“I really don’t care, do u?” read the white graffiti slogan on First Lady Melania Trump’s infamous olive-green jacket back in 2018. The slogan seemed to sum up Melania’s unusual attitude towards the role of First Lady. She was going to do the job her way, and her critics could stuff it.
Yet a furore over her stepson Don Jr’s wedding has collided with a cause Melania apparently really does care about. The abduction of Ukrainian children.
The lavish celebrations, which followed the May wedding, took place at a private island in the Bahamas and were funded by an oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin. Don Jr’s new wife, Bettina Anderson, described the event as a wedding afterparty, and an “extraordinarily generous gift” from a “dear friend”.
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Caption: A teenager looks at her smartphone in Brussels on July 7, 2026. The European Commission estimated, on July 6, 2026, that the French bill banning social media access for children under 15 was not fully compatible with European Union law, while reaffirming its support for the initiative. Like France, Spain and Denmark are also working on the introduction of a digital age of majority to follow Australia’s example, who became in December 2025 the first country to implement such a law. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: NICOLAS TUCAT
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
social media
EU announces plan to restrict social media access for under-15s
The EU has announced plans to restrict social media access for under-15s across its member states, in a bid to tackle online safety.
How would it work?
There would be a gradual approach to children using social media which would include banning access for under 13s.
13 to 15-year-olds would be able to access platforms for an hour a day via “mini accounts” set up through their parent’s account.
3 min read
Explained
4 min read
A closer look at the detail
The European Commission said social media companies would need to prove platforms were safe by design or face fines of up to 6 per cent of their global sales.
Australia brought in a similar ban for under-16s in December last year (Photo: Hollie Adams/Reuters)
The historic ruling comes as the UK Government holds a consultation on social media use by children (Photo: Hollie Adams/Reuters)
The restrictions would not just affect well-known apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat but also YouTube and other video sharing platforms as well as AI chatbots and online games.
What did the EU chief say?
Too many children are being exposed too early to an online world they are not ready to navigate – an environment where bullying can follow you home, where every mistake can be recorded forever.
Ursula von der Leyen
Caption: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the annual State of the European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Sept 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)
Photographer: Pascal Bastien
Provider: AP Photo/Pascal Bastien
Source: AP
Caption: In this photo provided by the Rockhampton Regional Council, rowers paddle on the Fitzroy River at Rockhampton, Australia, on July 24, 2025. (Rockhampton Regional Council via AP)
Provider: Rockhampton Regional Council via
Source: Rockhampton Regional Council
WORLD
The crocodile-ridden river chosen as Olympic rowing venue
A river inhabited by around 500 saltwater crocodiles has been greenlit as the venue for Olympic and Paralympic rowing and canoeing events at the 2032 Brisbane Games.
Seal of approval
The location approved to host the events is on the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton, Queensland.
Caption: Wangi Falls in the Litchfield National Park close to the the city of Darwin on June 11, 2026 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1,500 km??, is near the township of Batchelor, 100 km south-west of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Each year the park attracts over 329,000 visitors. Darwin is the capital and largest city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city had a population of 139,902 at the 2021 census, which is nearly 53% of the territory’s population. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australian capital cities and serves as the Top End’s regional centre
Photographer: James D. Morgan
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images AsiaPac
Caption: A crocodile lies next to a partially dried-out pond in Yala National Park, in southern Sri Lanka, August 26, 2026. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh
Photographer: PRIYANSHU SINGH
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
The independent technical assessment of the waters’ suitability did not take into account the crocodiles but examined how the course would perform under various circumstances and weather conditions.
How safe is the river?
Olympic officials have previously been assured of the safety of the location, but British representatives are among those to raise concerns.
The river is already a training and competition venue for flatwater sports, supporting school state championships and national team training camps, the report said.
Contingency plans are in place and the route has been endorsed by World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide.
5 min read
Caption: FILE – A sign is seen at the site of a fatal shark attack at Dee Why Beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
Photographer: Mark Baker
Provider: AP Photo/Mark Baker
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Concerns downplayed
There are sharks in the ocean and we’re still surfing… it’s a can do, not a can’t do – please change the mindset here.
Speaking last year, Brisbane 2032 president Andrew Liveris dismissed concerns about crocodiles.
travel news
Nine countries can shelve EES checks for the rest of the year
At least nine European countries have been allowed to delay the full roll-out of controversial border biometric checks until the end of the year, The i Paper’s Joe Palmer and Joe Duggan can reveal.
Brussels has given extensions to several member states after a deadline for full implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES) for non-EU nationals at Schengen area airports passed earlier this month.
Which countries are they?
At least nine European countries have been allowed to waive the full introduction of EES until the technology required for the necessary facial and fingerprint scans is working effectively.
Countries granted the exemption include:
France
Belgium
The Netherlands
Germany
Greece
Malta
Portugal
Italy
Switzerland
What is EES?
EES, which launched last October, is replacing manual passport stamping, but has led to queues as long as seven hours at border checkpoints. Some passengers have been forced to miss their flights.
3 min read
Caption: A person uses the Automated European Union Entry/Exit System (EES) kiosk during a press preview on the rollout of the EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) at Eurotunnel, south east England on September 23, 2025. The European Union’s new border-check system for non-EU nationals, the so-called Entry/Exit System (EES), which will do away with passport stamps, is set to finally launch October 12. (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: JUSTIN TALLIS
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
READ THE FULL STORY
A closer look at the EES crisis
When asked about the nine countries yet to fully introduce the checks, a spokesperson for the European Commission told The i Paper it was in “close and constructive contact with those few member states where some adjustments are still needed at certain border crossing points”.
But Umar Kremlev, who paid for the fireworks and rental of an island, is allegedly “heavily involved” in an organisation sanctioned by Ukraine for abducting children from Russian occupied parts of their country, according to ProPublica.
Kremlev’s press office did not comment regarding his alleged links to the organisation, but said: “Mr Kremlev and Mr Trump Jr have a friendly relationship” and they first met “a couple of years ago”. It described Kremlev as a businessman and philanthropist, adding, “Mr Kremlev has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances”, including Don Jr.
The First Lady has brokered deals with the Kremlin to reunite Ukrainian children with their parents – and she seems to be putting a great deal of distance between herself and Don Jr now her stepson is hanging out with Kremlev.
“Mrs Trump does not, and has never had, a relationship with Mr Kremlev,” a spokesman told multiple media outlets. “Mrs Trump played no role whatsoever in organising the wedding event and was not privy to any aspect of its financial planning.”
Donald Trump Jr and his new wife, Bettina Anderson, have been accused of allowing a sanctioned Russian oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin to fund their lavish wedding celebrations (Photo: Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
Neither Melania nor Donald Trump attended Don Jr and Bettina’s wedding. The President told reporters beforehand: “He’d like me to go, but it’s going to be just a small, little private affair.”
In a statement shared by the White House after the story about Kremlev emerged, Trump added: “I have no idea who Umar is, never heard of him, and he didn’t pay for Don and Bettina’s wedding, which took place at a totally different location, and on a different day.
“It was an ‘after-party’ given in their honor. Not a big deal!”
Asked about a potential investigation, Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters: “The President doesn’t know who this person is. I think other members of the family don’t know who this person is … When you say am I investigating – am I investigating what?”
Kremlev, 43, was one of a select few invited to the “little private affair” – despite what ProPublica called the Russian businessman’s alleged links to Healthy Fatherland, a group accused by Ukraine of carrying out the abduction, deportation and forced relocation of Ukrainian children. Healthy Fatherland is run by the twin sister of Kremlev’s 23-year-old wife, according to the non-profit investigative outlet.
Healthy Fatherland did not respond to requests for comment.
Donald and Melania Trump, who has been critical of Putin’s war with Ukraine, did not attend Don Jr’s nuptials in the Bahamas (Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
In a rare foray into international diplomacy, Melania wrote a personal letter to Putin in August 2025, urging him to make peace for the sake of the children affected by Russia’s war against Ukraine. “Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart … they dream of love, possibility and safety from danger,” wrote the First Lady. “Mr Putin, you can single-handedly restore their melodic laughter. In protecting the innocence of these children you will do more than serve Russia alone – you serve humanity itself.”
Apparently unmoved by this direct appeal, the Russian President’s bombing campaign against Ukraine continued. Yet the First Lady did succeed in establishing a backchannel with Russian officials and her initiative has facilitated the reunification of 34 Ukrainian children with their families – and Russian children too, says the White House – after they were separated from their parents by the war.
The White House provides regular statements on Melania’s efforts. “First Lady Melania Trump helped reunite a fifth group of Ukrainian and Russian children with their loved ones, continuing her humanitarian work on behalf of those affected by the war,” it declared in July.
More than 19,500 Ukrainian children have been taken by Russia during the war. In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and a Kremlin official, citing the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied parts of the country. Russian state media regularly accuses Ukraine of abducting Russian children, which Russia analysts say is a classic example of Moscow trying to deflect attention away from its own misdeeds.
Trump has said that his wife regularly points out how Russia keeps striking Ukrainian cities. The Slovenian-born Melania, who is highly selective about her public appearances, has stepped into the limelight by championing the reunion of children separated from their parents during the conflict, saying: “Every reunion is a reminder that compassion, dignity and family can transcend even the darkest times: war.”
Which partly explains why Melania may be none too pleased that Don Jr has been partying on the dime of Kremlev, who is allegedly involved with an organisation sanctioned by Ukraine for abducting children and relocating them under the guise of “rehabilitation”.
Trump himself is often accused by critics of favouring Russia in his efforts to get peace talks going. At last year’s Alaska summit, the US President quite literally rolled out the red carpet for a visibly delighted Putin, applauding him and clapping him on the back before allowing him to speak first at their joint press conference. But a month later, Trump turned on Putin, saying “he’s let me down”.
As Trump tries to pressure Russia and Ukraine to end the war that Moscow started, Melania must know it’s not a good look for Don Jr to be palling around with a Putin crony.
She appears to feel her husband was unfairly hounded over his links to Russia during his first term, and doesn’t wish to revive memories of that period. The Trumps regularly refer to the Mueller inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election as a “witch hunt”.
On Ukraine, it seems Melania really does care – and the issue threatens to create a new family divide for the Trumps.