US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that negotiators were headed to Russia “right now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce.

Trump did not give further details on the negotiating team.

“People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Ireland’s prime minister.

“And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished.”

Vice President JD Vance, who was also in the meeting, added that there were “conversations that are happening on the phone and in person with some of our representatives over the next couple of days.”

Trump would not say when he would next speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but added that “I hope he’s going to have a ceasefire” and that there had been “positive messages” from Moscow.

“It’s up to Russia now,” said Trump.

Trump was coy about pressuring Moscow to agree to a truce, saying he could slap it with “devastating” sanctions but adding that “I hope that’s not going to be necessary.”

“I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace,” Trump added.

His comments come less than two weeks after an explosive row between Trump, Vance and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in front of television cameras.

Trump halted military aid after the argument to pressure Kyiv, which agreed to a US-proposed plan for a 30-day ceasefire at talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Actor Ranya Rao’s gold smuggling racket involved a huge syndicate and she got through airports with the help of the State Protocol Officer who was also part of the racket, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or DRI, which is also investigating the smuggling case, told a court today. 

The DRI, which was opposing the bail of the 33-tear-old — who was arrested with 14 kg of gold in Bengaluru’s Kempegowda airport on March 3 — said that day, it was the State Protocol Officer who escorted her out of the airport.  She was caught just a step or two before the exit.

The agency said today that Ranya Rao had passed through the immigration and the Green Channel with the help of the State Protocol Office, and alleged the department  was involved. 

“We (the DRI) had intercepted there once she passed the Green Channel. She had no intention of declaring what she was carrying,” the DRI counsel added.  

“We have summoned the State Protocol Officer and received his statement,” the DRI said. 

The agency also contended that huge money was arranged and transferred through hawala and they are investigating that channel. 

“It shows that a syndicate was operating,” the DRI said. Contending that the actor is not cooperating with the Investigation, the DRI said, “We oppose her bail as it’s a matter of National Security. We have to Investigate the hawala channel”.

The agency also said that Ranya Rao, who has been to Dubai 27 times in the last six months, has the Resident Identity Card of the UAE.

Ranya Rao, stepdaughter of Indian Police Service officer Ramachandra Rao, is currently in judicial custody which will end on March 24, but the court is expected to take a call on her bail petition tomorrow. 

Ranya Rao had come under the lens of the DRI due to her frequent foreign trips. Within the last six months, she had made 27 trips to Dubai, and also the United States. 

Following her arrest, a search of her home in Bengaluru’s Lavelle Road yielded gold jewellery worth Rs. 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs. 2.67 crore,” the DRI said.

Jean-Pierre Maldera’s death comes ten years after the disappearance of his brother Robert. 

​Jean-Pierre Maldera’s death comes ten years after the disappearance of his brother Robert.