Latest news with #Trump23C
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ksenia Karelina: Hugs and smiles as ballerina jailed in Russia arrives home in US after prisoner exchange
A former ballerina who spent more than a year in a Russian jail for donating £40 to a charity supporting Ukraine has returned home to the US after being freed in a prisoner exchange. Ksenia Karelina landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at around 11pm, local time, on Thursday. A smiling Ms Karelina was greeted on the runway by her fiance, the professional boxer Chris van Heerden, and given flowers by Morgan Ortagus, President Donald Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East. China hits back in US tariffs row - latest Van Heerden said in a statement he was "overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina, is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia. "She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return." He thanked Mr Trump and his envoys, as well as prominent public figures who had championed her case, including Dana White, a friend of Mr Trump and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Ms Karelina, 34, a US-Russian citizen also identified as Ksenia Khavana, was accused of treason when she was arrested in Yekaterinburg, in southwestern Russia, while visiting family in February last year. Investigators searched her mobile phone and found she made a $51.80 (£40) donation to Razom, a charity that provides aid to Ukraine, on the first day of Russia's invasion in 2022. She admitted the charge at a closed trial in the city in August last year and was later jailed for 12 years, to be served in a penal colony. At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr Trump, who wants to normalise relations with Moscow, said the Kremlin "released the young ballerina and she is now out, and that was good. So we appreciate that". He said the release followed conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian security services accused her of "proactively" collecting money for a Ukrainian organisation that was supplying gear to Kyiv's forces. The First Department, a Russian rights group, said the charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a US charity aiding Ukraine. Washington, which had called her case "absolutely ludicrous", released Arthur Petrov, who it was holding on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia, in the prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi. Read more:Children die in helicopter crashWolf of Wall St defends Trump23C possible in UK on Friday Karelina was among a growing number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the war in Ukraine. Her release is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the US carried out in the last three years - and the second since Mr Trump took office. White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said members of the Trump administration "continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families".
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Yahoo
Harley Woods: Family of 18-year-old among three teenagers killed in crash say they are 'completely devastated' by his death
The family of one of three teenagers killed when a car and a bus collided in west London have said they are "completely devastated" by his death. Star Tomkins and Jimmy Savory, who were both 17, and 18-year-old Harley Woods, died when the car they were in hit a bus in Feltham just before midnight on 31 March. The crash, involving an H26 service heading to Hatton Cross, happened on a narrow railway bridge on Bedfont Road - and both vehicles caught fire. The three, who were declared dead at the scene, were named by the force on Thursday. Harley Woods' family said in a statement they were "completely devastated" by his death and asked to be "left in peace to grieve and find a way through this". In a tribute on a GoFundMe page that has raised more than £10,000 towards funeral costs, Star Tomkins' loved ones called her a "beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and best friend". She was someone who had "a heart of gold" and who would "be deeply missed by many". In a post on the fundraising page, one contributor described her as an "amazing friend". A fourth passenger who was in the car was taken to hospital, along with two bus passengers whose injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, police said. Other passengers were treated for injuries by paramedics at the scene. Read more:Children die in helicopter crashWolf of Wall St defends Trump23C possible in UK on Friday London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service also sent crews. Firefighters from Feltham and Heston stations attended, and the blaze was out by 1.41am on 1 April.
