with Putin
First lady Melania Trump says eight Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families after ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP/File)
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Updated 10 October 2025
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Melania Trump says 8 Ukrainian children are reunited with families after ongoing talks with Putin

Melania Trump says 8 Ukrainian children are reunited with families after ongoing talks with Putin
  • Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Russia taking Ukrainian children out of their country

WASHINGTON: First lady Melania Trump says eight Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families after ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Melania Trump in August wrote a letter to Putin and had her husband hand-deliver it during his meeting with the Russian president in Alaska.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Russia taking Ukrainian children out of their country so that they can be raised as Russian.


Five Indian nationals kidnapped in Mali

Five Indian nationals kidnapped in Mali
Updated 08 November 2025
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Five Indian nationals kidnapped in Mali

Five Indian nationals kidnapped in Mali
  • The workers were kidnapped Thursday by gunmen near Kobri, in western Mali
  • No group has claimed the kidnappings so far

DAKAR: Gunmen have kidnapped five Indian nationals in Mali, their company and a security source said Friday, as the west African country reels from mounting unrest and militant violence.
The workers were kidnapped Thursday by gunmen near Kobri, in western Mali, the security source told AFP on condition of anonymity, saying they were employed by a company that is working on electrification projects.
“We confirm the kidnapping of five Indian nationals,” a company representative told AFP.
“The other Indians working for the company have been evacuated to Bamako,” the capital, he added.
No group has claimed the kidnappings so far.
Mali, currently ruled by a military junta, has been struggling to contain surging unrest blamed on criminal groups and militants linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group.
The security situation has exacerbated an economic crisis in the impoverished country, where the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has imposed a suffocating fuel blockade.
Kidnappings targeting foreigners are common in the country, which has been plagued by coups and conflicts since 2012.
JNIM militants kidnapped two Emirati nationals and an Iranian near Bamako in September.
The victims were released last week for a ransom of at least $50 million, according to sources close to the negotiations.