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Donald Trump has officially launched a third bid for the US presidency after several hints, amid legal probes and blame for the Republican Party’s underwhelming midterm election results.

He made the announcement from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and said: “America’s comeback starts right now.”

Mr Trump said that “everybody was doing great” after his four years in office, “the world was at peace” and that he “kept his promises”.

“Two years ago we were a great nation. And soon we will be a great nation again,” the former US president added.

“The decline of America is being forced upon us by Biden and the radical left… this is not a decline we must accept.”

He delivered the address to an audience of several hundred supporters, club members and gathered press in a ballroom at his club in Florida – flanked by American flags and banners that read: “Make America Great Again!”.

Ahead of his speech, Mr Trump’s aides filed paperwork for his 2024 presidential bid.

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His much-anticipated declaration to stand comes as Republicans are still reeling from voters’ rejection of several of their candidates in the US midterm elections – many of them personally chosen and endorsed by Mr Trump.

He had hoped to use his party’s expected gains as a springboard to his party’s nomination. Instead, he now finds himself being blamed for backing a series of losing candidates after disappointing results in which Democrats retained control of the Senate.

Control of the House remains too early to call.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump claps as he announces that he will once again run for U.S. president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election during an event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

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Aides and allies had urged Mr Trump to wait until after the midterms were over – and to wait until after a 6 December Senate run-off election in Georgia – before announcing a presidential bid.

But the former president, it seems, was eager to return to the spotlight.

He is also hoping to stave off a long list of potential challengers, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who cruised to re-election last week and is now being urged by many in his party to run for president as well.

Mr Trump has described him as “Ron DeSanctimonious”, and dismissed him as being “in desperate shape”.

A small group of supporters gather outside former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate where he says he will make a "big announcement", possibly regarding his political future, Tuesday in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Supporters gathered outside Mar-a-Lago head of the ‘big announcement’

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Why US midterms are a very unreliable way of predicting the next president

The midterms last week ended up being as much of a referendum on the defeated former president as they were on incumbent President Joe Biden, with more than a quarter of people (28%) saying their vote had been made “to oppose Donald Trump”, even though he was no longer in office.

He remains a key force in the Republican Party, but is a divisive figure after his controversial four-year term ended with the deadly Capitol riots on 6 January 2021.

He has continued to falsely claim his election defeat – which prompted the riots – was a result of fraud, and is currently facing a string of investigations, including into his tax affairs and whether he took classified documents from the White House after leaving office.

However, last month, a poll found 41% of Americans viewed him favourably.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks at a pre-election rally to support Republican candidates in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 5, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Mr Trump endorsed former TV doctor Mehmet Oz – but he lost the midterms Senate race in Pennsylvania

Impeached twice

Another campaign is a remarkable turn for any former president, much less one who made history as the first to be impeached twice.

Just one president in US history has been elected to two non-consecutive terms: Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892.

“Hopefully, tomorrow will turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our country!” Mr Trump had written on his Truth Social media network on Monday.

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Netanyahu faces condemnation over plan for Israel to take full military control of Gaza

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Netanyahu faces condemnation over plan for Israel to take full military control of Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for Israel to take full military control of the Gaza Strip has been condemned, amid fears a reoccupation could put the lives of Palestinians and the remaining Israeli hostages at risk.

Asked in a Fox News interview on Thursday if Israel would “take control of all of Gaza”, the prime minister replied: “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza.”

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“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” he continued. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”

Israel already controls around 75% of Gaza and has largely sealed its borders.

To take full control, it would need to launch ground operations in the remaining areas that have not been destroyed, where most of Gaza’s two million population have sought refuge.

Israel’s security cabinet, which would need to approve the military operations, began a meeting on Thursday evening, but for now no official announcement has been made.

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Netanyahu on Israel’s plans for Gaza

Plan will ‘put hostages and soldiers in danger’

The plan has been criticised by many, including families of hostages being held by Hamas and a top Israeli Defence Force (IDF) official.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said Mr Netanyahu promised her that he would pursue a deal to free the hostages.

She said in a post on X: “Someone who talks about a comprehensive deal doesn’t go and conquer the Strip and put hostages and soldiers in danger.

“Netanyahu and his partners are about to condemn [Matan] to death.”

Israel’s military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, has warned against occupying Gaza, saying it would endanger the hostages and put further strain on the IDF, according to Israeli media reports.

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In an illustration of the kind of opposition Israel could face internationally if it purses the plan, a Jordanian official aid Arabs would “only support what Palestinians agree and decide on”.

“Security in Gaza must be done through legitimate Palestinian institutions,” the source said.

“Arabs will not be agreeing to Netanyahu’s policies nor clean his mess.”

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Israeli hostage families sail near Gaza

At least 42 more Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, say hospitals

It comes after at least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals.

At least 13 of those people were seeking aid in an Israeli military zone where UN aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by desperate crowds and looters.

An Israeli soldier, standing next to an Israeli flag, looks out across Gaza. Pic: Reuters
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An Israeli soldier, standing next to an Israeli flag, looks out across Gaza. Pic: Reuters

Another two were killed on roads leading to sites run by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

The GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites on Thursday.

Read more:
Video of hostage released by Hamas
Aid sites are scenes of ‘orchestrated killing

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The war in Gaza began when Hamas killed about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – in its attack on 7 October 2023 and abducted 251 others. They still hold approximately 50 of those hostages – with 20 believed to be alive – after most of the others were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count.

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Putin plays down idea of meeting Zelenskyy, saying ‘certain conditions’ must be met

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Putin plays down idea of meeting Zelenskyy, saying 'certain conditions' must be met

Vladimir Putin has played down the possibility of a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that while it is possible, certain conditions must be met.

The Russian president was responding to an American proposal of a trilateral meeting between him, the Ukrainian president and Donald Trump.

The idea was floated by Steve Witkoff, the US president’s envoy during talks with Mr Putin on Wednesday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

War in Ukraine: Latest updates

Mr Ushakov said the three-way option was “simply mentioned by the American representative during the meeting in the Kremlin”.

He added, however: “This option was not specifically discussed.”

On the prospect of meeting Mr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin said: “I have already said many times that I have nothing against it in general – it is possible.”

However, he distanced himself from any such meeting happening soon, adding: “But certain conditions must be created for this. Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Mr Zelenskyy offered to speak to Vladimir Putin in May, challenging him to meet in Istanbul for talks on ending the war in Ukraine – an invitation the Russian leader declined.

While a trilateral meeting appears to be off the agenda, Mr Ushakov said an agreement had been reached for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet “in the coming days”.

After the US president touted a “very good prospect” of the leaders meeting for Ukraine ceasefire talks, Mr Ushakov said on Thursday that Russian and American officials had started working on the details.

“At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days,” he said.

“We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues.”

Regarding a trilateral meeting, Mr Ushakov said: “We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with Trump, and we consider it most important that this meeting be successful and productive.”

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Will Putin agree to Trump’s condition to meet Zelenskyy?

It would be the first time the two leaders have met since Mr Trump returned to office, and follows a three-hour meeting between Mr Putin and Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday.

Following the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it appeared that Russia was “more inclined to a ceasefire”.

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The Ukrainian president said he planned to speak on Thursday to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as contacts from France and Italy.

He said he planned to discuss a ceasefire, a leaders’ summit and long-term security, adding: “Ukraine has never wanted war and will work toward peace as productively as possible.”

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A poll from Gallup suggests 69% of Ukrainians support a negotiated end to the war with Russia – an almost complete reversal from 2022, when 73% favoured fighting until victory.

Most said they were sceptical the war would end soon, with 68% saying they believed it was unlikely that active fighting would stop within the next 12 months.

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Trump vowed to end Ukraine war in first 24 hours of his presidency – nearly 200 days in, could he be close?

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Trump vowed to end Ukraine war in first 24 hours of his presidency  - nearly 200 days in, could he be close?

Seven hours is a long time in US politics.

At 10am, Donald Trump accused Russia of posing a threat to America’s national security.

By 5pm, Mr Trump said there was a “good prospect” of him meeting Vladimir Putin “soon”.

There had, he claimed, been “great progress” in talks between his special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president.

It’s difficult to gauge the chances of a meeting between the two leaders without knowing what “great progress” means.

Is Russia “inclined” towards agreeing a ceasefire, as Ukraine’s president now claims?

Is Mr Putin prepared to meet with his Ukrainian foe, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too?

The very fact that we’re asking those questions suggests something shifted on a day when there was no expectation of a breakthrough.

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Mr Trump repeatedly vowed to end the war within 24 hours of becoming president.

On day 198 of his presidency, he might, just might, be one step closer to achieving that.

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