Tuesday,  June 9th, 2020

 

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan establishes the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm in order to review statues in London. A statue of Robert Milligan is removed. (The Independent)

Tanzanian opposition leader Freeman Mbowe is attacked by unidentified assailants as he entered his home. His party, the Chadema, says the attack may have been politically motivated. (Reuters)

 

Biden, Sharpton call for racial justice at George Floyd’s funeral Mourners gathered on Tuesday for the funeral of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis two weeks ago. Floyd’s death sparked a major wave of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke at the funeral via video, said the U.S. can’t “once again turn away from racism” and that “now is the time for racial justice.” Members of Floyd’s family also delivered powerful remarks. His niece vowed “justice will be served” and his brother thanked God for “giving me my own personal superman.” Rev. Al Sharpton, who previously eulogized Floyd at a prior memorial, pointed to examples in recent history of white police officers brutalizing black men and called for large-scale change. Source: ABC News

Gen. Charles Brown confirmed as first black service chief in U.S. military The Senate unanimously confirmed Gen. Charles Brown to be the Air Force’s new chief of staff on Tuesday. The move makes Brown the country’s first-ever black service chief, and the first black American to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff since Colin Powell was chair between 1989 and 1993. Brown is taking over for Gen. David Goldfein, who is expected to retire later this summer. Since 2018, Brown has served as the commander of Pacific Air Forces, and he also previously led the U.S. Air Forces Central Command in 2015 and 2016. Before that, he served multiple tours across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, piloting an F-16 fighter jet. Source: CNN

Cops canceled after 31 years amid police brutality protests Cops, the long-running show that follows police officers on patrol, was canceled by the Paramount Network on Tuesday. The move comes as protests against police brutality continue across the United States. The network said in a statement it already pulled reruns of Cops from the air, and “we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return.” The show, which launched on Fox in 1989, moved to Spike TV in 2013 and remained on the channel when it was rebranded as the Paramount Network in 2018. The 33rd season of Cops had been scheduled to premiere on Monday. A&E has also removed the show Live PD from its schedule “out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives.” Source: Variety

 

 

Monday,  June 8th, 2020

Multinational energy company BP announces in a conference call that it is cutting 15% of its workforce, which is roughly 10,000 jobs. (Reuters)

New Zealand has no active cases, as the last remaining patient is reported to have recovered. (Stuff)

New Zealand moves to its lowest alert level effective midnight local time (12 UTC), removing most restrictions but maintaining strict border controls. (Stuff)

Most schools in South Africa re-open after Education Minister Angie Motshekga says that efforts to contain the virus allowed 95% of schools to return to classes. South Africa has recorded nearly 50,000 cases and almost 1,000 deaths. (Reuters)

The End