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Thousands of people came together at the National Mall to remember the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s March on Washington.

But they say that even after all this time, the US is still driven by racial inequality, and King’s dream has not yet come true.

Alphonso David, the leader of the Global Black Economic Forum, said at the march on Saturday: “We have made progress, over the last 60 years, since Dr King led the March on Washington.

“Have we reached the mountaintop? Not by a long shot.”

The event was organised by the Kings’ Drum Major Institute and the Rev Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.

Many leaders fighting for Black civil rights and a diverse group of allies joined together at the same place where around 250,000 people gathered in 1963 for one of the most important demonstrations in US history for fairness and equal rights.

During the event, King made his “I have a dream”, speech, one of the most famous pieces of oratory in history.

More on Martin Luther King

Saturday’s event had many differences from the original march. Speakers talked about the rights of LGBTQ and Asian American people, while more women had the chance to speak compared to 1963 when only one woman spoke.

Pamela Mays McDonald from Philadelphia was at the first march when she was a child.

“I was eight years old at the original March and only one woman was allowed to speak – she was from Arkansas where I’m from – now look at how many women are on the podium today,” she said.

US House of Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schult (L) and Congresswoman Nikema Williams spoke at the event
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Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schult (L) and Nikema Williams spoke at the event

For some people, the differences were bittersweet.

Marsha Dean Phelts from Florida said: “I often look back and look over to the reflection pool and the Washington Monument and I see a quarter of a million people 60 years ago and just a trickling now. It was more fired up then. But the things we were asking for and needing, we still need them today.”

As speakers shared their messages, the noise of aeroplanes taking off from Ronald Reagan National Airport could be heard. People were also playing rugby and jogging nearby.

On Friday, Martin Luther King III and his sister, Bernice King, visited their father’s monument in Washington. Bernice said: “I see a man still standing in authority and saying, ‘We’ve still got to get this right’.”

Sacha Baron Cohen speaks at the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Sacha Baron Cohen also spoke at the March on Washington

Speakers included actor Sacha Baron Cohen and Ambassador Andrew Young, who was an important adviser to King and helped organise the original march. He also served as a congressman, UN ambassador, and mayor of Atlanta. Leaders from the NAACP and the National Urban League were also expected to speak.

Some leaders from the organising groups met with attorney general Merrick Garland and assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke from the civil rights division on Friday. They talked about many issues, like voting rights, policing, and redlining.

Saturday’s gathering leads up to the real anniversary of the March on Washington, which happened on 28 August 1963.

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Rep Steven Horsford stands with members of the Congressional Black Caucus as he speaks at the March on Washington
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Rep Steven Horsford stands with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the podium

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will mark this anniversary on Monday by meeting with people who organised the 1963 march. All of Martin Luther King Jr’s children were invited to meet with Mr Biden too, according to the White House.

For Rev Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, honouring March on Washington anniversaries is a pledge he made to Coretta Scott King, the matriarch of the King family. She introduced him to King III at a march 23 years ago and encouraged them to uphold the legacy.

“Never did I imagine that 23 years later, Martin and I, alongside Arndrea, would lead a march with fewer civil rights protections than in 2000,” Rev Sharpton noted, referring to King III’s wife, Arndrea Waters King.

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Trump criticises Putin after deadly strikes across Ukraine

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Trump criticises Putin after deadly strikes across Ukraine

Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”

The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.

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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”

Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.

“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.

Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.

It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.

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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine

‘Shameful’ attacks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.

In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.

Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.

Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.

Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, killed in Russian airstrike. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
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Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa

Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.

The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.

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The anniversary of George Floyd’s murder is a reminder of America’s racial divides

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The anniversary of George Floyd's murder is a reminder of America's racial divides

In Minneapolis, the spot where George Floyd was murdered has been turned into a mural.

His face is depicted in street art on a pavement covered in flowers, rosaries, and other trinkets left by people who have come to pay their respects in the last five years.

His final moments, struggling for breath with white police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck, were captured in a viral video that provoked anger, upset, and outrage.

Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck
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Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck

In Minneapolis and other parts of America, there were protests that at points boiled over into unrest.

The events to mark the fifth anniversary of his death took on a very different tone – one of celebration and joy.

Behind a wooden statue of a clenched fist on one end of a junction now renamed George Perry Floyd Square, people gathered in the morning.

There was a moment of prayer before a brass band began to play and the group marched, while singing and chanting.

George Perry Floyd Square, a makeshift memorial area
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George Perry Floyd Square, a makeshift memorial area

‘It made us want to fight harder’

Among those gathered in front of a makeshift stage built in the square were two of Floyd’s family members – his cousin Paris and aunt Mahalia.

To them, the man whose death sparked a racial reckoning in America and further afield, was simply “Perry,” a larger-than-life figure whose presence is missed at family gatherings.

Speaking to me while the speakers behind them thumped and people danced, they didn’t just reflect with sadness though.

There was also pride at a legacy they felt has led to change.

“It made us want to fight harder,” said Mahalia, “and it’s a feeling you cannot explain. When the whole world just stood up.”

George Floyd's aunt Mahalia and cousin Paris
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George Floyd’s aunt Mahalia and cousin Paris

Referring to Chauvin’s eventual murder charge, Paris added: “I think that from here on out, at least officers know that you’re not going to slide through the cracks. Our voices are heard more.”

The tapestry of items outside the Cup Foods convenience store, now renamed Unity Foods, is not the only makeshift memorial in the area.

A short walk away is the “Say Their Names” cemetery, an art installation honouring black people killed by the police.

Meeting me there later in the day, activist Nikema Levy says the installation and George Floyd Square are called “sacred spaces” in the community.

As someone who took to the streets at the time of Floyd’s death and a community organiser for years before that, she’s constantly stopped by people who want to speak to her.

Activist Nikema Levy speaking to Sky News
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Activist Nikema Levy speaking to Sky News

‘White supremacy on steroids’

Once we do manage to speak, Levy reminds me of a wider political picture. One that goes beyond Minneapolis and is a fraught one.

In the week of the anniversary, the US Department of Justice rolled back investigations into some of the largest police forces in the country, including in Minneapolis – a move she calls “diabolical.”

“That type of cruelty is what we have seen since Donald Trump took office on January 20th of this year,” she continued.

“From my perspective, that is white supremacy on steroids. And it should come as no surprise that he would take these types of steps, because these are the things that he talked about on the campaign trail.”

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Has US changed five years after George Floyd’s death?

‘True healing has never taken place’

Trump has argued his policing reforms will help make America’s communities safer.

Even on a day of optimism, with a community coming together, Levy’s words in front of headstones bearing the names of black people who have died at the hands of the police are a reminder of how deep the racial divides in America still are – a sentiment she leaves me with.

“From the days of slavery and Jim Crow in this country, we’ve just had the perception of healing, but true healing has never taken place,” she says.

“So the aftermath of George Floyd is yet another example of what we already know.”

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US-EU trade war fears reignite as Europe strikes back at Trump’s threat

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US-EU trade war fears reignite as Europe strikes back at Trump's threat

Fears of a US-EU trade war have been reignited after Europe refused to back down in the face of fresh threats from Donald Trump.

The word tariff has dominated much of the US president’s second term, and he has repeatedly and freely threatened countries with them.

Money blog: Trump sends message to UK on energy bills

This included the so-called “liberation day” last month, where he unleashed tariffs on many of his trade partners.

On Friday, after a period of relative calm which has included striking a deal with the UK, he threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the EU after claiming trade talks with Brussels were “going nowhere”.

The US president has repeatedly taken issue with the EU, going as far as to claim it was created to rip the US off.

However, in the face of the latest hostile rhetoric from Mr Trump’s social media account, the European Commission – which oversees trade for the 27-country bloc – has refused to back down.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.

“We stand ready to defend our interests.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing executive orders regarding nuclear energy in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday

Fellow EU leaders and ministers have also held the line after Mr Trump’s comments.

Polish deputy economy minister Michal Baranowski said the tariffs appeared to be a negotiating ploy, with Dutch deputy prime minister Dick Schoof said tariffs “can go up and down”.

French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the latest threats did nothing to help trade talks.

He stressed “de-escalation” was one of the EU’s main aims but warned: “We are ready to respond.”

Mr Sefcovic spoke with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick after Mr Trump’s comments.

Mr Trump has previously backed down on a tit-for-tat trade war with China, which saw tariffs soar above 100%.

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Sticking points

Talks between the US and EU have stumbled.

In the past week, Washington sent a list of demands to Brussels – including adopting US food safety standards and removing national digital services taxes, people familiar with the talks told Reuters news agency.

In response, the EU reportedly offered a mutually beneficial deal that could include the bloc potentially buying more liquefied natural gas and soybeans from the US, as well as cooperation on issues such as steel overcapacity, which both sides blame on China.

Stocks tumble as Trump grumbles

Major stock indices tumbled after Mr Trump’s comments, which came as he also threatened to slap US tech giant Apple with a 25% tariff.

The president is adamant that he wants the company’s iPhones to be built in America.

The vast majority of its phones are made in China, and the company has also shifted some production to India.

Shares of Apple ended 3% lower and the dollar sank 1% versus the Japanese yen and the euro rose 0.8% against the dollar.

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