Connect with us

Published

on

Donald Trump has returned to the site where he survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania – and opened with a joke.

“Thank you,” he told a large crowd, reportedly in the tens of thousands. “A very big thank you. We love Pennsylvania, and, as I was saying…” – which sparked cheers from the audience.

He added: “I return to Butler to deliver a simple message… We are going to make America great again, we are going to win the election.”

Discussing the assassination attempt, Mr Trump said the gunman “aimed to silence me and the MAGA movement”.

He continued: “For 16 seconds, time stopped as this vicious monster unleashed pure evil. That villain did not succeed.”

Discussing his campaign for the White House, he promised to halve energy prices, pledged large tax cuts, and claimed his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, is strongly left wing.

He also promised that the US will “reach Mars” before the end of his second term, should he be re-elected, and pledged “no men in women’s sports”.

More on Donald Trump

Donald Trump has returned to Butler, Pennsylvania. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Donald Trump has returned to Butler, Pennsylvania. Pic: Reuters

Shortly after Mr Trump started speaking the crowd chanted “Corey”, referencing firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded his family from the gunfire on 13 July.

At 6.11pm, the time when shots rang out, Mr Trump called for a moment of silence. A bell tolled four times, once for each of the four victims, including him.

Some in the crowd chanted “fight, fight, fight” – the slogan Mr Trump used to rally his followers moments after he was shot.

He later repeated the phrase himself, while his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, said the former president “took a bullet for democracy”.

Vice presidential nominee JD Vance and Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Vice presidential nominee JD Vance and Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters

There was a pause while a member of the crowd was treated by medics – and a spontaneous rendition of the American national anthem.

Elon Musk, the tycoon behind Tesla and SpaceX, took to the stage briefly and urged people to register to vote.

The entrepreneur said there is no truer test than courage under fire. In an apparent reference to Joe Biden, he said the US previously had one presidential candidate who “couldn’t climb a flight of stairs”, and another who shouted “fight, fight, fight”.

In addition, he claimed Mr Trump must win next month’s presidential election “to preserve the constitution” and to “preserve democracy in America”.

“This is a must-win situation,” Mr Musk said.

Poignant but purposely political – Trump returns to Butler

It was always probable that Donald Trump would return to Butler; that he would want to go back to the place where he almost died.

That moment exactly twelve weeks ago was more than a near-death experience. For his most loyal supporters, it underlined the increasingly divine status that he carries.

In the crowd, Trump signs had been redesigned: “Trump” replaced with “Jesus”. One supporter arrived pulling a life-sized crucifix.

As always, the choreography was, for the audience, pitch-perfect. The Top Gun theme tune filled the Pennsylvania countryside as his plane, branded TRUMP, flew low overhead.

Read the rest of Mark’s analysis

Mr Trump was back at Butler Farm Show grounds – the location where a bullet appeared to hit his ear in July.

He was whisked off stage with blood dripping across his face in one of the defining images of this year’s campaign.

Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop before being fatally shot.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

His motive for the shooting is still unknown. The incident raised serious questions about security failures within the Secret Service.

Its director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned less than two weeks after the shooting.

Read more:
Trump v Harris – how their records compare
Melania Trump speaks out on abortion rights
How does Trump keep his support so strong?

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

A second attempt was allegedly made on Mr Trump’s life last month when a gunman hid undetected for nearly 12 hours at the former president’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, with plans to kill him, prosecutors have said.

The alleged gunman was stopped by a Secret Service agent patrolling the course ahead of the former president.

Continue Reading

World

US ‘destroying’ international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia ‘halfway’, Ukraine’s UK ambassador warns

Published

on

By

US 'destroying' international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia 'halfway', Ukraine's UK ambassador warns

The United States is “finally destroying” the international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia “halfway”, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK has warned.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Washington’s recent actions in relation to Moscow could lead to the collapse of NATO – with Europe becoming Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s next target.

“The failure to qualify actions of Russia as an aggression is a huge challenge for the entire world and Europe, in particular,” he told a conference at the Chatham House think tank.

Ukraine latest: ‘Watershed moment’ as Kremlin blasts Macron

“We see that it is not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order, but the US is finally destroying this order.”

Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Pic: Reuters


Mr Zaluzhnyi, who took over as Kyiv’s ambassador to London in 2024 following three years as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, also warned that the White House had “questioned the unity of the whole Western world” – suggesting NATO could cease to exist as a result.

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scrambles to repair relations with US President Donald Trump following a dramatic row between the two men in the Oval Office last week.

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

Mr Trump signalled on Tuesday that tensions could be easing, telling Congress he had received a letter from Mr Zelenskyy saying he was ready to sign a peace deal “at any time”.

Zelenskyy and Trump speaking in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Zelenskyy and Trump during their extraordinary Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Read more:
New Zealand fires UK envoy for Trump comments
US stops sharing all intelligence with Ukraine

But on the same day, the US president ordered a sudden freeze on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine, and Washington has since paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv and halted cyber operations against Russia.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Mr Zaluzhnyi said the pause in cyber operations and an earlier decision by the US to oppose a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine were “a huge challenge for the entire world”.

He added that talks between the US and Russia – “headed by a war criminal” – showed the White House “makes steps towards the Kremlin, trying to meet them halfway”, warning Moscow’s next target “could be Europe”.

Continue Reading

World

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh being forced to fight for same military accused of genocide against their people

Published

on

By

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh being forced to fight for same military accused of genocide against their people

Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is a sprawling mass of humanity. 

It’s a sea of makeshift bamboo shelters, home to more than one million Rohingya refugees – a mainly Muslim minority from Rakhine state in Myanmar.

Some 700,000 fled their homeland back in 2017 – after the Myanmar military massacred thousands.

The army was accused of genocide by the United Nations.

The Rohingya refugees didn’t escape danger though.

Right now, violence is at its worst levels in the camps since 2017 and Rohingya people face a particularly cruel new threat – they’re being forced back to fight for the same Myanmar military accused of trying to wipe out their people.

A child at the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar
Image:
A child at the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar

Militant groups are recruiting Rohingya men in the camps, some at gunpoint, and taking them back to Myanmar to fight for a force that’s losing ground.

More on Rohingyas

Jaker is just 19.

We’ve changed his name to protect his identity.

He says he was abducted at gunpoint last year by a group of nine men in Cox’s.

They tied his hands with rope he says and took him to the border where he was taken by boat with three other men to fight for the Myanmar military.

“It was heartbreaking,” he told me. “They targeted poor children. The children of wealthy families only avoided it by paying money.”

And he says the impact has been deadly.

“Many of our Rohingya boys, who were taken by force from the camps, were killed in battle.”

Jaker speaks to Sky's Cordelia Lynch
Image:
Jaker speaks to Sky’s Cordelia Lynch

An aerial view of the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar
Image:
An aerial view of the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar

The situation in Cox’s is desperate.

People are disillusioned by poverty, violence and the plight of their own people and the civil war they ran from is getting worse.

In Rakhine, just across the border, there’s been a big shift in dynamics.

The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group has all but taken control of the state from the ruling military junta.

Both the military and the AA are accused of committing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.

And whilst some Rohingya claim they’re being forced into the fray – dragged back to Myanmar from Bangladesh, others are willing to go.

Read more from Sky News:
Bangladesh leader reacts to ‘House of Mirrors’ prison
Inside Bangladesh’s ‘death squad’ jails

Sri Lanka rescues more than 100 people believed to be Rohingya refugees

Teknaf in Cox's Bazar - where refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf River
Image:
Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar – where refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf River

Some are so aggrieved with the AA, they’re willing to support their former persecutors.

Abu Zar is one of those willing to take up arms.

But not for the military or AA, he says.

Everyone praying in the mosque with him is prepared to go back to protect their own cause he says – not anyone else’s.

“We want to fight for our rights because we have been demanding justice for a long time. But the situation has become unbearable,” he tells me.

Abu Zar has said he is willing to take up arms for his own cause
Image:
Abu Zar has said he is willing to take up arms for his own cause

It’s estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Rohingya have joined armed groups from this camp.

But the fight they are joining has become increasingly bloody.

In a cramped shelter, we meet Safura.

Safura came under fire as she fled Myanmar
Image:
Safura came under fire as she fled Myanmar

Safura's son Aman had his foot blown off
Image:
Safura’s son Aman had his foot blown off

Five days ago she managed to get out of Myanmar but she had to be carried part of the way.

Her legs are riddled with bullet wounds and the pain is severe.

Her son, Aman, who lies on the floor next to her, has had his foot blown off.

They were injured she said, during an attack on her family home in the middle of the night.

“They entered our house and shot all my family members. My husband and mother-in-law were killed on the spot.”

The military denies forcing Rohingya to the battlefield. But the camps tell a different story- one of surging violence and vulnerability.

Continue Reading

World

Trump tells Gazans ‘you are dead’ if Israeli hostages are not immediately handed over

Published

on

By

Trump tells Gazans 'you are dead' if Israeli hostages are not immediately handed over

US President Donald Trump has told Gazans to hand over Israeli hostages or “you are dead”.

The threat, made over social media, came hours after the White House confirmed that US officials had broken with tradition to hold direct talks with Hamas.

The US has previously avoided direct contact with the group owing to Washington’s longstanding position not to negotiate with terrorists – with Hamas having been designated as a terrorist group in the US since 1997.

In a press conference on Wednesday, White House press secretary Ms Keavitt said there had been “ongoing talks and discussions” between the US officials and Hamas.

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress. Pic: AP
Image:
File pic: AP

But she would not be drawn on the substance of the talks – taking place in Doha, Qatar – between US officials and Hamas, but said Israel had been consulted.

Ms Leavitt continued: “Dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people, is something that the president has proven is what he believes is a good faith, effort to do what’s right for the American people.”

There are “American lives at stake,” she added.

Adam Boehler, Mr Trump’s pick to be special envoy for hostage affairs, participated in the direct talks with Hamas.

A spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had “expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas”.

Hours later, Mr Trump warned Hamas to hand over Israeli hostages or “it’s over for you” – adding: “This is your last warning”.

Hamas militants on the day of a hostage handover in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Hamas militants on the day of a hostage handover in Gaza in February. Pic: Reuters

On his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump wrote: “Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered or it is over for you.

“Only sick and twisted people keep bodies and you are sick and twisted. I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.”

Mr Trump met with freed Israeli hostages on Wednesday, something he referenced in his social media post, before adding: “This is your last warning. For the leadership of Hamas, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.

“Also, to the people of Gaza, a beautiful future awaits, but not if you hold hostages. If you do, you are dead. Make a smart decision. Release the hostages now, or there will be hell to pay later.”

Israel estimates about 24 living hostages, including American citizen Edan Alexander, and the bodies of at least 35 others, are still believed to be in Gaza.

Donald Trump welcomes Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Donald Trump with Benjamin Netanyahu in February. Pic: Reuters

The US has a long-held policy of not negotiating with terrorists – which it is breaking with these talks as Hamas has been designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US government’s National Counterterrorism Center since 1997.

The discussions come as a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire continues to hold, but its future is uncertain.

Palestinians walk among the rubble of buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Image:
Palestinians amid the rubble in the southern Gaza strip. Pic: Reuters

Mr Trump has signalled he has no intention of pushing the Israeli prime minister away from a return to combat if Hamas does not agree to terms of a new ceasefire proposal – which, Israel says, has been drafted by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages – the group’s main bargaining chip – in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.

Read more:
The competing plans for rebuilding Gaza
Freed Israeli hostage details captivity

Israel has made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a key component of the first phase.

Fighting in Gaza has been halted since 19 January.

Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli and five Thai hostages for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Continue Reading

Trending