Six In The Morning Tuesday 25 May 2021

 

More than 50 years before George Floyd's death, lawmakers predicted a growing racial divide

By Amir Vera, CNN
Video by Bryce Urbany, Cassie Spodak, CNN

Updated 1301 GMT (2101 HKT) May 25, 2021

A year ago, George Floyd's chilling last words, "I can't breathe," sent shock waves around the world. A guilty verdict came down April 20, but Black Americans had no time to celebrate the rare occurrence of a White police officer being convicted of the murder of a Black man.

The next day, Andrew Brown Jr. was fatally shot by sheriff's deputies in North Carolina, and the officers will not face criminal charges because the district attorney ruled that the shooting was justified.

Similar scenes have played out for decades: A Black person is killed by police, protests erupt in cities across the US, the unequal treatment of Black Americans becomes the focus, and the debate over policing ensues.

Shepherd hailed for saving six runners in deadly China ultramarathon

Zhu Keming rescued runners during cross-country mountain race in which 21 other competitors died

Agence France-Presse in Shanghai

Tue 25 May 2021 13.31 BST

A shepherd has been hailed as a hero in China after it emerged that he saved six stricken runners during an ultramarathon in which 21 other competitors died.

Zhu Keming was trending on Weibo on Tuesday, three days after a 100km (60-mile) cross-country mountain race in the north-western province of Gansu turned deadly in freezing rain, high winds and hail.

The incident triggered outrage and mourning in China, as questions swirled over why organisers apparently ignored warnings about the incoming extreme weather.

Social media heavyweights wooed for Pfizer smear campaign

Social media influencers in France with hundreds of thousands of followers say a mysterious advertising agency offered to pay them if they agreed to smear Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine with negative fake stories

Via AP news wire

Social media influencers in France with hundreds of thousands of followers say a mysterious advertising agency offered to pay them if they agreed to smear Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine with negative fake stories.

French YouTuber Léo Grasset was among those contacted. He said Tuesday that he was offered a potentially lucrative but also hush-hush deal to make bogus claims that Pfizer s vaccine poses a deadly risk and that regulators and mainstream media are covering up the supposed dangers.

Grasset, who has 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube, says he refused. Other France-based influencers with sizable audiences on Twitter, Instagram and other platforms also said they were contacted with similar offers of payment for posts.

Palestinians seek answers in rubble of IDF strikes on Gaza

The 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas left 248 Palestinians dead, including at least 66 children. The death of so many civilians has led to questions about the targeting of residential buildings.

All that is left of what were once residential buildings and shops is grey rubble, torn clothes, pieces of metal — and memories of the lives that were lost. Adli al Kolak grieves the loss of his brother and other relatives in the mourning tent the family put up opposite the rubble of their destroyed house. Twenty-one members of his extended family were killed during Israeli airstrikes in the early hours of May 16. Al Kolak lives next door.

Mali’s former coup leader takes power after president’s arrest

Colonel Assimi Goita says he acted after president and prime minister failed to consult him about a new government.

Mali’s interim vice president, Colonel Assimi Goita has said that he seized power after the transitional president and prime minister failed to consult him about the formation of a new government.

“This kind of step testifies to the clear desire of the transitional president and prime minister to seek to breach the transitional charter,” he said on Tuesday, describing the pair’s actions as a “demonstrable intent to sabotage the transition”.

Hong Kong could soon throw away millions of unused vaccine doses

Hong Kong may soon have to throw away millions of coronavirus vaccine doses because they are approaching their expiry date and not enough people have signed up for the jabs, an official warned Tuesday.

Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world fortunate enough to have secured more than enough doses to inoculate its entire population of 7.5 million people.

But swirling distrust of the government as it stamps out dissent -- combined with online misinformation and a lack of urgency in the comparatively virus-free city -- has led to entrenched vaccine hesitancy and a dismal inoculation drive.