ABUJA, Nigeria

President meets with parents of kidnapped kids

President Goodluck Jonathan met for the first time Tuesday with parents of 219 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls and dozens of classmates who managed to escape from their Islamic extremist captors.

Jonathan assured them of his determination that those still in captivity “are brought out alive,” presidential spokesman Reuben Abati told reporters after the meeting.

It was “a very successful event,” said Abati. Some of the girls described their escapes and Jonathan gave assurances that the education of the girls and their still-captive classmates would not suffer in any way, he said.

Journalists were prevented from speaking to the girls and the parents by Nigerian security.

The parents emerged from the closed door meeting without showing emotion but some shook hands with the president. Some of the escaped schoolgirls smiled for photographers after the meeting.

HAMILTON, Ontario

Twenty human traffickers deported back to Hungary

Twenty members of a Hungarian human trafficking ring that brought people to Canada from eastern Europe have been deported. Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said Tuesday the ring’s victims were forced to work illegally, live in deplorable conditions without adequate food and were intimidated or attacked repeatedly.

Police previously said the victims were mostly poor Hungarians who were duped into coming to Canada and forced to work for free in a case of “modern-day slavery.”

Blaney says 22 members of the Domotor-Kolompar ring have been convicted of human trafficking charges, and all but two have been deported to Hungary.

– From news service reports