George Floyd protests: Hundreds of thousands take to America's streets to call for racial justice
Unprecedented marches across US call for racial justice as mourners gather in North Carolina for George Floyd memorial
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Thousands of Americans gathered in cities across the US on Saturday, continuing a second week of demonstrations against police brutality and racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day.
Across Europe, the US, Asia and Australia, major demonstrations were being staged. More than 200,000 people were expected to join a march in Washington DC where the White House has installed fencing and an intensified police presence is expected.
In North Carolina, mourners gathered for a memorial service to honour Mr Floyd, as Americans returned to the streets in major cities and small towns to demand racial justice.
Hundreds of people lined up to pay their respects at his coffin.
Rev Christopher Stackhouse from Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church delivered a eulogy, saying that "although it took 8 minutes and 46 seconds for him to die" — referring the length of time that officer Derek Chauvin was kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck before he died — "it took 401 years to put the system in place for nothing to happen".
Meanwhile, demonstrations continued for a 12th day following his death, as officials weigh reform efforts against law enforcement or suspend and charge police officers captured brutalising protesters in cities across the US.
With hundreds of National Guard troops deployed in the city, Donald Trump revived his fight with the mayor and touted his approval ratings among Republicans.
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Police in Northern Ireland conducting checks on roads and transport hubs ahead of protests
Police in Northern Ireland are conducting checks on roads and at transport hubs ahead of planned anti-racism protests.
They said anyone travelling to take part in a demonstration can expect to be stopped, advised to return home and could face a fine or court appearance.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd issued a strong appeal to the public not to take part in protests this weekend.
Mr Todd said any gathering of more than six people is against coronavirus regulations, as is travelling for a protest.
The Assistant Chief Constable also warned that if advice not to assemble is ignored, police may move to enforcement.
On Friday night, organisers of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Belfast and Londonderry indicated they planned to proceed with social distancing measures in place.
However, planned protests in Newry, Portadown and Omagh have been cancelled.
On Saturday morning, the PSNI said officers are conducting checks on roads and transport hubs today ahead of planned protests in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.
Police in Indianapolis are investigating a video that shows several officers severely beating a woman to the ground during protests over the killing of George Floyd, reports senior US correspondent Richard Hall.
The video, taken on Sunday evening, shows police using batons and shooting a pepper gun at the black woman from point-blank range until she falls to the floor. One officer then pushes her face into the pavement.
Police chief Randal Taylor said the four officers involved in the incident have been reassigned to support duties and will have no contact with the public while the investigation takes place.
“I can promise that regardless of the outcome of that investigation we will be looking at a retrain for that kind of scenario. I don’t like what I saw, but I don’t have all the details yet either,” he said at a news conference on Friday.
Mayor Joe Hogsett said he found the video troubling, adding: “I don’t think there’s anyone that should be able to watch that video and not be moved to emotion.”
Read more below:
Tokyo joins anti-racism protests after police violence against Kurdish man
The case of a Kurdish man who says he was stopped and shoved to the ground by Tokyo police became a rallying cry for protesters marching in solidarity with Black Lives Matter on Saturday.
Several hundred people chanting "I can't breathe" to invoke the death of George Floyd in the United States marched through the trendy Shibuya district on a sultry afternoon, saying that police abuse - particularly against foreigners - was a problem at home as well.
"I feel very sad," Tomohiko Tsurumi, 43, told Reuters. "I always thought of this country as very safe and I realised that there is so much (police action) we cannot see."
The 33-year-old Turkish man of Kurdish origin, who asked not to be named, told Reuters this week that he was stopped by police driving in downtown Tokyo on 22 May - three days before George Floyd died in Minneapolis when a police office knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The video includes the officers yelling at him to sit and not make trouble. One of the officers can be seen kicking the man in the leg before making him crouch on the ground.
That officer can be seen with his arms around the man's neck, telling him to be quiet.
"I couldn't breathe. If my friend hadn't been filming I don't know what would have happened," the man said, adding the encounter left him with bruises on his neck and back.
(A demonstrator wearing a mask holds a placard during a Black Lives Matter protest in Shibuya, Tokyo)
Can protests jolting US bring meaningful change, asks chief US correspondent Andrew Buncombe, or have we been here before?
An in-depth and important read:
'For the president to try and put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd is despicable'
Joe Biden yesterday condemned Donald Trump for invoking George Floyd's name at a White House press conference following the latest jobs report showing a decline in nationwide unemployment.
On Friday, the president said "this is a great day" for Mr Floyd, promoted "equal protection under the law" and touted the latest unemployment rate, which remains in double digits following the coronavirus pandemic.
He suggested a "strong" economy would help repair racial tensions. "Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying, 'This is a great thing that's happening for our country.' This is a great day for him. It's a great day for everybody," Mr Trump said.
Mr Biden, who has now formally clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, said that Mr Trump "was speaking of a man who was brutally killed by an act of needless violence, and by a larger tide of injustice that has metastasised on this president's watch has moved to split us based on race, religion, ethnicity."
"George Floyd's last words, 'I can't breathe', have echoed all across this nation and, quite frankly, around the world," he said from Delaware State University on Friday. "For the president to try and put any other words in the mouth of George Floyd I think quite frankly is despicable."
Banksy posts new artwork inspired by George Floyd protests
The artist posted his latest work to Instagram on Saturday. Jacob Stolworthy reports.
Suspended Buffalo police officers who shoved elderly protester expected to be charged today
Local media reports from Buffalo state that the two officers suspended after pushing a 75-year-old protester to the ground causing him to strike his head on the pavement, will be arraigned this morning.
They are expected to appear in court to face charges of second degree assault, a class D felony.
Peace activist Martin Gugino is recovering in hospital. Video of the incident went viral, sparking national outrage.
Second memorial service for George Floyd takes place at 11am EST
The second memorial service for George Floyd will take place this morning at 11am near Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he was born.
Governor Roy Cooper has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff.
The public portion of the service will last two hours, before a private family-only service.
Local television station WRAL will broadcast the service at 3pm online and via its apps.
On Tuesday, a further memorial will be held in Houston, Texas. Former vice president Joe Biden is expected to attend.
Elizabeth Warren calls for AG Barr to resign over attack on Lafayette Square protesters
The Massachusetts senator is demanding an investigation into the role of the attorney general and the Justice Department in the attack on peaceful protesters in Washington, DC.
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