Afghan Refugee Gives Birth on US Evacuation Plane

Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and family off a US Air Force C-17 after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Aug. 21. (-/AFP/Getty Images)
Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and family off a US Air Force C-17 after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Aug. 21. (-/AFP/Getty Images)
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Afghan Refugee Gives Birth on US Evacuation Plane

Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and family off a US Air Force C-17 after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Aug. 21. (-/AFP/Getty Images)
Medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and family off a US Air Force C-17 after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Aug. 21. (-/AFP/Getty Images)

An Afghan woman gave birth on board a US evacuation plane on Saturday, moments after landing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the US Air Force said, Reuters reported.

The woman delivered a baby girl in the cargo bay of an Air Force C-17 aircraft after going into labor and experiencing complications during the flight, US Air Mobility Command said on Twitter.

"The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother's life," the tweet said.

The woman was part of a group fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan and was on the second stage of an evacuation flight that had taken off from a base in the Middle East.

The mother and baby were transported to a medical facility and were in good condition, the tweet said.



Kremlin Says Ukraine Peace Talks in Türkiye Are Still on, but Doesn’t Say Who Is Going 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacts as he attends a meeting between Russia's President and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Moscow on May 10, 2025, during celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. (AFP)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacts as he attends a meeting between Russia's President and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Moscow on May 10, 2025, during celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. (AFP)
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Kremlin Says Ukraine Peace Talks in Türkiye Are Still on, but Doesn’t Say Who Is Going 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacts as he attends a meeting between Russia's President and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Moscow on May 10, 2025, during celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. (AFP)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacts as he attends a meeting between Russia's President and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Moscow on May 10, 2025, during celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. (AFP)

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on Thursday for possible direct peace talks with Ukraine, but did not disclose who would be there from Moscow's side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in the early hours of Sunday proposed direct negotiations in Türkiye on Thursday "without any preconditions," but he did not say who would attend from Moscow's side.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he would attend the talks with Russia only if Putin is also there.

Unconfirmed Russian and US media reports have reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy aide, will be in Istanbul and ready to meet their Ukrainian counterparts.

Asked by reporters in a daily briefing on Wednesday if the Kremlin could reveal the make-up of the Russian delegation, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We will do that when we get an instruction to do so from the president."

But Peskov said that Putin's offer of direct talks with Ukraine "remained valid."

"The Russian delegation will be waiting for the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul on May 15", Peskov said.

The planned talks have become the main focus of peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump.

Trump has said he will send Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg to the talks, while also offering to attend himself.