George Floyd: Thousands turn out for protests in US, UK
Thousands attend anti-racism demonstrations in London and Australia as protests continue in several US cities.by Hamza Mohamed & Joseph Stepansky
- Protests and demonstrations are held across the US and the world on Saturday, calling for an end to racism and police brutality in one of the largest mobilisations since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.
- Hundreds of mourners gathered in North Carolina on Saturday for a memorial service for Floyd.
Trump takes note as the far right lobbies for violent crackdown on peaceful protests
Republican politicians, media personalities and rightwing activists suggest a show of force to George Floyd protesters – and the result could be severe
As protests over the police killing of George Floyd continue across the US, a slew of influential rightwing figures have been urging an ever more violent crackdown on the demonstrations – and it appears Donald Trump is listening.
Republican politicians, media personalities and rightwing activists have floated ideas including deploying specific units of the military, while one Republican candidate for Congress has even suggested she will shoot protesters.
With a president who has previously formulated policy based on what is being mooted on conservative Fox News or among the rightwing Twitter-sphere, the consequences of this lobbying for violence could be severe.
Global coronavirus death toll passes 400,000
More than one quarter of fatalities are in US
The global death toll for coronavirus has topped 400,000, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
As of Sunday morning, more than one quarter of fatalities had happened in the US, where around 109,800 people who tested positive for the virus have died.
Meanwhile, the UK had the second-highest death toll in the world at 40,548, according to the university’s figures.
A Perfect StormDemocracy on the Defensive in Trump's America
Coronavirus, economic collapse and now mass demonstrations for racial equality: The United States is facing a trio of deep crises. Instead of offering leadership, President Donald Trump is exacerbating divisions and showing authoritarian tendencies. With the presidential election still several months away, the country's health is at stake.
Once darkness had fallen, the general went to see the situation for himself. Mark Milley strode across the battlefield in olive-green camouflage and heavy boots, not to inspect a residential street in Fallujah or mountains in Afghanistan, but the streets of Washington, D.C.
A reporter asked Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, if he had a message for the American people. His response: "Just allow freedom to assemble, freedom of speech, that's perfectly fine, we support that," he said. "We took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America to do that, and to protect everyone's rights and that's what we do."
Brazil takes down months of Covid-19 data, hiding toll as deaths soar
Brazil removed from public view months of data on its COVID-19 epidemic on Saturday, as President Jair Bolsonaro defended delays and changes to official record-keeping of the world's second-largest coronavirus outbreak.
Brazil's Health Ministry removed the data from a website that had documented the epidemic over time and by state and municipality. The ministry also stopped giving a total count of confirmed cases, which have shot past 672,000 – more than anywhere outside the United States – or a total death toll, which passed Italy this week, nearing 36,000 by Saturday.
"The cumulative data ... does not reflect the moment the country is in," Bolsonaro said on Twitter, citing a note from the ministry. "Other actions are underway to improve the reporting of cases and confirmation of diagnoses."
A Chinese soccer legend has called for the downfall of the Communist Party in shock videos
Updated 0149 GMT (0949 HKT) June 7, 2020
A retired Chinese soccer star has openly called for the downfall of China's ruling Communist Party, in what he says was the "biggest and most correct decision" of his life.
Hao Haidong, 50, was a household name among millions of soccer fans in China in the 1990s and 2000s, and briefly played for English club Sheffield United, but in recent years had been relatively low profile. On Thursday, however, he made a surprise appearance in two videos on the YouTube channel of Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese tycoon and fierce critic of the Chinese government.
In the first video, Hao read out in Chinese a manifesto of the "Federal State of New China," a government proposed by Guo as an alternative to the Chinese Communist regime.
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