Protests calling for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, have spread across the US. Thousands have taken to the streets to express their anger at the systemic racism black people continue to face across the country. As the protests become more forceful, with fires breaking out near the White House on Sunday evening, many have been calling for a return to peaceful demonstrations
Continue reading...Category Archives: US News
Assange misses court hearing amid calls in Australia for his release
WikiLeaks founder ‘too ill’ to attend extradition hearing in London via videolink
A coalition of Australian MPs, human rights advocates and journalists have called on their country’s government to intervene in the case of Julian Assange, who was said to be too ill to attend the latest court hearing of his extradition case.
The imprisoned WikiLeaks founder was unable to attend via video link because of ill-health and advice from his doctors, according to his partner Stella Moris.
Continue reading...‘It could have a chilling effect’: why Trump is ramping up attacks on mail-in voting
Trump is sowing doubt about mail-in voting at a time when it may be the safest way for people to cast their ballots
Donald Trump is escalating baseless attacks on mail-in voting in what appears to be an obvious effort to sow doubt about the fairness of the 2020 election.
The president has long made false accusations about voter fraud, claiming without evidence that 3-5 million Americans voted illegally in the 2016 election. But his barrage against mail-in voting is particularly alarming ahead of an election during the Covid-19 pandemic, where there is likely to be severely limited in-person voting and many Americans will probably vote by mail for the first time. Advocates worry voters who don’t want to risk their health and vote in person could also be swayed by Trump’s rhetoric, not feel comfortable voting by mail, and simply choose not to vote at all.
Continue reading...America’s seniors ebb away from Trump as coronavirus response disappoints
The country’s most reliable voting bloc are also the most vulnerable to the virus, which looks to be benefiting Biden
At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden last week, a maskless Donald Trump appealed directly to a constituency that could determine his political fate in November’s election: America’s seniors.
Related: Biden sets solemn tone as Trump waits 15 hours to mark Covid-19 milestone
Continue reading...George Floyd: fires burn near White House as US-wide protests rage – live
- Fires light up Washington DC on third night of protests
- Trump fled to bunker as protests over raged outside White House
- ‘He is a destroyer’: how the protests left Donald Trump exposed
- Rage and anguish: how the US papers have covered the protests
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A striking detail from tonight’s coverage has been reports that as protesters surged towards the White House on Friday night, US president Donald Trump, his wife Melania and son Barron briefly retreated to the Presidential Emergency Operations Centre – a fortified bunker-like structure beneath the residence.
The last time a US head of state was publicly known to have used the bunker was on 11 September, 2001, where senior members of the George W Bush administration spent that day after their west wing offices were evacuated. There are no other public reports of presidents needing to use the area since - the New York Times, which first reported this detail, says “it has not been used much, if at all” since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But it notes the area has since been strengthened to withstand the impact of a passenger jet.
Related: Trump fled to bunker as protests over George Floyd raged outside White House
My colleague Julian Borger in Washington DC has just filed this update on a tense evening the capital.
Multiple fires broke out near the White House late on Sunday evening, as angry protesters gathered in Washington DC for the third night in a row following the death of George Floyd.
Sunday evening’s protests in front of the White House started relatively cheerfully, with a crowd of a few thousand in Lafayette park. Earlier in the day, demonstrators had marched through the city’s downtown, chanting “George Floyd! Say his name!” and “No Justice! No Peace!”
Related: Fires light up Washington DC on third night of George Floyd protests
Continue reading...‘These cops love you’: Michigan sheriff joins George Floyd protesters in Flint – video
A sheriff in Michigan on Saturday was welcomed with cheers as he gave a rousing speech before joining demonstrators on a George Floyd protest. 'The only reason we're here is to make sure you have a voice, that's it' said Chris Swanson. 'I want to make this a parade, not a protest.' Swanson then joined the demonstrators after they chanted 'walk with us' at him
Continue reading...Global report: fears of coronavirus surge from US protests as world cases hit 6m
The pope warns that people are more important than economies as countries ease lockdowns
Global coronavirus infections have passed the 6 million mark as Latin America hit the grim milestone of 50,000 deaths with Brazil alone accounting for half of those fatalities.
With at least 369,000 deaths confirmed worldwide since the pandemic began in China in January – and that number believed to be an underestimate – Brazil’s virus death toll of 28,834 has now surpassed that of France with the country reporting 33,274 new infections in the past 24 hours.
Continue reading...George Floyd protests: New York police cars filmed driving into crowd – video
Footage of two police SUVs driving into a crowd of demonstrators in Brooklyn has been widely shared on social media. The incident involving NYPD vehicles occurred near Prospect Park on 30 May, as protests took place across the US following the death of George Floyd, an African American who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck in Minneapolis. New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: 'Running SUVs in crowds of people should never, ever be normalised. No matter who does it, no matter why.'
Continue reading...George Floyd: second night of US anti-racism protests – in pictures
Protests over the death of George Floyd and other police killings of black people spread across the country as mayors imposed curfews and governors called in the national guard
- Police forcefully cracking down on protests across US
- Unrest comes to White House
- As protests rage, Trump comments inflame tensions
- George Floyd protests – live updates
Wars without end: why is there no peaceful solution to so much global conflict?
A new study shows that 60% of the world’s wars have lasted for at least a decade. From Afghanistan to Libya, Syria to Congo DRC, has endless conflict become normalised?
Libya’s civil war entered its 7th year this month with no end in sight. In Afghanistan, conflict has raged on and off since the Soviet invasion in 1979. America’s Afghan war is now its longest ever, part of the open-ended US “global war on terror” launched after the 2001 al-Qaida attacks.
Yemen’s conflict is in its sixth pitiless year. In Israel-Palestine, war – or rather the absence of peace – has characterised life since 1948. Somalis have endured 40 years of fighting. These are but a few examples in a world where the idea of war without end seems to have become accepted, even normalised.
Why do present-day politicians, generals, governments and international organisations appear incapable or uninterested in making peace? In the 19th and 20th centuries, broadly speaking, wars commenced and concluded with formal ultimatums, declarations, agreed protocols, truces, armistices and treaties.
Continue reading...Is Donald Trump’s love-hate relationship with Twitter on the rocks?
The president’s account is a 24/7 window into his psyche, with even his rage at having his posts factchecked expressed via tweet
It has been one of the greatest love affairs in American politics.
Related: Twitter taking on Trump's lies? About time too | John Naughton
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: Spain’s prime minister seeks final two-week extension of state of emergency
Brazil becomes fourth worst country for deaths; pressure builds on South African president over his handling of outbreak
- Global report: cases pass 6 million as Donald Trump postpones G7
- Senior UK adviser has broken trust in policy, say top scientists
- Coronavirus latest: at a glance
Bosnia’s state court has ordered the release of a regional prime minister and two other men suspected of corruption in connection with the import of defective ventilators for coronavirus patients.
The court of Bosnia-Herzegovina said their detention was unnecessary, and turned down the prosecution’s requests to detain the three men for 30 days.
Senior public health officials have made a last-minute plea for ministers to scrap Monday’s easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England, warning the country is unprepared to deal with any surge in infection and that public resolve to take steps to limit transmission has been eroded.
The Association of Directors of Public Health said new rules, including allowing groups of up to six people to meet outdoors and in private gardens, were “not supported by the science” and that pictures of crowded beaches and beauty spots over the weekend showed “the public is not keeping to social distancing as it was”.
Related: Health officials make last-minute plea to stop lockdown easing in England
Continue reading...The Hawaii navy base fueling Trump’s quest for ‘super duper’ missiles
Kauai has one of the Pentagon’s most valued testing sites. It’s an economic driver, but some residents say the military shouldn’t be on the islands at all
Hawaii’s “garden island”, Kauai, is known for its breathtaking scenery and laid-back vibe, a place of plunging waterfalls and cliffs cloaked in green tropical forests. But beyond its beauty it is one of the Pentagon’s most valued testing and training sites in the Pacific.
In Hawaii, where the military is the second-largest economic driver, after tourism, weapons testing and training enjoy widespread support, but some residents view the islands’ highly militarized state as misguided or even illegal.
Continue reading...Trump cancels summit but says he will invite Putin to later G7 event
US president intends to convene 11 nations at later date in push to counter China
Donald Trump has been forced to cancel a planned face-to-face summit of G7 leaders in June and now wants to host an expanded meeting in September dedicated to countering China, to which Vladimir Putin would be invited.
Trump revealed on Saturday that he had cancelled the June meeting, which he had billed as a symbol of the US “transitioning back to greatness”, after the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, told him in a phone call that she saw the summit in Washington DC as a health risk. Hundreds of security staff, journalists and officials also attend the two-day summits.
Continue reading...Trump justice department forces out top FBI lawyer in Flynn case – report
- NBC News: general counsel Dana Boente forced out on Friday
- Fox News host Lou Dobbs slammed lawyer in April
- Flynn transcripts show he discussed sanctions with Russian
A top FBI lawyer who was criticised on Fox News for his role in the investigation of Michael Flynn has resigned after being asked to do so by senior figures at the Department of Justice, NBC News reported on Saturday.
Related: What is 'Obamagate' and why is Trump so worked up about it?
Continue reading...SpaceX successfully launches Nasa astronauts into orbit
- Donald Trump and Mike Pence witness launch in Florida
- First attempt was cancelled minutes from blast-off
A rocketship named Dragon breathed new fire into America’s human spaceflight programme on Saturday, carrying two astronauts on a much-anticipated adventure.
Related: Trump wants America looking at the stars as he drags it through the gutter
Continue reading...Killer Mike: ‘You have a duty not to burn your own house down’ – video
Rapper Killer Mike addressed demonstrators in Atlanta asking them not to destroy the city but to 'plot, plan, strategise, organise and mobilise' for political change.
'I'm mad as Hell,' he said, tearful at a news conference on Friday night, urging protesters to seek political reform instead of destroying the city of Atlanta
- Protests rock cities across US as anger over killing spreads
- Atlanta police chief: ‘black lives being diminished’
George Floyd: protesters and police clash in cities across US – live
- Protests rock US cities as anger over killing spreads
- Unrest comes to the White House
- Trump threatens protesters with ‘vicious dogs’
- Get a fresh perspective on America – sign up to our First Thing newsletter
The Guardian’s Ankita Rao, reporting from New York, on the mayor’s controversial late-night statements:
Mayor Bill de Blasio took to the podium on Saturday night to tell protestors across the city that they were “heard, loud and clear”.
I’m in Brooklyn to talk about tonight’s protests. https://t.co/oBVXGh7JWo
US prosecutors have filed federal charges against three people in New York, accusing them of using “molotov cocktails” on New York police vehicles during the Friday protests:
BREAKING: Three people charged with federal crimes in connection with Molotov cocktail attacks on the NYPD during #GeorgeFloyd protests in NYC Friday night. pic.twitter.com/dyaDJByMit
Continue reading...Atlanta police chief says ‘black lives being diminished’ as Floyd protests grow
Erika Shields says angry reaction is understandable as governor declares state of emergency
After hours of peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd, some demonstrators in downtown Atlanta turned violent on Friday night, smashing police cars, spray-painting a sign at CNN headquarters and breaking into restaurants and stores.
The crowd pelted officers with bottles, chanting “Quit your jobs.”
Continue reading...Protests spread across US in response to George Floyd killing – video
Protests against police brutality ignited across the US overnight and into Saturday morning following the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck.
Demonstrators chanted 'hands up, don't shoot' and 'I can't breathe' as they clashed with police
- George Floyd killing sparks protests across US: at a glance guide
- George Floyd protests: man killed in Detroit as demonstrations rage across US – live