Australian Rules club hit by 'heartbreaking' Indigenous mistreatment claims

Yahoo – AFP, September 21, 2022 

Australian Rules' chief executive said Wednesday it was "hard to find more serious allegations" after a top club was accused of separating Indigenous players from their families and pressuring one couple to have an abortion. 

In the latest racially tinged scandal to hit Australia's most popular spectator sport, Hawthorn Football Club said an internal investigation into how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players were treated had raised "disturbing" historical claims. 

The club did not go into detail, saying the matters were "confidential". 

But public broadcaster ABC reported harrowing accounts of young Indigenous players pressured to end contact with their families and focus on their sporting careers. 

The ABC said in a period about a decade ago, players were relocated away from family and pressed to change their mobile phone numbers. 

One allegation related to a prospective father who told the club he and his partner were expecting a child and was advised to terminate the pregnancy. 

"At face value it's hard to find more serious allegations," Australian Football League (AFL) chief Gillon McLachlan said. 

"There are so many people hurting today and have been hurting for a long time. As a game we will do everything to ensure the hurt you experienced is not a hurt experienced by others." 

McLachlan said an external panel of four independent, appropriately qualified people would conduct a separate investigation for the AFL. 

"We need to run a proper investigation to get to the bottom of it and this is important out of respect for those making the allegations and out of respect for those being accused," he said. 

Hawthorn, the 13-time premiership-winning side -- with the Latin motto translated as "let us be judged by our acts" -- are based in Melbourne. 

Allegations of separating Indigenous players from their families and forced estrangement are particularly sensitive in Australia. 

Until the 1970s, white-dominated Australian governments forcibly removed Aboriginal children from their parents in an attempt to eradicate Indigenous cultures. 

Indigenous AFL legend and former "Australian of the Year" Adam Goodes retired in 2015 after being subjected to months of racially motivated booing by spectators. 

In 2021, the president of top Australian Rules side Collingwood resigned after evidence of systemic racism at the club.

 Hawthorn chief Justin Reeve backed the AFL's independent investigation, calling the findings of their internal review "heartbreaking". 

Asked whether Hawthorn had a culture problem, Reeve replied: "I think Australia has a culture problem, historically, and I think like all of us, we focus on every day being better and building a great environment for our club. 

"I feel confident from the report as well that currently our players feel culturally safe," he added. 

"But like so many institutions, I think we have to face our history and our past and we have to act responsibly and we have to cooperate and move forward from that."

Harvard creates $100 mn slavery reparation fund

Yahoo – AFP, April 26, 2022 

Harvard University has announced a $100 million fund to atone for its role
in slavery (AFP/Maddie Meyer) (Maddie Meyer)

America's prestigious Harvard University announced Tuesday it will commit $100 million to redress its role in slavery, as more US institutions move toward reparations for historical injustices. 

Harvard said it was putting the money into a fund to help tackle the educational and social gaps caused by the legacies of the slave trade and racism. 

The move follows a wide-ranging internal review of the university's role in slavery, the results of which were posted on its website. 

The 100-page report made several recommendations about how the money should be spent, including the improvement of educational opportunities for descendant communities, honoring enslaved people through memorials and research, and creating partnerships with Black colleges and universities. 

It also recommended identifying and supporting direct descendants of Black and Native American enslaved individuals who labored on Harvard's campus and who were enslaved by previous Harvard leaders. 

"Harvard benefited from and in some ways perpetuated practices that were profoundly immoral," Harvard president Lawrence Bacow wrote in a letter to students and staff posted on the institution's website. 

"Consequently, I believe we bear a moral responsibility to do what we can to address the persistent corrosive effects of those historical practices on individuals, on Harvard, and on our society," he added. 

Harvard was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636. 

The report found that Harvard staff, including four presidents, enslaved more than 70 individuals until slavery was outlawed in the state in 1783. 

The report also found that the university "benefited from extensive financial ties to slavery," including donations from slave traders. 

It said that from the mid-19th century well into the 20th century Harvard presidents and prominent professors promoted race science and eugenics and "conducted abusive 'research,' including the photographing of enslaved and subjugated human beings." 

Harvard's announcement comes as US institutions grapple with how to make amends for their role in slavery. 

Last year, the leaders of the Jesuit conference of priests vowed to raise $100 million to benefit the descendants of slaves it once owned. 

In 2019, students at Georgetown University approved a fund that would benefit the descendants of slaves sold by the elite Jesuit school in the 1800s.

UK govt slams students for ditching 'colonial' queen portrait

 Yahoo – AFP, June 9, 2021

The queen has become the latest victim of what the Daily Telegraph
called 'cancel culture'

The UK government has criticised graduate students at the University of Oxford who removed a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, claiming it represented a colonial past that many found offensive. 

The move comes as students across the country have played a leading role in protests against historical figures with links to the British empire or slavery. 

The queen "has become the latest victim of cancel culture", or ostracism of those whose opinions are deemed unacceptable, the right-leaning Daily Telegraph wrote on Wednesday. 

Graduate students at Magdalen College took down the colourised print of the queen from their recreation room after a majority vote, because "for some students, depictions of the monarch and the British monarchy represent recent colonial history", The Times reported. 

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson reacted angrily Tuesday night, calling the move "simply absurd".

"She is the head of state and a symbol of what is best about the UK," he tweeted. 

Hanging portraits of the queen is not customary in state educational institutions, but some colleges at Cambridge and Oxford universities have portraits on display. 

"It was decided that the room should be a welcoming, neutral place for all members, regardless of background, demographic, or views," said Matthew Katzman, head of the Middle Common Room committee at Magdalen. 

"Freedom of speech allows even intelligent people to be offensive and obnoxiously ignorant," Oxford University Chancellor Chris Patten was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying of the decision. 

The student protest comes as the queen is due to celebrate her 70th jubilee next year. 

BBC TV presenter Richard Madeley asked: "How can this make any sense when this queen has presided over the dismantling of what was left of empire?" 

Another Oxford college, Oriel, last month reversed its decision to remove a controversial statue of the 19th-century colonialist Cecil Rhodes -- a major donor. 

That U-turn sparked widespread anger. 

British sculptor Antony Gormley suggested to The Financial Times that the statue should instead be turned round to face the wall in shame.

Related Article:

'Must do more': British royals reveal staff diversity data

PSG beat Basaksehir in Champions League game suspended after racism walkout

Yahoo – AFP, Andy SCOTT, 9 December 2020

Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was accused of using racist language

Paris Saint-Germain beat Istanbul Basaksehir 5-1 on Wednesday with Neymar scoring a hat-trick as both teams took a knee before restarting their Champions League match suspended 24 hours earlier in an unprecedented protest over an allegedly racist comment by a match official. 

The teams, who had joined forces on Tuesday to walk off the pitch following the row, gathered around the centre circle prior to the resumption and were joined by the match officials as they kneeled in support of the Black Lives Matter cause. 

Before that they sported t-shirts with the slogan "No To Racism" while warming up at the Parc des Princes, where large banners in the empty stands carried the same message. 

The game restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, when a touchline argument erupted over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described Basaksehir's Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as "black", or "negru" in Romanian. 

Players from Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir as well as officials take
a knee before restarting their suspended Champions League game on Wednesday

Coltescu and the other Romanian match officials were replaced for the restart by a new refereeing team headed by the Netherlands' Danny Makkelie. 

Already qualified for the last 16 thanks to Manchester United's defeat to RB Leipzig in Germany on Tuesday, PSG still needed to win the restarted game to secure top spot in their group and cruised to victory with Neymar outstanding. 

Neymar hat-trick 

He curled in a stunning opener before making it 2-0 and then won a penalty which Kylian Mbappe converted for the third goal before half-time. 

Neymar, the world's most expensive footballer, completed his hat-trick with another brilliant hit after the interval, and Mbappe got PSG's fifth following a reply by Mehmet Topal for Basaksehir. 

The Turkish side had already been eliminated before this game but they have left their mark on the Champions League with their response to the alleged treatment of Webo, who was sent off as he reacted furiously to the alleged comment. 

That red card was suspended by UEFA pending a probe into the matter, with European football's governing body promising a "thorough investigation". 

Basaksehir are understood to have close ties to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he got involved in the row on Tuesday, tweeting that he "strongly condemns the racist remarks". 

PSG stars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar sport t-shirts with the slogan "No To Racism"
while warming up before their Champions League match with Istanbul Basaksehir restarted

France's sports minister Roxana Maracineanu, who was born in Romania, praised the players' "historic decision". 

It was an unprecedented, unified response by the teams, to what Basaksehir midfielder Giuliano called a "disgraceful" comment from the official. 

"As a team and a group, we decided to protest because that is unacceptable. Racism has to end," Giuliano told Brazilian media. 

The row flared after Webo was shown the red card. 

Television microphones in the empty stadium -- matches are taking place without spectators because of Covid-19 restrictions -- picked up a furious Webo repeatedly asking why a racist term had been used to describe him. 

In the exchange in question between the all-Romanian officiating team, Coltescu said: "The black one over there. This is not possible. Go and identify him. That guy, the black one." 

Basaksehir's Senegalese forward Demba Ba, among the substitutes for the away side, could be heard remonstrating with the official in English, saying: "When you mention a white guy, you never say 'this white guy', you just say 'this guy', so why when you mention a black guy do you say 'this black guy?'" 

Neymar joined other players and the officials in taking a knee before restarting
the game. The Brazilian scored a hat-trick as PSG won 5-1

'Disturbing tipping point' 

The incident drew reaction from around the world, with Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England defender and now a TV pundit, saying on BT Sport in the UK: "I think we are at a disturbing tipping point. Not a week goes by without an incident involving race. 

"The players walking off is a step in the right direction, but it can't just be left to them." 

Ferdinand's brother Anton was involved in a high-profile incident in 2012 when Chelsea player John Terry was accused of racially abusing him during a match in England. 

Many athletes have taken a strong stand against racism since Black Lives Matter protests flared around the world over the death of George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis in May. 

The Turkish champions had refused to restart the game on Tuesday as long as fourth official Coltescu was still involved.

Head of US military school resigns amid 'systemic racism' probe

Yahoo = AFP, October 26, 2020

Virginia Military Institute cadets march during a parade celebrating the
inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC

The superintendent of a top US military academy resigned from his post Monday, after the Virginia governor ordered an investigation into accusations of systemic racism at the school. 

In a letter released by Virginia Military Institute (VMI), retired general JH Binford Peay III said Democratic Governor Ralph Northam had "lost confidence in my leadership" and "desired my resignation." 

Peay, 80, had been the head of one of the oldest military universities in the country for 17 years. 

Since the death of African American George Floyd during an arrest by police in May, the US military -- one of the country's institutions where minorities are most represented -- has opened up a major internal debate on race. 

Black students and graduates of VMI shared on social media incidents where school officials were allegedly indifferent to racist insults from fellow cadets, undeserved punishment, even racist musings of teachers. 

Last month, the magazine The Root published interviews with several black VMI students. One recounted how one teacher fondly mentioned her father, a member of the Ku Klux Klan. 

Another described how first-year cadets are ordered to salute a statue of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a general that fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War, every time they pass by. 

Northam last week ordered a probe into "the clear and appalling culture of ongoing structural racism at the Virginia Military Institute," which receives public funding. 

Black cadets at VMI told The Root they had protested "the glorification of the Confederacy" but said the school's leadership would not acknowledge the racist nature of the institution's culture, instead calling it "tradition."

Pentagon nixes Confederate flag at US military facilities

Yahoo - AFP, July 17, 2020

White supremacists often display the Confederate flag during demonstrations
 as they did at a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 -- it is
now effectively banned at US military installations (AFP Photo/ANDREW
CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

Washington (AFP) - Pentagon chief Mark Esper on Friday effectively banned the display of the Confederate flag at all US military facilities, where the banner -- seen by many as racist -- is frequently displayed in barracks and common areas.

In a message to all US military officials, the Defense Department posted a list of flags authorized to be flown at bases and aboard war ships, in offices and conference halls, and in any spaces operated by the military.

Left off that list was the Confederate battle flag, a red banner with two diagonal blue stripes and 13 white stars symbolizing the southern slave-holding states that seceded from the union or supported the effort during the 1861-1865 American Civil War.

"The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols," Esper wrote in a two-page memorandum.

The carefully worded statement did not specifically mention the Confederate flag, or the racial tensions that have simmered since the killing of unarmed African American George Floyd in police custody in late May.

It appeared crafted in a way to avoid open conflict with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly waded into the debate over the Confederate flag to argue that people who fly it are exercising their freedom of speech.

Since the death of Floyd, the US military -- one of the most racially diverse American institutions -- has conducted a sweeping internal debate on racism.

For years, some soldiers have been fond of displaying Confederate flags in their barracks, claiming the freedom of expression enshrined in the US Constitution.

White southerners often fly the flag as a symbol of their southern heritage and pride, but for most African Americans, it is a potent symbol of slavery, racism and white supremacy.

Members of the Ku Klux Klan, a notorious white supremacist hate group, often flew the flag.

By effectively banning the flag, Esper is differentiating himself from Trump, who addressed the Confederate issue in a CBS interview this week.

"I know people that like the Confederate flag and they're not thinking about slavery," Trump told the network. "With me, it's freedom of speech, very simple."

Esper and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have also spoken out in favor of renaming US military bases currently named for Confederate generals, an idea the president opposes.

UK historian quits Cambridge over slavery claim

Yahoo – AFP, Dmitry ZAKS, July 5, 2020

David Starkey (R) seen here in 2007 with Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales,
has resigned from his position at Cambridge University (AFP Photo/IAN JONES)

London (AFP) - A British royal historian who said slavery was not genocide has quit his honorary position at Cambridge University and been dropped by his publisher HarperCollins.

The comments from Professor David Starkey came during a period of soul searching in Britain over its colonial past.

The Black Lives Matter movement that gained momentum after the death of George Floyd in US police custody in May saw the statue of a major slave trader dumped in an English harbour as protests hit cities across the UK.

Starkey is an expert on Britain's Tudor period -- a time in the 1500s when the slave trade was growing as European colonies across the Caribbean and the Americas expanded.

He said in a June 30 online interview with the right-wing UK commentator Darren Grimes that the BLM movement represented "the worst side of American black culture".

"Slavery was not genocide. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many damn blacks in Africa or in Britain, would there? An awful lot of them survived," Starkey said.

"We had Catholic emancipation at pretty much exactly the same time that we got rid of slavery in the 1830s. We don't go on about that because it's part of history, it's a question that's settled," he added.

The remarks prompted Sajid Javid -- a former finance and interior minister who has talked about how his Pakistani father faced discrimination after coming to Britain -- to call Starkey a racist.

"We are the most successful multi-racial democracy in the world and have much to be proud of," Javid tweeted on Thursday.

"But David Starkey's racist comments ('so many damn blacks') are a reminder of the appalling views that still exist."

Javid's tweet was picked up by British media, and Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam College accepted Starkey's resignation the next day.

'Not engaged enough'

Canterbury Christ Church University in southeastern England also terminated Starkey's contract as a visiting professor.

"His comments are completely unacceptable and totally go against our university and community values," the university said in a tweet.

HarperCollins UK called Starkey's views "abhorrent".

"Our last book with the author was in 2010, and we will not be publishing further books with him," it said.

"We are reviewing his existing backlist in light of his comments and views."

Starkey could not be reached for comment and did not respond to other UK media interview requests.

But the right-wing commentator who conducted the historian's interview disassociated himself from Starkey's remarks.

"Hand on heart, I wasn't engaged enough in this interview as I should have been," Grimes said in a statement.

"I should have robustly questioned Dr Starkey about his comments."

Elite UK school Eton to apologise to ex-pupil for racist abuse

Yahoo – AFP, 23 June 2020

The head of Britain's Eton College said Tuesday he will invite back a black former student to apologise in person for racism he experienced at the top fee-paying school in the 1960s.

England's Eton College has become a byword for elitism and the class divide

Simon Henderson said he wanted Dillibe Onyeama to feel welcome after he was previously banned from visiting Eton for writing a book about the racist abuse he faced there.

"We have made significant strides since Mr Onyeama was at Eton but... we have to have the institutional and personal humility to acknowledge that we still have more to do," Henderson said in a statement.

"We must all speak out and commit to doing better -- permanently -- and I am determined that we seize this moment as a catalyst for real and sustained change for the better.

"I will be inviting Mr Onyeama to meet so as to apologise to him in person, on behalf of the school, and to make clear that he will always be welcome at Eton."

The school's move follows anti-racism protests across Britain, sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during a police arrest in the United States.

The demonstrations have focused renewed attention on racism in Britain, as well as the toxic legacy of its colonial past, including calls for it to be taught in schools.

Nigerian writer Onyeama, who graduated from Eton in 1969, wrote a book about his experiences at the exclusive private boys' school, near Windsor, west of London.

The school has become a byword for elitism and Britain's class divide.

Annual fees cost more than £42,000 ($52,000, 46,000 euros) per year. Old boys include Prime minister Boris Johnson, and princes William and Harry.

Onyeama told the BBC he had been taunted on a daily basis by fellow students, and asked questions like "why are you black?" and "how many maggots are there in your hair?"

When he struggled in academics or flourished in sports, the students attributed it to his race, while when he excelled in exams he was accused of cheating, the broadcaster said.

After detailing his experiences in a 1972 memoir, he received an official letter informing him that he was banned from visiting Eton.

Onyeama said although the apology now was not necessary, it "compels the recognition that prejudice on the grounds of colour or race dehumanises its victims in a way that ordinary forms of prejudice do not".

He added that his overall experience at Eton was "positive".

Henderson said he was "appalled" to learn of the racist abuse Onyeama faced, and his "absolute priority" was to make Eton an "inclusive, compassionate and supportive community for all".

"Racism has no place in civilised society, then or now," he added.

Pompeo says UN vote on race, policing in US is 'hypocrisy'

Yahoo – AFP,June 20, 2020

US top diplomat Mike Pompeo defended recent discussion on race relations in
America as a sign of a healthy democracy; he is pictured April 8, 2020
(AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday a UN Human Rights Council vote condemning racism amounted to hypocrisy.

Pompeo defended the recent discussion on race relations in America as a sign of a healthy democracy, and said the council should focus on what he called systemic racial disparities in member countries such as Cuba and China.

"The council's decision to vote yesterday on a resolution focusing on policing and race in the US marks a new low," Pompeo said in a statement.

The council took the vote after a debate prompted by protests in the US triggered by the death at police hands of African American George Floyd.

However, a specific mention of racism and police brutality in the US was removed.

This sparked outrage from rights groups, which accused Washington and its allies of lobbying heavily to revise the text -- a charge to which the US mission in Geneva declined to respond.

The United States, which had complained of being singled out in the initial text, withdrew from the council in 2018 and was not present on Friday.

In his statement Saturday, titled "On the Hypocrisy of UN Human Rights Council," Pompeo said discussion in the US about race following the death of Floyd "is a sign of our democracy’s strength and maturity."

"If the Council were serious about protecting human rights, there are plenty of legitimate needs for its attention, such as the systemic racial disparities in places like Cuba, China and Iran," he said.

"If the Council were honest, it would recognize the strengths of American democracy and urge authoritarian regimes around the world to model American democracy and to hold their nations to the same high standards of accountability and transparency that we Americans apply to ourselves," Pompeo added.

Reebok slams CrossFit in outrage over CEO's tweet

Yahoo – AFP, June 8, 2020

Reebok said it would end its partnership with CrossFit Inc. once it fulfils its current
contract obligation as the title sponsor for the 2020 CrossFit Games (AFP Photo/
TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

Los Angeles (AFP) - Sports footwear giant Reebok has decided to end its partnership with CrossFit Inc. later this year following an insensitive comment by the fitness organization's chief executive concerning protests against racial injustice roiling the US.

Reebok said Sunday it would make the move once it fulfils its current contract obligation as the title sponsor for the 2020 CrossFit Games.

"Recently, we have been in discussions regarding a new agreement, however, in light of recent events, we have made the decision to end our partnership with CrossFit HQ," Reebok said in a statement Sunday.

CrossFit chief executive Greg Glassman tweeted, "It's FLOYD-19" on Saturday after the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation classified racism and discrimination as a public health issue.

Human rights groups expressed outrage at the tweet, calling it insensitive to the current events and the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Floyd was killed when officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while three other officers have been charged with abetting murder and manslaughter.

Reebok and CrossFit previously signed a deal that named the athletic footwear company as the title sponsor for the CrossFit Games.

Other affiliates like CrossFit Magnus also decided to cut ties with the Washington, DC-based global fitness organization.

"After eight years as a CrossFit affiliate we are ending our affiliation," CrossFit Magnus spokesman Nick Hurndon wrote in a social media post.

"We will no longer continue to 'carry your water,' as it is antithetical to anything we stand for and only serves the continuation of systemic racism."

CrossFit has over 13,000 gyms in more than 120 countries and generates some US$4 billion in annual revenues.

Europeans join global wave of anti-racism protests

Yahoo – AFP, by Patrick Rahir with Alexandria Sage in Rome, 7 June 2020

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the US embassy in Madrid

Calling for racial justice, protesters rallied across Europe Sunday, joining a wave of demonstrations sparked by the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of US police.

A video of the incident with Floyd pleading for his life in Minneapolis as a white police officer knelt on his neck has sparked angry protests worldwide, even as countries continue to discourage large gatherings to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

Several thousand people massed outside the US embassy in Madrid, shouting "I cannot breathe", Floyd's last words, and demanding justice.

"Racism knows no borders," said Leinisa Seemdo, a 26-year-old Spanish translator from Cape Verde. "In all the countries where I have lived, I have experienced discrimination because of the colour of my skin."

Main protests over the death of George Floyd in selected cities worldwide, as of June 7

Rome's Piazza del Popolo ("People's Plaza") fell silent for eight minutes -- roughly the time Floyd was pinned down by the policeman -- with thousands of people taking a knee in memory of Floyd, their fists in the air.

"We can't breathe," shouted the crowd, after the collective silence.

"It's really hard to live here," said Senegalese migrant Morikeba Samate, 32, one of the thousands to have arrived in Italy after risking the perilous crossing across the Mediterranean.

Opposition to that wave of migration buoyed the far-right in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

Floyd's death last month has unleashed the most serious and widespread civil unrest in the United States since Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.

Protesters raised their fists and held eight minutes' silence in a protest in Rome

The police officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder while three fellow officers face lesser charges.

'No Justice, No Peace'

More than 1,000 people on Sunday also gathered at a Black Lives Matter protest near the US embassy in Budapest.

"We have come together to stand up against racism," Hungarian reggae singer G Ras told cheering protesters. "If we want to live in a better world, we need to radically change the way we live."

Almost 4,000 attended two similar events in the Netherlands.

Protesters carried placards and plays drums during a rally in solidarity with 

the "Black Lives Matter" movement in Rome

Another rally took place in London on Sunday despite a coronavirus ban against large gatherings, following scuffles Saturday during an otherwise peaceful protest.

In Bristol, a city linked to the slave trade, the statue of trader Edward Colston was torn down Sunday and thrown into the harbour.

In Lausanne, Switzerland, a black-clad demonstrator's placard read "my colour is not a threat", while almost 10,000 people marched in Brussels, police said.

"The murder of George Floyd had clearly woken up a lot of people," commented Ange Kaze of the Belgian Network for Black Lives.

As well as Rome, other demonstrations were planned during the day in Copenhagen, 

Brussels, Glasgow and London

A few skirmishes broke out at the end of the Brussels rally, but a demonstration by 15,000 in Copenhagen ended peacefully.

Fighting was also reported however at the end of a protest in Goteborg, Sweden, were almost 2,000 people turned out for a march authorised for just 50 owing to coronavirus restrictions.

As countries begin to emerge from lockdowns, governments are struggling to balance people's need to express anger against the risk of protests spreading a disease that has killed nearly 400,000 worldwide.

Demonstrators have rallied in Australia in support of the US protests

In France, more than 23,000 people demonstrated on Saturday, and football players from a half dozen German teams knelt over the weekend in Floyd's memory.

His death occured during a pandemic that has disproportionately affected black people and ethnic minorities in mega cities such as London, New York and Rio de Janeiro.

The historic economic recession triggered by virus lockdowns has hammered the poor and marginalised even more.

A combination of economic woes, social tensions and anger at US President Donald Trump's response has refocused attention on racial divides like few other events since the 1960s.

Calling for racial justice, protesters rallied across Europe Sunday, joining a wave
of demonstrations sparked by the death of African American George Floyd at the
hands of US police

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the US embassy in Madrid

Main protests over the death of George Floyd in selected cities worldwide, as of June 7

Protesters raised their fists and held eight minutes' silence in a protest in Rome

Protesters carried placards and plays drums during a rally in solidarity with the "Black Lives Matter" movement in Rome

As well as Rome, other demonstrations were planned during the day in Copenhagen, Brussels, Glasgow and London

Demonstrators have rallied in Australia in support of the US protests.

Defiant Australians protest racial injustice despite warnings

Yahoo – AFP, Andrew LEESON, June 6, 2020

Marchers defied government warnings about coronavirus to rally in Sydney
(AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

Tens of thousands of Australians defied government calls to stay at home Saturday by spilling onto the streets for Black Lives Matter protests in major towns and cities across the country.

Marchers in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere rejected arguments from law enforcement and conservative leaders that mass protests could fuel the spread of coronavirus.

A court on Friday declared the Sydney protest illegal on health grounds, although the ruling was overturned by an appeals court minutes before the march was due to start.

"The fact that they have tried to push us all back and stop the protest, it makes people want to do it even more," said Jumikah Donovan, one of thousands who turned up thinking the ban was still in place.

The Sydney march of at least 20,000 was largely peaceful but as night fell a smaller group of a few hundred protesters faced-off with police over two hours.

Protesters were also out in force in Brisbane (AFP Photo/Patrick HAMILTON)

A large number of police eventually forced them into a nearby railway station where a tense stand-off ended with police using pepper spray on the crowd.

Police confirmed only three arrests during the rally.

Demonstrators brandished signs that read "I can't breathe", a nod to the last words of African-American man George Floyd, whose death while being arrested has sparked civil rights protests around the world.

Another read: "Same story, different soil."

The movement has resonated strongly with many in Australia -- a country also wrestling with the legacy of a racist past.

Organisers said they hoped to draw attention to high imprisonment rates among Aboriginal Australians and the large number of deaths in custody of indigenous people -- more than 400 in the last three decades.

Many protesters wore face masks, brought hand sanitiser and tried to social 

distance (AFP Photo/Patrick HAMILTON)

No prosecutions have been brought despite dozens of investigations, inquests and in some cases video evidence of abuse.

'Voice for change'

Many of the protesters wore face masks, brought hand sanitiser and tried to social distance as best they could.

"There are things in the world that need to be addressed," said Fay Goli. "If a majority can stand together there will be a stronger voice for change."

Australia has seen a sustained drop in the number of COVID-19 cases, but social distancing rules remain in force and mass gatherings are not permitted.

"Police are prepared for anybody that wants to just flout the law," New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott told media before the rallies.

(AFP Photo/Andrew LEESON)

Protesters in Melbourne were warned they could face fines for attending a rally if social distancing was not observed, although police appeared not to be enforcing those rules.

The day before the protests Prime Minister Scott Morrison had urged people to stay home.

"Let's find a better way and another way to express these sentiments rather than putting your own health at risk," Morrison said.

He admitted there was more to be done to address indigenous inequality, but rejected parallels with the United States.

"Let's deal with this as Australians and not appropriate what's happening in other countries to our country at this time," he said.