First ladies are leading the way in writing wrongs

Donald Trump will have the world's most powerful military at his disposal when he finally squares up to (or, more likely, vacillates in front of) Vladimir Putin.

- Michael Day, The Independent

And yet when it comes to paving the way to possible peace talks, his wife Melania seems to be doing a fine diplomatic job - armed only with her Mont-blanc. At the Alaska summit on Friday, Putin walked all over the supine US president. He did receive, however, a letter from the Slovenian-born first lady, which addressed Russia’s malevolent treatment of Ukrainian children and implored Putin to do his best to protect them. Melania is not the only president's wife to have taken to her writing desk in an effort to end the Ukraine war.

President Zelensky avoided a repeat of his disastrous Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump, and he softened his landing by handing over a letter from his wife, Olena Zelenska, thanking her opposite number for her efforts in sparing the lives of Ukrainian children. “It’s not to you, it's to your wife,” a smiling Zelensky told Trump, in a considerably more convivial atmosphere than the one in February that saw him mugged in front of the world’s cameras.