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Man sues Met police over injuries suffered in alleged racist arrest Tariq Stanley, 27, claims he was wrongfully detained outside his London home during lockdownA man who suffered a broken wrist and damage to his arm and shoulder after he was detained outside his home in what he believes was a wrongful racist arrest is suing the Metropolitan police over his injuries.Tariq Stanley, an insurance underwriter, said he was wrongfully detained outside his home in the Woolwich area of the city during the pandemic lockdown. Continue reading... Go to Source

Black Lives Matter protests: Atlanta shooting of Rayshard Brooks declared homicide - live updates Medical examiner says Brooks shooting was homicideDemocrats call for police reform after latest killingRepublicans expected to unveil their police proposalsSign up to our First Thing newsletter 12.40pm BSTIt hasn’t just been the high profile shooting of Rayshard Brooks that has outraged the community in the US, but also the way that police forces across the country have in general been dealing violently with protesters in the last couple of weeks.Hallie Golden has been reporting for us in Seattle on the outrage sparked by a video clip that went viral, showing a police officer firing mace at a family group that included a 7 year old child. Related: Outrage over video showing police ma...

Outrage over video showing police macing child at Seattle protest Footage captures fury of protesters who demand to know why police maced a child, and made no attempt to helpStanding among a group of peaceful anti-racism protesters in downtown Seattle on a recent Saturday afternoon, Mando Avery held his seven-year-old son’s hand as he and three generations of his African American family finished a prayer with members of their church.Only feet away, Evan Hreha, 34, a hairstylist, arrived at the protests alone. Continue reading... Go to Source

Long queues on high streets as non-essential shops reopen in England Shoppers will have to get used to new rules as coronavirus lockdown is easedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLong queues of shoppers formed outside stores around England on the first day that non-essential shops were allowed to reopen for business since the coronavirus lockdown was imposed.Branches of Primark and Sports Direct were among those attracting large numbers of customers before they opened. Continue reading... Go to Source

Beijing lockdown tightens as new coronavirus outbreak spreads China capital enters ‘extraordinary period’ after another 36 new cases are linked to a second seafood marketCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBeijing authorities have locked down residential compounds and fired officials over a new Covid-19 outbreak as health officials warned the risk of the outbreak worsening was “very high”.On Monday, authorities announced 49 new cases, 36 of which were linked to the Xinfadi seafood supermarket in Beijing’s southern Fengtai district. The market was closed on Saturday after it was identified as being at the centre of a new cluster of cases. Continue reading... Go to Source

WHO cautions against further lifting of lockdown in England Exclusive: senior official says contact tracing should be more effective before measures easedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageEngland’s coronavirus lockdown should not be further lifted until the government’s contact-tracing system has proven to be “robust and effective”, the World Health Organization has said after widespread criticism of the first results of the new tracking operation. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus live news: Beijing enters 'extraordinary period' as it races to contain new Covid-19 outbreak WHO warns UK not to lift lockdown; Iran deaths top 100 for first time in two months; cases worldwide near 7.9m. Follow the latest updatesWHO cautions against further lifting of lockdown in EnglandDemand for flu vaccine soars as countries plan for second Covid-19 waveRepublicans insist Trump Tulsa rally won’t spread coronavirus Beijing has entered an ‘extraordinary period’ says city spokespersonSee all our coronavirus coverage 12.45am BSTAfter weeks with almost no new coronavirus infections, Beijing has recorded dozens of new cases in recent days, all linked to a major wholesale food market, raising concerns about a resurgence of the disease, Reuters reports. On Sun...

Scientists report flaws in WHO-funded study on 2-metre distancing Mistakes mean findings should not be used as evidence for relaxing rule, say professorsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSenior scientists have reported flaws in an influential World Health Organization-commissioned study into the risks of coronavirus infection and say it should not be used as evidence for relaxing the UK’s 2-metre physical distancing rule.Critics of the distancing advice, which states that people should keep at least 2 metres apart, believe it is too cautious. They seized on the research commissioned by the WHO, which suggested a reduction from 2 metres to 1 would raise infection risk only marginally, from 1.3% to 2.6%. Continue reading... Go to Source

'Three weeks of hell': the peak of Covid-19 at hard-hit UK care home Carers and relatives of those who died at Melbury Court describe trying to cope with the outbreakCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageTears flowed at Melbury Court in Durham as the Covid-19 death toll ticked up toward 26, the worst known outbreak in a UK care home. Only 20 of its 82 residents, many of them with dementia, escaped infection.Peggy Dixon, a fervent football fan who liked to reminisce about the 1966 World Cup matches she attended, died on 14 May. Her coffin was draped in the blue and white hoops of QPR, her favourite team. Lilian Wilkinson, a former factory worker and Salvation Army stalwart, died the next day. The women, like many of the Melbury Court coronavirus victims, had l...

Global report: China detects highest daily case rise in months; Greece welcomes tourists Partial quarantine remains in Beijing; European countries continue to open borders to neighboursChina detected its highest number of daily coronavirus cases in months on Sunday, locking down parts of Beijing in a warning of the difficulties of avoiding a resurgence of the pandemic as Europe prepared to open more borders and loosen restrictions this week.A wholesale food market in the Chinese capital, where traces of the virus were detected, was closed at the weekend. Nearby housing estates were also placed under quarantine after authorities detected 36 new coronavirus cases in the city and another 19 across the country. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus live news: Spain set to open borders to most countries in EU’s Schengen area Spain’s border to open to EU countries except Portugal on 21 June; deaths worldwide pass 430,000; Australia to spend a further A$1.5bn to boost economyChile’s health minister quits over government response to Covid-19Most cases in China since April; pandemic gathers pace in Latin AmericaThailand, Malaysia, Vietnam: how some countries kept Covid at bayUK coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 6.58pm BSTThe number of new coronavirus cases in Turkey rose to 1,562 in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Sunday, almost double the level to which they had fallen in early June when Ankara lifted travel restrictions and reopened facilities.The daily number...

Six thousand people attend two illegal raves in Greater Manchester Police investigate alleged rape, suspected drug death and three stabbings on Saturday nightAbout 6,000 people attended two illegal raves in Greater Manchester where an 18-year-old woman was raped, a man died of a suspected drugs overdose and three people were stabbed.Police said they were met with violence and pelted with objects when they tried to shut down one of the mass gatherings on Saturday night. Continue reading... Go to Source

Rayshard Brooks: protesters set fire to Wendy's as police officer is sacked After black man shot dead by police, demonstrators burn down restaurant and also block a highway; officer Garrett Rolfe is sackedSurge of support for black electoral candidatesProtesters have shut down a major highway in Atlanta and set fire to a Wendy’s restaurant where a black man was shot by police as he tried to escape arrest.Rayshard Brooks, 27, was shot dead on Friday night after police were called to the Wendy’s over reports that he had had fallen asleep in the drive-through line. Continue reading... Go to Source

Rightwing protesters clash with police in central London Arrests made as ‘guard our monuments’ demonstrators chant ‘Eng-ger-land’ and throw bottlesAt least five people have been arrested in clashes between protesters and police in central London at a demonstration against perceived slights to British national heritage.Scotland Yard said that as of 5pm on Saturday, they had arrested five people for offences including violent disorder, assault on police, possession of an offensive weapon, being drunk and disorderly and possession of class A drugs. Continue reading... Go to Source

Man urinates next to PC Keith Palmer memorial during far right protest Photos emerge of man urinating next to plaque honouring officer stabbed in Westminster terrorist attackA man has provoked outrage after being pictured urinating next to a memorial to PC Keith Palmer, the officer who was stabbed to death during the Westminster Bridge terrorist attack in 2017.The man was part of a thousand-strong gathering in Westminster on Saturday that descended into violent attacks on police officers, with many present members of far-right extremist groups. Continue reading... Go to Source

'St Albans has never seen anything like this': Britain rallies for Black Lives Matter Across the regions people of all races, age and class are standing together to fight racism Dismal grey clouds hang low and gloomy in St Albans on Friday evening as more than 1,000 people space out in Verulamium Park. Lightning energy comes in the form of Shelley Hayes, a black mother born and raised in the city, who takes the mic and stands on a plywood table turned makeshift stage.“George Floyd can’t just be another name. The knee has always been [on] our neck and we can’t breathe. Enough is enough with overt racism, covert racism, the microaggressions every day!” Cheers ripple down the park. A sign reading ‘Treat Racism Like Covid’ bobs high, while Hayes calls for...

ABC News executive placed on leave after allegations of racist remarks – live Barbara Fedida on administrative leave after HuffPost articleTrump gives address amid tensions with military leadersHas Trump been left behind by America’s awakening on racism?Black candidates and political groups see a surge of supportUK protests: BLM counter-demonstrators clash with London policeSign up to our First Thing newsletter 6.33pm BSTThe Fulton county district attorney’s office has opened an investigation into an incident in which Atlanta police shot and killed a man on Friday night. Police responded to reports that a man had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru and was blocking traffic. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) says the man was shot and killed after po...

UK news live: hundreds of BLM and counter-protesters gather in London Home secretary advises people not to attend protests during coronavirus crisis. Follow the latest updatesProtesters must disperse by 5pmDemand for answers over missing BAME pages of Covid-19 reportSee all our coronavirus coverage 12.44pm BSTAt Hyde Park on Saturday morning it looked as if most Black Lives Matter protesters had heeded calls to stay away from central London, with just a few antifascists present and two stalls run by the Socialist party selling news papers. The London Antifascist Assembly (LARAF), a group that has rallied to oppose nearly all rightwing mobilisations in London in recent years, became the latest group to call off its protest late on Friday night, and encouraged its supporters to attend loc...

Donald Trump delays Oklahoma election rally to avoid Juneteenth slavery date US president pushes back gathering by a day after requests from ‘many of my African American friends’ to respect significance of the dayDonald Trump has postponed his planned election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma – the scene of one of the worst race massacres in US history – amid outcry over its clash with the Juneteenth holiday marking the end of US slavery.The gathering – which had also caused alarm among health officials tackling the coronavirus pandemic – was to be held on 19 June, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when a general read out Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation in Texas, freeing slaves in the last un-emancipated state. Continue reading... Go to ...

19 dead in a decade: the small American city where violent police thrive Police killed Sean Monterrosa amid protests against brutality. His death is part of a fatal pattern in Vallejo, CaliforniaAt 12.30am on 2 June, as protests for George Floyd raged across California, a Vallejo policeman fired five shots through the windshield of his unmarked car, fatally striking an unarmed young man kneeling in a parking lot.The death of Sean Monterrosa sparked national outrage at a time when a growing number of Americans are focused on police brutality. But in Vallejo, the killing felt painfully familiar and served as a harsh reminder that the city’s police department remains one of the country’s most violent and brutal small-city forces.  Continue reading... Go to Source

Capturing the cry for change: photographers on the BLM protests Since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis a huge uproar of protests against racism and police brutality has swept through more than 750 cities and towns all across America. Four black photographers write about their experiences covering the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and what the protests mean to them Continue reading... Go to Source

Doctors warn that thousands could die of bowel cancer after halt in screening Patients who are ‘treatable and curable’ are now in grave danger of losing their lives, say expertsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA dramatic rise in bowel cancer cases is set to sweep Britain in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, doctors and scientists have warned.They said they feared that the halting of screening for the condition will lead to thousands of people dying early from the disease. Continue reading... Go to Source

Boris Johnson 'stoking fear and division' ahead of BLM protests Critics say PM’s claim that George Floyd protests ‘hijacked by extremists’ are dangerousBoris Johnson was accused of “stoking fear and division” ahead of a weekend of Black Lives Matter demonstrations after he unequivocally condemned the removal of historic statues and claimed the protests had been “hijacked by extremists intent on violence”.As statues – including of Winston Churchill – were boarded up to protect them ahead of planned marches, the prime minister tweeted his opposition to those calling for memorials with links to slavery and racism to be torn down. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump says chokeholds sound 'innocent and perfect' and compares himself to Lincoln President calls plan for Juneteenth rally ‘a celebration’ despite its location in Tulsa, known for massacre of African AmericansDonald Trump further stoked controversy over race issues and policing by remarking on Friday that chokeholds sounded “so innocent and so perfect”, and once again claimed he has been the best president for black Americans – only partially conceding that Abraham Lincoln may have surpassed him.The US president also called his choice to resume rallies on 19 June, the Juneteenth day marking the end of slavery, “a celebration”, despite having picked a city known for a historic massacre of black Americans by white Americans and used divisive lan...

How 'racist' bust 'hidden by Tory councillor' divided Derbyshire town Controversial caricature that overlooked Ashbourne for decades has become subject of bitter culture warWhen Kate Moore, a 21-year-old student, saw the bitterness of the division in her home of Ashbourne over the disappearance of a bust of a black man’s head, she decided to come up with a compromise.Over the last week, the mystery over the whereabouts of the head, which Moore viewed as indisputably racist, has lifted this small Derbyshire town to national prominence. Before that it was best known as the home of Royal Shrovetide, an eccentric, beloved and very English game of “medieval football” played through the streets each year. Continue reading... Go to Source

As one of Oxford's few black professors, let me tell you why I care about Rhodes | Simukai Chigudu The city is strewn with tributes to the great of the British empire. The devastation they wreaked is routinely forgottenThe toppling of Edward Colston certainly made for a dramatic scene. The frantic energy of large crowds cheering while the statue plunged into the river in Bristol signalled the release of pent-up tension accumulated during a pandemic and widespread anti-racism protests.Within 48 hours, Oxford was seized by the same zeal. More than 1,000 people gathered on the city’s high street to call for the removal of the statue commemorating the notorious Victorian imperialist Cecil John Rhodes. It was a coordinated, peaceful and impassioned protest about the statue and about st...

Chief nurse dropped from No 10 briefing 'for not backing Cummings' Ruth May was taken off daily briefing after failing to back PM’s adviser over Durham tripCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageEngland’s chief nurse was dropped from a daily Downing Street briefing on the coronavirus for refusing to back Dominic Cummings, the Guardian understands.In a trial run for the 1 June briefing, Ruth May was asked about Cummings driving his family from London to Durham while his wife had suspected Covid-19. When she failed to back the prime minister’s chief adviser, she is understood to have been dropped from the press conference taking place later that day – though this has been denied by a government minister. Continue reading... Go to Sourc...

Boris Johnson says removing statues is 'to lie about our history' PM says George Floyd protests have been ’hijacked by extremists intent on violence’Boris Johnson has said removing statues of controversial figures is “to lie about our history”, as he argued that national protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd in the US had been taken over by extremists.In a lengthy Twitter thread in response to to the boarding up of the Cenotaph in Whitehall and Winston Churchill’s statue in Parliament Square, the prime minister expressed anger at the targeting of monuments. Continue reading... Go to Source

Oxford college officials backed plans to protect Rhodes memorial Exclusive: senior staff at Oriel sought legal protection from protests for plaque to colonialistSenior staff at Oxford University’s Oriel college backed plans to give legal protection to a memorial for Cecil Rhodes, weeks after seeking its removal during the Rhodes Must Fall protests.The college this week faced renewed protests demanding the removal of memorials to Rhodes, including a statue of the 19th-century imperialist who supported apartheid-style measures in southern Africa. Continue reading... Go to Source

Critics decry Trump election rally in city of Tulsa race massacre on Juneteenth Rally to be held on anniversary of end of slavery, in city where white mobs killed up to 300 black peopleDonald Trump is facing a growing outcry for choosing to hold his first election rally during the coronavirus pandemic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the scene of one of the worst race massacres in US history in 1921.The rally will also be held on 19 June – known as “Juneteenth” – the anniversary of the day in 1865 when Abraham’s Lincoln read out the emancipation proclamation in Texas, freeing slaves in the last un-emancipated state. Continue reading... Go to Source