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A former Minneapolis police officer jailed over the murder of George Floyd is “expected to survive” after being stabbed by a fellow inmate, according to officials.

Derek Chauvin was “seriously injured” during the attack in a prison in Arizona on Friday, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the incident.

Prison officials said on Friday that staff had performed “life-saving” measures on an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Tucson – though did not name Chauvin.

Brian Evans, a spokesman for the Minnesota attorney general’s office, said on Saturday that they had “heard that he (Chauvin) is expected to survive”.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he was “sad to hear” that Chauvin had been the “target of violence” inside prison.

“He was duly convicted of his crimes and, like any incarcerated individual, he should be able to serve his sentence without fear of retaliation or violence,” he said in a statement.

Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to serve a 22-year sentence for the second-degree murder of Mr Floyd.

He was also sentenced to a concurrent 21-year sentence for violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.

Derek Chauvin listens as the verdict is read out
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Derek Chauvin during his trial

Mr Floyd, 46, died in May 2020 after Chauvin pressed a knee on his neck for more than nine minutes on the street outside a convenience store in Minneapolis, where he was suspected of trying to pass counterfeit money.

The murder, which was recorded on a mobile phone by a passer-by, who filmed Mr Floyd saying “I can’t breathe” multiple times, sparked protests against racism and police brutality across the world.

Three other former officers received lesser state and federal sentences for their roles in Mr Floyd’s death.

Read more:
Minneapolis police officer sentenced to nearly five years
Officer jailed over racist WhatsApp memes mocking George Floyd’s death

Following news of Chauvin’s stabbing, Mr Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, said he “did not really have any feelings about it”.

“I’m not going to give my energy towards anything that happens within those four walls – because my energy went towards getting him in those four walls,” he told the Associated Press.

“Whatever happens in those four walls, I don’t really have any feelings about it.”

The US Bureau of Prisons confirmed an inmate had been assaulted at the FCI in Tucson at around 12.30pm local time on Friday.

In a statement, the agency said prison staff performed “life-saving measures”, before the inmate, who it did not name, was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.

The FBI said it was aware of an assault at the prison – though it also did not name anyone involved.

Last week, the US Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal against his state murder conviction.

Separately, he is attempting to overturn his guilty plea in the federal civil rights case, claiming new evidence shows he did not cause Mr Floyd’s death.

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Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging ‘genocide’

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Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging 'genocide'

Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white farmers in the African country.

The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of more than a thousand white farmers and “it’s a terrible sight… I’ve never seen anything like it. Those people are all killed”.

After an initial friendly chat where Mr Trump complimented South African golfers in the room, a montage of clips was played as Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless. He later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the alleged burial site in the video] I’ve never seen”.

Donald Trump meets Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
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Donald Trump met Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP

The lights were dimmed in the Oval Office as the clips were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.

The scene in the heart of the White House administration was reminiscent of Mr Trump’s ambush of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.

But later, as he left after around three hours at the White House, Mr Ramaphosa insisted his meeting with Mr Trump went “very well”.

And he told a news conference: “There is just no genocide in South Africa.”

The White House’s official account on X posted the footage that was shown in the Oval Office, saying it was “proof of persecution in South Africa”.

South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.

The clips included one of communist politician Julius Malema playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.

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Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers.

“We have many people that feel they’re being persecuted, and they’re coming to the United States. So we take from many… locations, if we feel there’s persecution or genocide going on,” the US president said, referring specifically to white farmers.

He added: “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”

Alluding to people in the clips, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”

The US president then displayed printed copies of news articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.

He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”

President Donald Trump meets South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
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Mr Trump held up news articles. Pic: AP

South African leader rejects allegations

Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.

“And in many cases, or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.

“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying, even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”

Read more from Sky News:
Ex-Ukrainian politician living abroad shot dead on school run
The soldiers faced with ‘raining bullets’ from violent gangs

An uncomfortable meeting where facts were dismissed as a difference in opinion

The screens, the visuals and President Trump’s foreshadowing mentions of a “bloodbath” all point to one thing – this ambush was planned.

As the yells of anguish and violent rhetoric echoed in the Oval Office, President Ramaphosa craned his neck with a stern expression to watch the “evidence” of a repeatedly disproven “white genocide” in his country.

He interjected only to question the location of the videos – to which Mr Trump replied, almost with a “duh” tone of voice, “South Africa” – and then pushed on to direct his team to verify them.

That was the singular point of outright defiance from South Africa’s leader in an uncomfortable meeting where facts were dismissed as a difference in opinion and outdated videos were played as breaking news.

For the rest of the meeting, Nelson Mandela’s former chief negotiator kept calm and played the charm offensive – appealing to Mr Trump’s ego at every sharp turn while maintaining that black South Africans are disproportionately impacted by the country’s harrowing murder rate.

The charm and calm may seem like dull knives in this sword fight but are necessary for peacekeeping in a meeting where £6bn in trade hangs in the balance.

South Africa has the most to lose in the deteriorating bilateral relations.

In just five months, the Trump administration has cut off vital humanitarian aid, including HIV assistance of which South Africa is the biggest beneficiary; expelled South Africa’s ambassador; and offered white South Africans refugee status as millions of black Africans suffer across the continent.

The potential futility of Mr Ramaphosa’s strategy came into vision as cameras panned to the back of the Oval Office at the end of the meeting to show a stony-faced Elon Musk.

The false claims of white genocide Musk has championed on X are now a powder keg in US-South African relations, as he works to get Starlink licensed in his home country. A business strategy that even South Africa’s iconic negotiator may not be able to contend with.

Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”

The South African leader said there was crime in his country, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”

President Trump and President Ramaphosa look towards a screen where videos were played. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump and Mr Ramaphosa looked towards a screen where a video was played. Pic: Reuters

A video was played during the White House meeting. Pic: AP
Image:
The video was shown during the White House meeting. Pic: AP

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In February, Mr Trump issued an executive order which cut all funding to South Africa over some of its domestic and foreign policies. He also expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are baseless.

Experts in South Africa have said there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.

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Lights, camera, ambush: Why Trump is making South Africa genocide claims

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Lights, camera, ambush: Why Trump is making South Africa genocide claims

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In yet another dramatic encounter in the Oval Office, Donald Trump ambushed South Africa’s president in a choreographed showdown on Wednesday.

But why is the president accusing South Africa of genocide?

On Trump100 US correspondents Mark Stone and Martha Kelner react to the exchange and Cyril Ramaphosa’s response. They debunk the far-right claims that thousands of white farmers are being killed in South Africa, despite what Mr Trump says.

Plus, we hear from an advocate for Afrikaners who says the US president may have been persuaded to welcome white South African refugees after speaking to his friends on the golf course.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

Don’t forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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Donald Trump’s administration officially accepts $400m plane as gift from Qatar

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Donald Trump's administration officially accepts 0m plane as gift from Qatar

The Trump administration has officially accepted a luxury jet that will be used as Air Force One as a gift from Qatar, the Pentagon said.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the $400m Boeing 747 and has tasked his department with working to upgrade the plane to make it safe for use by the president.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the plane – dubbed a “palace-in-the-sky” – was accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations”.

Mr Trump has faced scrutiny over the jet, with critics questioning whether receiving the aircraft from the Qatari royal family violates constitutional laws on gifts from foreign governments.

Donald Trump meets Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha, Qatar.
Pic: Reuters
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Trump meets Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha, Qatar earlier this month. Pic: Reuters

The US president has rubbished concerns, telling reporters last week: “I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar.

“I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer.

“I mean, I could be a stupid person saying: ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane’.”

More on Donald Trump

Inside the Qatari plane Mr Trump wants to use as a replacement for Air Force One. An open seated area with a sofa, large coffee table and larger TV.
Pic: Amac Aerospace
Image:
Pic: Amac Aerospace

The gift came up during Mr Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East.

During the tour, he posted on his Truth Social platform: “Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE.”

Read more:
Inside Air Force One
Trump ambushes South African president

While the plane itself has been gifted, refitting the aircraft to meet security requirements could be costly – with Sky News’ US partner NBC reporting the bill could be as high as $1bn.

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In a bid to quiet some opposition, Mr Trump has said he will not keep the plane after his term finishes, instead donating it to a future presidential library.

However, that has done little to quell anger – which has even come from within the Republican party.

Senator Josh Hawley previously said: “My view is that it would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America. That would be ideal.”

Boeing has been working to finish new Air Force One jets for years, and the president has previously complained about the delays. But the Trump administration has presented no national security imperative for a swift upgrade, rather than waiting for those to be ready.

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