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Protesters welcomed the move by prosecutors in the state of Minnesota to charge three additional officers in connection with the death in police custody of George Floyd, while continuing demonstrations against police misconduct and calling for systemic reforms.The protests Wednesday night in numerous cities were once again largely peaceful.In Washington, several thousand people protested outside the White House and the Capitol, and marched down Pennsylvania Avenue as National Guard troops, police and personnel from several federal agencies stood guard.Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser relaxed the city’s curfew, starting it at 11 p.m. rather than 7 p.m., after several calmer nights.Detroit’s police chief said officers there would not impede anyone peacefully marching after the nighttime curfew there went into effect, while the Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan canceled her curfew order that was supposed to last through Saturday.San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said they planned to end their curfews Thursday.Garcetti responded to protester demands to cut his police department’s budget, announcing Wednesday he would redirect $150 million from that department and $100 million from others to projects focusing on health and education for the black community.A protester and a police officer stare at one another on the Crescent City Connection bridge, which spans the Mississippi River in New Orleans, June 3, 2020, during a protest over the May 25 death of George Floyd.He also announced planned police reforms, including requiring officers to intervene if they see another officer inappropriately using force, boosting mental health intervention training, having all officers complete training in deescalation and crowd control, and strengthening relationships between the police and the community.The nationwide protests began in Minneapolis, where Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died May 25 after a white police officer held him face down on the street and pressed a knee against his neck for several minutes.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday second-degree murder charges against Derek Chauvin, the officer who held Floyd.  Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after his arrest last week.Ellison also announced charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder against the other three officers at the scene: J.A. Keung, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.  All four officers are in custody and have been fired from the police department.“I strongly believe that these developments are in the interest of justice for Mr. Floyd, his family, our community and our state,” Ellison said. “We’re working together on this case with only one goal: justice for George Floyd.”A Floyd family attorney said the additional charges are “a bittersweet moment.”Congressman Justin Amash and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley announced Wednesday they are co-leading a bill to end qualified immunity, a move that would make it easier for victims of civil rights abuses to sue officers in civil court.“Qualified immunity shields police from accountability, impedes true justice, and undermines the constitutional rights of every person in this country,” Pressley said.A man walks on a sidewalk lined with shuttered shops June 3, 2020, in downtown Los Angeles, as protests continue over the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis.In one of the few reports of clashes Wednesday night, police in New Orleans used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters.  Police officials said the demonstrators defied orders not to cross a bridge.In New York, police dressed in riot gear confronted a group of protesters who were peacefully demonstrating but after the city’s curfew had gone into effect. 
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Mourners are set to gather Thursday in the U.S. city of Minneapolis for the first of three memorials for George Floyd, the man whose death in police custody has led to more than a week of nationwide protests demanding justice and systemic reforms.Civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton is leading Thursday’s private service for family and friends.“We remember the long list of those that were killed unjustifiably by law enforcement and those that were killed unjustifiably because of double standards, bigotry and racism,” Sharpton said in a social media post hours before the service.  “We think of their loved ones, we think of what they could have been.  We think of the contributions that they could have made, and then we get up and do something about achieving justice and fairness.”A public viewing and private service is then scheduled Saturday in North Carolina, the state where Floyd was born, followed by a large service Monday in Houston where he spent most of his life.Protesters welcomed the move by prosecutors in the state of Minnesota to charge three additional officers in connection with Floyd’s death, and demonstrations Wednesday night in numerous cities were once again largely peaceful.A Utah National Guard soldier fist-bumps with a demonstrator as protests over the death of George Floyd continue, June 3, 2020, near the White House in Washington.Washington DC
In Washington, several thousand people protested outside the White House and the Capitol, and marched down Pennsylvania Avenue as National Guard troops, police and personnel from several federal agencies stood guard. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser relaxed the city’s curfew, starting it at 11 p.m. rather than 7 p.m., after several calmer nights. Detroit’s police chief said officers there would not impede anyone peacefully marching after the nighttime curfew there went into effect, while the Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan canceled her curfew order that was supposed to last through Saturday. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said they planned to end their curfews Thursday. Garcetti responded to protester demands to cut his police department’s budget, announcing Wednesday he would redirect $150 million from that department and $100 million from others to projects focusing on health and education for the black community. He also announced planned police reforms, including requiring officers to intervene if they see another officer inappropriately using force, boosting mental health intervention training, having all officers complete training in de-escalation and crowd control, and strengthening relationships between the police and the community. This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota on June 3, 2020, shows Derek Chauvin, from left, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.4 Police officers charged
The nationwide protests began in Minneapolis, where Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died May 25 after a white police officer held him face down on the street and pressed a knee against his neck for several minutes. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday second-degree murder charges against Derek Chauvin, the officer who held Floyd.  Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after his arrest last week. Ellison also announced charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder against the other three officers at the scene: J.A. Keung, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.  All four officers are in custody and have been fired from the police department. “I strongly believe that these developments are in the interest of justice for Mr. Floyd, his family, our community and our state,” Ellison said. “We’re working together on this case with only one goal: justice for George Floyd.”  A Floyd family attorney said the additional charges are “a bittersweet moment.”   Congressional efforts
Congressman Justin Amash and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley announced Wednesday they are co-leading a bill to end qualified immunity, a move that would make it easier for victims of civil rights abuses to sue officers in civil court. “Qualified immunity shields police from accountability, impedes true justice, and undermines the constitutional rights of every person in this country,” Pressley said. Protesters breach a line of police atop the Crescent City Connection bridge, which spans the Mississippi River in New Orleans, June 3, 2020, during a protest over the death of George Floyd.New Orleans clash
In one of the few reports of clashes Wednesday night, police in New Orleans used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters.  Police officials said the demonstrators defied orders not to cross a bridge. In New York, police dressed in riot gear confronted a group of protesters who were peacefully demonstrating but after the city’s curfew had gone into effect.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
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As largely peaceful protests continue in major cities around the United States, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that he does not support the use of active-duty military forces in quelling unrest. The Pentagon Chief’s statement puts him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has threatened to send troops to crack down on over a week of massive protests sparked by the death of a black man in the custody of a white police officer. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story. 
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A weakened Tropical Storm Cristobal is moving gradually across Mexico after dumping heavy rains on the country’s Gulf coast state of Campeche on Wednesday, with an expected path toward the Gulf coast region of the United States. The U.S. National Hurricane Center anticipates the storm could become a menace for the U.S. coastal region by Sunday after gaining intensity over the warmer Gulf waters on Friday. Before threatening the United States, forecasters expect Cristobal will continue to produce heavy rains and flooding along Mexico’s Gulf coast.  Mexico’s national coordinator of civil defense, David Leon Romero, said Wednesday, five priority states have had the highest rainfall and the greatest impact. Romero said they have taken steps to allow crews to account for casualties.  He said so far they have not identified any deaths or injuries.  However, he said, they are still monitoring the situation. Cristobal developed Tuesday from the remnants of Tropical Storm Amanda, which formed in the Pacific Ocean and caused severe flooding and landslides in Central America.  At least 22 deaths have been reported in El Salvador and Guatemala because of the storm.  
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The sister of North Korea’s leader has warned South Korea to stop defectors from sending leaflets into the demilitarized zone separating the countries, saying it may cancel a recent bilateral military agreement if the activity persists.Kim Yo Jong, who serves unofficially as Kim Jong Un’s chief of staff, issued the warning in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA on Thursday.She was referring to thousands of “anti-DPRK leaflets” recently dumped along the North’s side of the heavily fortified DMZ titled “Defectors from the North.”DPRK, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is the North’s official name.”If such an act of evil intention committed before our eyes is left to take its own course under the pretext of ‘freedom of individuals’ and ‘freedom of expression’, the south Korean authorities must face the worst phase shortly,” the KCNA statement said.Kim Yo Jong warned of the possible scrapping of the inter-Korean military agreement that promised to eliminate practical threats of war as a result of the clandestine leafletting.The military pact reached in 2018 was “hardly of any value,” she said.She also warned the North will completely withdraw from the Kaesong industrial project and shut down the joint liaison office in the North’s border city, unless Seoul stopped such actions.The KCNA report did not single out any individuals for blame in the leafletting. But Kim Yo Jong’s comments come after a former North Korean diplomat and another North Korean defector won parliamentary seats in South Korea’s general election in April.Kim Yo Jong has been the most visible presence around her brother in the past two years. She serves formally as a vice director of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful Central Committee 
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Jim Mattis, Donald Trump’s former secretary of defense who had resigned to protest the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, accused the U.S. president of trying to “divide” America.”In my lifetime, Donald Trump is the first president who doesn’t try to bring the Americans together, who doesn’t even pretend to try,” he wrote in a statement posted online by The Atlantic on Wednesday.”Instead, he is trying to divide us,” said the former general of the Marines, who had so far displayed his reservations without ever commenting directly on Trump.”I observed the events of this week, angry and dismayed,” he continued.Since the May 25 death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody, a wave of historic anger has risen in American cities, denouncing racism, police violence and social inequalities. Tens of thousands of protesters protested peacefully across the country, but looting and riots also marred the movement.Trump has used a martial tone and threatened to resort to the military to subdue the streets.”We must not be distracted by a handful of outlaws,” Mattis wrote. “The demonstrations are tens of thousands of principled people who insist that we live up to our values.””We must reject and hold accountable those in power who mock our Constitution,” he added.  
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Eight U.S. states and Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, held primary elections on Tuesday, in the midst of police brutality protests across the country and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The primary contests further solidified former Vice President Joe Biden’s status as the all-but-certain Democratic Party nominee for president, as protests against racism have taken center stage in an increasingly bitter and polarized race. VOA’s Brian Padden reports.Produced by: Barry Unger 
 
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​. Daily DebunkClaim: Temperature checks of employees will make workplaces safe.Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: Associated Press​Social Media DisinfoScreenshotCirculating on social media: Claim that a video shows Chinese citizens converting to Islam as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: Agence France-Presse
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Protests are being staged across America — some violent — following the death of another unarmed black man by police. 46-year-old George Floyd kept pleading “I can’t breathe” while a policeman’s knee pressed on the neck of the handcuffed man, arrested for suspicion of using forged currency. Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren examines Floyd’s death, the protests, the violence, the police response, and President Trump’s warning with Peniel Joseph from the University of Texas. Air date: June 3, 2020.
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Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is now reopening its most renowned tourist attractions to international visitors. But these sites will not be seeing the crowds of the past for some time even though the country is open for business. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.Camera: Mark Brewer    Produced by:  Jon Spier     
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Asian markets rose for a third consecutive day Wednesday thanks to growing optimism over a gradual post-pandemic recovery. The Nikkei in Tokyo closed 1.2% higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is trading 1.2% higher in late afternoon trading.  Sydney’s S&P/ASX index and the TSEC in Taiwan are both up 1.7%, while the KOSPI in Seoul is 2.8% higher.  The Shanghai Composite index is trending upward but is basically unchanged. Oil markets are also on the upswing, with U.S. crude selling at $37.59 per barrel, up 2.1%, while Brent crude is selling at $40.19 per barrel, up 1.5%.   All three major U.S. indexes are trending upward in futures trading Wednesday, indicating another good day for investors on Wall Street. 
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Images of violence and looting have dominated news coverage of America’s protests against racism and police brutality, but most people participating in the demonstrations have not taken part in the mayhem. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has this report on how people are making themselves heard without violence.Camera:  Saqib Islam, Jason Patinkin   
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U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the Republicans will move this year’s national convention from the southeastern state of North Carolina because the governor is refusing to remove restrictions on large events aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. As many as 19,000 people, including delegates and party officials, were expected to gather in Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, home of the city’s National Basketball Association franchise, in late August to nominate President Trump as the party’s candidate in the November presidential election. The president and Republican officials had demanded that Democratic Governor Roy Cooper allow the party to hold a typical full-scale convention, with an arena packed with delegates freely walking around without face masks. But Governor Cooper rejected those demands Tuesday, saying that “a scaled-down convention with fewer people, social distancing and face coverings is a necessity” because officials could not be sure of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic when the convention begins.FILE – North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks to supporters in Raleigh, N.C., March 3, 2020.Trump blasted Cooper as “still in Shelter-in-Place Mode” on Twitter late Tuesday night, and said the decision was forcing Republicans “to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.” News outlets say Republican officials will visit Nashville, Tennessee, located more than 600 kilometers west of Charlotte, in their search for a replacement city.  Other cities being discussed are the Florida cities of Jacksonville and Orlando; Las Vegas, Nevada; and sites in the southeastern state of Georgia. The Democrats have postponed their national convention, which was scheduled to be held a week earlier in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.   
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A Confederate soldiers’ monument that stood in Birmingham, Alabama, for more than 100 years is no more.Construction workers Tuesday dismantled the last piece of the five-story structure after Mayor Randall Woodfin ordered it gone.The mayor acted Sunday after a group of demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis threatened to tear down the monument themselves. They had already vandalized it and destroyed a statue of Confederate Navy Captain Charles Linn, one of Birmingham’s founders.”Allow me to finish the job for you. I wanted you to hear it directly from me. But I need you to stand down,” Woodfin told the crowd before declaring a state of emergency and curfew in Birmingham.Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has sued the city, accusing it of violating a state law ordering protecting Confederate memorials that are at least 40 years old.The Washington Post reported that a statue honoring Confederate troops in Alexandria, Virginia — a Washington suburb — was taken also taken down Tuesday.Demonstrators in Nashville took matters in their own hands and tore down the statue of Edward Carmack, a former state lawmaker and newspaper publisher who espoused racist views, who was gunned down in the streets of Nashville in 1908, according to the Tennessean newspaper.FILE – Protesters toppled the statue of Edward Carmack outside the state Capitol after a peaceful demonstration turned violent, in Nashville, Tenn., May 31, 2020.And outside Tampa, Florida, a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter voluntarily lowered a huge Confederate battle flag that flew within sight of two major highways for years.City and state officials across the southern U.S. have been removing Civil War Confederate-era memorials over the past several years.African Americans and others call the structures monuments to slavery, institutionalized racism, and terror.Alabama statue of LinnSarah Collins Rudolph’s sister Addie Mae Collins was one of four black girls killed in a 1963 church bombing in Birmingham by Ku Klux Klansmen — one of the most shocking acts of violence during the civil rights era.”I’m glad it’s been removed because it has been so long, and we know that it’s a hate monument,” said Rudolph, referring to the Linn monument. “It didn’t represent the blacks. It just represented the hard times back there a long time ago.”Rudolph continued, “The things that we were fighting for in the ’60s aren’t solved yet. We shouldn’t be treated the way they treat us.”A large group of southern states broke away from the United States in the 19th century in part to preserve the institution of slavery. Other areas of disagreement with the northern states included states’ rights and westward expansion. The resulting Civil War from 1861 until 1865 resulted in the official end of slavery in the U.S. when Congress passed the 13th Amendment three months before the Confederate surrender. 
 
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Zuhura Hassan is a mother in Tanzania struggling to keep her son safe during the pandemic. Zuhura’s son, a 5-year-old boy named Hayyan Hamoud, is one of the estimated 11,000 Tanzanian children who are born with sickle cell disease each year. SCD is a blood disorder that leads to immunity deficiency. This puts Hayyan Hammnd into a high-risk group that could become more severely compromised by COVID-19 should it infect him.  Camera: Honeymoon Aljabri  Produced by: Barbara Santos and Euna Lee 
 
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Malawi is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases as citizens return from South Africa, the country hit harder than any other in Africa. Hundreds of returnees are expected to arrive in Malawi this week, raising fears the figures will increase even more. Out of nearly 1,000 Malawian migrant workers who recently came home, 134 tested positive for the coronavirus, almost doubling the country’s total cases. Malawi started registering a rise in COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a few days after the return of a group of migrant workers who had been stranded in South Africa because of a coronavirus lockdown.Of the 102 cases confirmed Thursday, 92 were among the returnees, the highest number of new cases in a single day since Malawi confirmed its first case on April 2.The trend continued this week. The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 said out of 52 cases confirmed Monday, 42 were from people who have just returned from South Africa.And in a more alarming development, about 400 returnees escaped last week from a stadium where they were being held in quarantine. Officials are concerned the escapees will spread the virus when they go back to the rural areas where most of them live.Dorothy Ngoma, former president of Malawi’s National Organization of Nurses and Midwives, told VOA that it’s time for Malawian political leaders and clergy to help teach people about ways to prevent the virus from spreading.“We must go house to house and I want to encourage UTM [United Transformation movement Party], Malawi Congress [Party], DPP [Democratic Progressive Party], whatever party; the chiefs, the churches to continue doing this 24 hours a day until we make sure that everybody understand,” said Ngoma.Critics blame the government for failing to enforce anti-coronavirus measures, which include social distancing, use of face masks and closing borders to prevent imported coronavirus.FILE – President Peter Mutharika of Malawi said cash payments aims to support Malawians who normally depend on the markets for their livelihood. (Lameck Masina/VOA)Speaking on live television Monday, President Peter Mutharika said his administration has tried to contain the spread of the virus but politics has undermined those efforts. The country is preparing for a June 23 presidential election.“Our fight against coronavirus is being undermined by politics and politicians. The courts stopped us from going on a lockdown. The same courts want us to go to an election. Now, we have a situation that is encouraging everybody to campaign and undermining social distancing,” he said.Mutharika, who later in the day conducted a political rally, said it is now up to Malawians to choose between fighting coronavirus and going to an election.A survey released this week about public perception of COVID-19 has shown that 82 percent of Malawians are more scared of hunger than being infected with coronavirus.Boniface Dulani is the research director at the Institute for Public Opinion and Research, which conducted the survey.“Our findings, interestingly enough, also show that Malawians support that the elections should be held notwithstanding the risk of coronavirus. So this actually has basically made people think that maybe social distancing is not the best way to fight the coronavirus, which is really dangerous in itself,” said Dulani.Health experts have warned that the ongoing political rallies, coupled with the return of people from South Africa, puts Malawi at higher risk of more COVID-19 cases in the near future. 
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As the US is gradually reopening after many weeks of strict lockdown, hotels are about to start welcoming visitors again. Their owners need to figure out a way to provide traditional hospitality services with health and safety in mind. Medical experts and analysts of the industry believe a lot will change from new cleaning protocols to how room keys are handled. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.Camera: Aleksandr Bergan
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