france24--2020-06-04--Iran marks record surge in new Covid-19 cases, steps up health campaign

Iranians , some wearing face masks , walk in the capital Tehran on June 3 , 2020 .
The spread of the novel coronavirus has accelerated again this month in Iran , with over 3,000 confirmed new cases for a third consecutive day .
Iran announced 3,574 new coronavirus infections Thursday , its highest daily count since the outbreak began in February .
It was the fourth straight day that the daily caseload had topped 3,000 .
The previous high was 3,186 , recorded on March 30 , at the height of the initial outbreak .
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases might be the result of wider testing rather than a second wave of infection .
He said that Iran had now conducted more than a million tests .
But the health ministry has been taking no chances and has stepped up a public health campaign in recent days reminding people to protect themselves and observe social distancing .
The ministry spokesman said 59 people had died of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours , taking Iran 's overall official toll to 8,071 .
A total of 164,270 people have tested positive for @ @ @

Iran announced 3,574 new coronavirus infections Thursday, its highest daily count since the outbreak began in February.
Iranians, some wearing face masks, walk in the capital Tehran on June 3, 2020. The spread of the novel coronavirus has accelerated again this month in Iran, with over 3,000 confirmed new cases for a third consecutive day.
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It was the fourth straight day that the daily caseload had topped 3,000. The previous high was 3,186, recorded on March 30, at the height of the initial outbreak.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said that the surge in new cases might be the result of wider testing rather than a second wave of infection.
He said that Iran had now conducted more than a million tests.
But the health ministry has been taking no chances and has stepped up a public health campaign in recent days reminding people to protect themselves and observe social distancing.
The ministry spokesman said 59 people had died of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, taking Iran's overall official toll to 8,071.
A total of 164,270 people have tested positive for the virus.
(AFP)
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france24--2020-06-04--Slavery and racial segregation: Historical context to the George Floyd protests

Last August , the United States marked 400 years since the first Africans arrived in the Americas as slaves .
@ @ @ @ @ followed by a century of Jim Crow laws perpetuating racial segregation left an indelible mark @ @ @ @ @ 24 ’ s Erin Ogunkeye places the killing of George Floyd within a wider historical @ @ @ @ @ segregation in the United States .
Click on the viewer above to watch the video @

Last August, the United States marked 400 years since the first Africans arrived in the Americas as slaves. But 264 years of slavery followed by a century of Jim Crow laws perpetuating racial segregation left an indelible mark on US civilization.
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FRANCE 24’s Erin Ogunkeye places the killing of George Floyd within a wider historical context of racial oppression and segregation in the United States.
Click on the viewer above to watch the video.
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france24--2020-06-04--Madeleine McCann presumed dead, German prosecutor says

Kate McCann , whose daughter Madeleine went missing during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007 , attends a news conference at the launch of her book in London , on May 12 , 2011 .
Madeleine McCann , the British girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007 aged just three , is assumed to be dead and an imprisoned German child abuser is the murder suspect , a German prosecutor said on Thursday .
McCann vanished from her bedroom on May 3 during a family vacation in the Algarve while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disappearance sparked an international search , with missing posters of the little girl 's face papered across the world and celebrity appeals for information that could help track her down and bring her abductors to justice .
`` We assume that the girl is dead , '' Braunschweig state prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said .
`` The public prosecutor 's office in Braunschweig is investigating a 43-year-old German national on suspicion of murder . ''
German police said on Wednesday the suspect , who had lived near Praia da Luz , had made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a break-in of the apartment where she was sleeping .
They were treating the case as suspected murder .
No body has ever been found .
But the German statements that the young girl was assumed dead were the most authoritative thus far on her fate .
Family and supporters had always held out the hope that she might still be alive somewhere .
McCann 's parents said they wanted to find peace but that the German suspect was potentially very significant .
`` All we have ever wanted is to find her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsible to justice , '' her parents , Kate and Gerry , said in a statement issued before the German prosecutor spoke .
`` We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be , we need to know as we need to find peace . ''
Prosecutor Wolters said the suspect was a sex offender with multiple convictions , including for sexual abuse of children .
The suspect , who was not publicly named , lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007 and worked in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holiday flats as well as trading drugs , German police said .
He is currently in detention over a different matter .
British and German police appealed for information about the man - who lived in Braunschweig , northern Germany , before moving abroad - and released photographs of vehicles - a Volkswagen camper van and a Jaguar - which he used at the time .
Police said they wanted to speak to a thus-far unidentified second person who spoke with the German suspect from a Portuguese phone number on May 3 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disappearance .

Madeleine McCann, the British girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007 aged just three, is assumed to be dead and an imprisoned German child abuser is the murder suspect, a German prosecutor said on Thursday.
Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007, attends a news conference at the launch of her book in London, on May 12, 2011.
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McCann vanished from her bedroom on May 3 during a family vacation in the Algarve while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the resort of Praia da Luz.
Her disappearance sparked an international search, with missing posters of the little girl's face papered across the world and celebrity appeals for information that could help track her down and bring her abductors to justice.
"We assume that the girl is dead," Braunschweig state prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said. "The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig is investigating a 43-year-old German national on suspicion of murder."
German police said on Wednesday the suspect, who had lived near Praia da Luz, had made a spontaneous decision to kill McCann during a break-in of the apartment where she was sleeping. They were treating the case as suspected murder.
No body has ever been found. But the German statements that the young girl was assumed dead were the most authoritative thus far on her fate. Family and supporters had always held out the hope that she might still be alive somewhere.
McCann's parents said they wanted to find peace but that the German suspect was potentially very significant.
"All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice," her parents, Kate and Gerry, said in a statement issued before the German prosecutor spoke.
"We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace."
Drugs and burglary
Prosecutor Wolters said the suspect was a sex offender with multiple convictions, including for sexual abuse of children.
The suspect, who was not publicly named, lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007 and worked in the catering industry, burgled hotels and holiday flats as well as trading drugs, German police said. He is currently in detention over a different matter.
British and German police appealed for information about the man - who lived in Braunschweig, northern Germany, before moving abroad - and released photographs of vehicles - a Volkswagen camper van and a Jaguar - which he used at the time.
British police said the case remains a missing person inquiry.
Police said they wanted to speak to a thus-far unidentified second person who spoke with the German suspect from a Portuguese phone number on May 3, 2007 at the time of McCann's disappearance.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-06-04--Libya’s unity government claims full control of capital, Tripoli

Fighters loyal to Libya 's internationally recognised government flash a victory sign after regaining control over the capital , Tripoli , on June 4 , 2020 .
Libya ’ s UN-recognised unity government said Thursday that it was back in full control of the capital and its suburbs after more than a year of fighting off an offensive by eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar .
“ Our heroic forces have full control of Greater Tripoli right up to the city limits , ” Mohamad Gnounou , spokesman for the forces of the Government of National Accord ( GNA ) , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came after GNA forces retook the capital 's civilian airport on Wednesday , more than a year after losing it in Haftar 's initial drive on the capital .
The airport , in Tripoli ’ s southern outskirts , had been disused since 2014 when it was heavily damaged in fighting between rival militias .
“ Our forces are continuing their advance , chasing the terrorist militias from the walls of Tripoli , ” said the GNA 's deputy defence minister Salah Namrush .
“ Some of their commanders are fleeing towards Bani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 170 kilometres ( 110 miles ) southeast of the capital , he added on Facebook .
Footage of GNA troops manning positions held until recently by Haftar 's fighters was widely circulated on Libyan television channels and social media .
The fighting for the capital had killed hundreds and forced around 200,000 people to flee .
GNA forces , boosted by Turkish drones and air defences , have made a string of gains from Haftar 's forces in recent months .
Haftar is supported by neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has urged outside powers to respect a deal reached at a January conference in Berlin , ending foreign meddling and upholding a much-violated arms embargo .
While a January truce brokered by Turkey and Russia has been repeatedly violated , the UN said talks on a ceasefire resumed Wednesday , welcoming it as a “ positive ” first step .
The interim UN envoy , Stephanie Williams , met with a five-member delegation representing Haftar 's forces , UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said , adding that a meeting with the GNA will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi plunged Libya into years of chaos , with two rival administrations and scores of militias struggling for power .

Libya’s UN-recognised unity government said Thursday that it was back in full control of the capital and its suburbs after more than a year of fighting off an offensive by eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Fighters loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government flash a victory sign after regaining control over the capital, Tripoli, on June 4, 2020.
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“Our heroic forces have full control of Greater Tripoli right up to the city limits,” Mohamad Gnounou, spokesman for the forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA), said in a Facebook post.
The announcement came after GNA forces retook the capital's civilian airport on Wednesday, more than a year after losing it in Haftar's initial drive on the capital.
The airport, in Tripoli’s southern outskirts, had been disused since 2014 when it was heavily damaged in fighting between rival militias.
“Our forces are continuing their advance, chasing the terrorist militias from the walls of Tripoli,” said the GNA's deputy defence minister Salah Namrush.
“Some of their commanders are fleeing towards Bani Walid airport,” in the interior 170 kilometres (110 miles) southeast of the capital, he added on Facebook.
Footage of GNA troops manning positions held until recently by Haftar's fighters was widely circulated on Libyan television channels and social media.
Ceasefire talks resume
The fighting for the capital had killed hundreds and forced around 200,000 people to flee.
GNA forces, boosted by Turkish drones and air defences, have made a string of gains from Haftar's forces in recent months.
Haftar is supported by neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as well as Russia.
The United Nations has urged outside powers to respect a deal reached at a January conference in Berlin, ending foreign meddling and upholding a much-violated arms embargo.
While a January truce brokered by Turkey and Russia has been repeatedly violated, the UN said talks on a ceasefire resumed Wednesday, welcoming it as a “positive” first step.
The interim UN envoy, Stephanie Williams, met with a five-member delegation representing Haftar's forces, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that a meeting with the GNA will be held within the coming days.
The 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi plunged Libya into years of chaos, with two rival administrations and scores of militias struggling for power.
(AFP)
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france24--2020-06-05--Covid-19 pandemic 'under control' in France, government adviser says

The Covid-19 pandemic is now `` under control '' in France , the head of the government 's scientific advisory council said Friday , as the country cautiously lifts a lockdown imposed in March .
`` We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control , '' Jean-François Delfraissy told France Inter radio .
`` The virus is still circulating , in certain regions in particular ... but it is circulating slowly , '' he added .
Delfraissy , an immunologist , and his colleagues were appointed to the coronavirus advisory panel as authorities sought to contain an outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ France .
The number of daily deaths has fallen off , however , with just 44 reported by the health ministry on Thursday .
Delfraissy said around 1,000 new cases were currently being reported in France per day , down from around 80,000 in early March , before the nationwide stay-at-home orders and business closures were issued .
In its latest summary of findings published Thursday , the Santé Publique France health agency estimated that the country had 151,325 confirmed Covid-19 cases as of June 2 , when restaurants across France were allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the height of the outbreak , patients with suspected coronavirus infections were not systematically tested , meaning the actual number of cases exceeds the official estimate .

The Covid-19 pandemic is now "under control" in France, the head of the government's scientific advisory council said Friday, as the country cautiously lifts a lockdown imposed in March.
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"We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control," Jean-François Delfraissy told France Inter radio.
"The virus is still circulating, in certain regions in particular... but it is circulating slowly," he added.
Delfraissy, an immunologist, and his colleagues were appointed to the coronavirus advisory panel as authorities sought to contain an outbreak that has killed over 29,000 people in France.
The number of daily deaths has fallen off, however, with just 44 reported by the health ministry on Thursday.
Delfraissy said around 1,000 new cases were currently being reported in France per day, down from around 80,000 in early March, before the nationwide stay-at-home orders and business closures were issued.
In its latest summary of findings published Thursday, the Santé Publique France health agency estimated that the country had 151,325 confirmed Covid-19 cases as of June 2, when restaurants across France were allowed to reopen.
But it cautioned that at the height of the outbreak, patients with suspected coronavirus infections were not systematically tested, meaning the actual number of cases exceeds the official estimate.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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france24--2020-06-05--A continent in fragments: Europe mulls re-opening borders after Covid-19

Passengers wearing protective face masks are seen at Heathrow Airport , amid the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19 ) outbreak in London on May 22 , 2020 .
As coronavirus pandemic fears subside , European countries have begun reopening borders shut to protect their nationals at the height of the outbreak .
But their decisions are a study in contrasts .
To open or not to open ?
As the European Union gradually emerges from Covid-19 lockdowns , the scattered re-opening of borders within the Schengen Area , where free movement generally reigns , foreshadows a difficult return to normal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ framework for such reopenings .
`` It is up to each member state to decide to close its own borders , but they must do so within the framework of the Schengen Code , '' European law professor Alberto Alemanno tells FRANCE 24 .
`` There are certain criteria to respect and these measures must be justified and proportionate , '' Alemanno explains .
He notes `` discrimination '' towards nationals of certain countries , constrained to submit to quarantines and border checks .
That the situations vary so widely between different EU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the part of European institutions , says Alemanno .
`` It is true that the European Commission tried to coordonate the introduction as well as the lifting of these measures .
But it has not succeeded , '' he says .
EU interior ministers are slated to discuss the reopening of borders by videoconference on Friday .
In the meantime , FRANCE 24 takes a look at border openings , closures and quarantines across the continent .
Italy is something of an exception in the Schengen Area .
On Wednesday , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to European tourists .
`` After weeks of enormous sacrifices , there is enthusiasm in the air , social life discovered , '' said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte .
The stakes are high for Italy .
Facing its deepest recession since World War II , the country urgently needs tourism to pick up .
Rome as a result has lobbied fellow EU members to re-establish free movement on European soil .
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio met with French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday in the Italian capital appealing for `` reciprocity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of borders .
Such appeals have fallen on deaf ears in Switzerland and Austria .
Fearing a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic , they have kept their borders with Italy shut , to Rome 's dismay .
`` We were the first to be hit by the pandemic and today our data are more reassuring than those of many other countries , '' Di Maio said at a press conference alongside Le Drian .
Di Maio said he and his Austrian counterpart had agreed their countries ' health ministries would examine epidemiological data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ensure that between today and June 15 , all these things which may be in contradiction to the spirit of Europe can be resolved , '' the Italian minister said .
Some countries are looking to adopt a strategy closer to Italy 's , but on a later calendar .
Belgian PM Sophie Wilmès announced Wednesday that her country would reopen its borders to and from EU members , the United Kingdom as well as four other countries in the Schengen Area , namely Switzerland , Norway , Iceland and Liechtenstein , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however ... to the conditions imposed [ in each country ] , '' Wilmès told her compatriots , inviting travellers to inform themselves on rules in their destination countries before they go .
Belgium 's government remains confident , however .
Interior Minister Pieter de Crem on Wednesday said he was counting on the `` reciprocity '' principle between countries .
Within the 26-country Schengen Area , De Crem said , there are `` some are still reticent , but most countries should be in agreement to open their borders around June 15 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he is `` in favour '' of Europe 's internal borders reopening from June 15 .
He suggested the possible absence of any quarantine period for travellers arriving in France , unless their own countries were imposing one on French travellers , in which case Paris would apply a principle of `` reciprocity '' , he said .
Greece , open to tourists from Europe and beyond from June 15 Keen to relaunch its tourism industry , Greece is already preparing for arrivals .
The country has authorised its two main airports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ welcome visitors from 29 countries from June 15 .
The list is largely made up of EU members , Greece 's top customers , including France , Spain , Italy and the UK .
European tourists pining for a Spanish holiday will have to wait until July 1 .
The country will reopen its borders with France and Portugal then – and not on June 22 as the Spanish minister for tourism had indicated previously .
Several countries have chosen to open their borders to just a selection of nationals , sparking controversy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is mooting setting up `` air bridges '' with select countries , which would exempt their nationals from the UK 's quarantine rules upon arrival .
Austria is another example of partial reopening .
It ceased systematic controls at its land borders on Thursday , except at its frontier with Italy .
Travellers from Germany , Liechstenstein , Switzerland , Slovakia , Slovenia , the Czech Republic and Hungary are no longer required to observe a quarantine period or present a negative Covid-19 test .
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said Austria would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation , but intends to reevaluate the matter next week .
The Dutch government announced Wednesday it was relaxing travel warnings for a number of European countries .
The Netherlands is no longer discouraging non-essential travel to 12 countries , including Germany , Belgium and Italy .
It will , however , continue to discourage such journeys after June 15 to the UK and Sweden , where health risks remain `` higher '' , the Dutch government said .
Germany , for its part , decided Wednesday that it would lift travel warnings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When will the EU 's external borders reopen ?
The European Union 's external frontier remains closed until further notice .
But the issue should soon be on the table .
`` We should , around June 15 , know what we 're going to do about our external borders , '' France 's Le Drian said , calling for `` necessary coordination '' between EU members on the matter .
This article has been translated from the original in French .

As coronavirus pandemic fears subside, European countries have begun reopening borders shut to protect their nationals at the height of the outbreak. But their decisions are a study in contrasts. To open or not to open?
Passengers wearing protective face masks are seen at Heathrow Airport, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in London on May 22, 2020.
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As the European Union gradually emerges from Covid-19 lockdowns, the scattered re-opening of borders within the Schengen Area, where free movement generally reigns, foreshadows a difficult return to normal.
And yet European legislation does provide a framework for such reopenings. "It is up to each member state to decide to close its own borders, but they must do so within the framework of the Schengen Code," European law professor Alberto Alemanno tells FRANCE 24.
"There are certain criteria to respect and these measures must be justified and proportionate," Alemanno explains. He notes "discrimination" towards nationals of certain countries, constrained to submit to quarantines and border checks.
That the situations vary so widely between different EU member states reflects a lack of harmonisation on the part of European institutions, says Alemanno. "It is true that the European Commission tried to coordonate the introduction as well as the lifting of these measures. But it has not succeeded," he says.
The EU will only open its internal borders by the end of June and begin lifting restrictions on travel to and from other countries in July, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced on Friday.
Most EU governments would lift internal border controls by June 15, Johansson added, but some would take until the end of the month to do so.
In the meantime, FRANCE 24 takes a look at border openings, closures and quarantines across the continent.
Italy, European tourists welcomed with open arms
Italy is something of an exception in the Schengen Area. On Wednesday, it took the plunge in opening its borders to European tourists. "After weeks of enormous sacrifices, there is enthusiasm in the air, social life discovered," said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The stakes are high for Italy. Facing its deepest recession since World War II, the country urgently needs tourism to pick up.
Rome as a result has lobbied fellow EU members to re-establish free movement on European soil. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio met with French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday in the Italian capital appealing for "reciprocity" from European partners on the reopening of borders.
01:47
Such appeals have fallen on deaf ears in Switzerland and Austria. Fearing a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic, they have kept their borders with Italy shut, to Rome's dismay.
"We were the first to be hit by the pandemic and today our data are more reassuring than those of many other countries," Di Maio said at a press conference alongside Le Drian.
Di Maio said he and his Austrian counterpart had agreed their countries' health ministries would examine epidemiological data from Italy.
"We will work to ensure that between today and June 15, all these things which may be in contradiction to the spirit of Europe can be resolved," the Italian minister said.
Belgium poised for a large-scale reopening
Some countries are looking to adopt a strategy closer to Italy's, but on a later calendar. Belgian PM Sophie Wilmès announced Wednesday that her country would reopen its borders to and from EU members, the United Kingdom as well as four other countries in the Schengen Area, namely Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, from June 15.
"Be attentive however... to the conditions imposed [in each country]," Wilmès told her compatriots, inviting travellers to inform themselves on rules in their destination countries before they go.
Belgium's government remains confident, however. Interior Minister Pieter de Crem on Wednesday said he was counting on the "reciprocity" principle between countries. Within the 26-country Schengen Area, De Crem said, there are "some are still reticent, but most countries should be in agreement to open their borders around June 15".
France favourable to a June 15 reopening
French PM Édouard Philippe has said he is "in favour" of Europe's internal borders reopening from June 15. He suggested the possible absence of any quarantine period for travellers arriving in France, unless their own countries were imposing one on French travellers, in which case Paris would apply a principle of "reciprocity", he said.
Greece, open to tourists from Europe and beyond from June 15
Keen to relaunch its tourism industry, Greece is already preparing for arrivals. The country has authorised its two main airports, in Athens and Thessaloniki, to welcome visitors from 29 countries from June 15. The list is largely made up of EU members, Greece's top customers, including France, Spain, Italy and the UK.
Spain, a longer wait
European tourists pining for a Spanish holiday will have to wait until July 1. The country will reopen its borders with France and Portugal then – and not on June 22 as the Spanish minister for tourism had indicated previously.
Some partial reopenings
Several countries have chosen to open their borders to just a selection of nationals, sparking controversy.
The British government, for one, is mooting setting up "air bridges" with select countries, which would exempt their nationals from the UK's quarantine rules upon arrival.
Austria is another example of partial reopening. It ceased systematic controls at its land borders on Thursday, except at its frontier with Italy. Travellers from Germany, Liechstenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary are no longer required to observe a quarantine period or present a negative Covid-19 test.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said Austria would maintain restrictions for Italy given the epidemic situation, but intends to reevaluate the matter next week.
The Dutch government announced Wednesday it was relaxing travel warnings for a number of European countries. The Netherlands is no longer discouraging non-essential travel to 12 countries, including Germany, Belgium and Italy.
It will, however, continue to discourage such journeys after June 15 to the UK and Sweden, where health risks remain "higher", the Dutch government said.
Germany, for its part, decided Wednesday that it would lift travel warnings on tourism in Europe starting June 15.
When will the EU's external borders reopen?
The European Union's external frontier remains closed until further notice. But the issue should soon be on the table. "We should, around June 15, know what we're going to do about our external borders," France's Le Drian said, calling for "necessary coordination" between EU members on the matter.
This article has been translated from the original in French.
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france24--2020-06-05--The Lancet pulls study flagging hydroxychloroquine risks

The Lancet on Thursday retracted a study that raised safety fears over the use of a drug favored by President Donald Trump to treat COVID-19 , after the paper 's authors said they could no longer vouch for its underlying data .
It was soon followed by the withdrawal of another coronavirus paper in the New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM ) that was not linked to hydroxychloroquine but relied upon the same healthcare company 's patient database .
The unfolding research scandal threatens to undermine confidence in two of the world 's top medical journals in the midst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the retraction of The Lancet study that may supercharge what has become a highly politicized debate about hydroxychloroquine , an old malaria and rheumatoid arthritis drug now backed by many US conservatives against the SARS-CoV-2 virus .
In their paper published on May 22 , the authors claimed to have retrospectively analyzed some 96,000 patient records , finding that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine , a related compound , were ineffective against COVID-19 and even increased the risk of death .
Heart arrhythmia was flagged as a particular concern .
This finding led the World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the medicines , though the paper soon triggered widespread concern among scientists over a lack of information about the countries and hospitals that contributed data .
Mandeep Mehra , a professor at Harvard University who led the work , along with Frank Ruschitzka of the University Hospital Zurich and Amit Patel of the University of Utah , said in a statement Thursday they had tried to launch a third-party peer review .
But Surgisphere , a little-known healthcare analytics firm based in Chicago that provided the data , refused to cooperate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the authors request that the paper be retracted , '' the three said .
`` We deeply apologize to you , the editors , and the journal readership for any embarrassment or inconvenience that this may have caused . ''
The Lancet , a British journal , offered its own statement , saying , `` There are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study . ''
Vascular surgeon Sapan Desai , Surgisphere 's chief executive and the paper 's other author , did not join @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AFP .
Despite the finding apparently vindicating hydroxychloroquine 's safety , there is not yet any proof from a randomized clinical trial ( RCT ) that the medicine is effective against COVID-19 .
One such trial that was published Wednesday found the drug was not significantly better than a placebo in preventing the disease among people who had been recently exposed to the virus .
But scientists broadly agree that more RCTs -- considered the gold standard for clinical investigation -- are needed , and hydroxychloroquine should not be discounted yet .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigated whether people who take commonly used blood pressure medicines became more or less likely to get COVID-19 .
It was released on the same day as two other studies investigating the same topic , with all three finding that these medicines do not heighten susceptibility to infection , nor increase the risk of becoming seriously ill. No questions have been raised about the integrity of the other two papers .
In their retraction statement , the NEJM paper 's authors also wrote that the data was not made available to a third-party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Lancet paper shortly after its publication , highlighting numerous red flags ranging from the huge number of patients to the unusually complete information on their demographics .
Internet sleuthing by the Guardian revealed that Surgisphere had a scant online presence , with only a handful of staff listed on LinkedIn including a science fiction author and an adult model .
The firm was involved in yet another attention-grabbing study that found the anti-parasite drug ivermectin could be useful against COVID-19 .
Though this paper had not been peer-reviewed or appeared in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the drug in Latin America where it is widely available .
While Desai and Surgisphere have been the focus of most scrutiny , the lead author of all of these papers was Mehra , who is also the medical director at Brigham and Women 's Hospital ( BWH ) Heart and Vascular Center in Boston .
The lead author is considered responsible for performing due diligence on data and vouching for its integrity .
Chris Chambers , a professor of psychology at Cardiff University , added the affair `` raises serious questions about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and NEJM -- ostensibly two of the world 's most prestigious medical journals . ''

The Lancet on Thursday retracted a study that raised safety fears over the use of a drug favored by President Donald Trump to treat COVID-19, after the paper's authors said they could no longer vouch for its underlying data.
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It was soon followed by the withdrawal of another coronavirus paper in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that was not linked to hydroxychloroquine but relied upon the same healthcare company's patient database.
The unfolding research scandal threatens to undermine confidence in two of the world's top medical journals in the midst of a pandemic.
But it is the retraction of The Lancet study that may supercharge what has become a highly politicized debate about hydroxychloroquine, an old malaria and rheumatoid arthritis drug now backed by many US conservatives against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In their paper published on May 22, the authors claimed to have retrospectively analyzed some 96,000 patient records, finding that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, a related compound, were ineffective against COVID-19 and even increased the risk of death.
Heart arrhythmia was flagged as a particular concern.
This finding led the World Health Organization to temporarily suspend clinical trials into the medicines, though the paper soon triggered widespread concern among scientists over a lack of information about the countries and hospitals that contributed data.
Mandeep Mehra, a professor at Harvard University who led the work, along with Frank Ruschitzka of the University Hospital Zurich and Amit Patel of the University of Utah, said in a statement Thursday they had tried to launch a third-party peer review.
But Surgisphere, a little-known healthcare analytics firm based in Chicago that provided the data, refused to cooperate.
"Due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted," the three said.
"We deeply apologize to you, the editors, and the journal readership for any embarrassment or inconvenience that this may have caused."
The Lancet, a British journal, offered its own statement, saying, "There are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study."
Vascular surgeon Sapan Desai, Surgisphere's chief executive and the paper's other author, did not join the retraction and declined to comment to AFP.
Despite the finding apparently vindicating hydroxychloroquine's safety, there is not yet any proof from a randomized clinical trial (RCT) that the medicine is effective against COVID-19.
One such trial that was published Wednesday found the drug was not significantly better than a placebo in preventing the disease among people who had been recently exposed to the virus.
But scientists broadly agree that more RCTs -- considered the gold standard for clinical investigation -- are needed, and hydroxychloroquine should not be discounted yet.
Research scandal
The paper in the NEJM, meanwhile, investigated whether people who take commonly used blood pressure medicines became more or less likely to get COVID-19.
It was released on the same day as two other studies investigating the same topic, with all three finding that these medicines do not heighten susceptibility to infection, nor increase the risk of becoming seriously ill.
No questions have been raised about the integrity of the other two papers.
In their retraction statement, the NEJM paper's authors also wrote that the data was not made available to a third-party auditor.
Sci-fi author and adult model
Researchers began to closely scrutinize The Lancet paper shortly after its publication, highlighting numerous red flags ranging from the huge number of patients to the unusually complete information on their demographics.
Internet sleuthing by the Guardian revealed that Surgisphere had a scant online presence, with only a handful of staff listed on LinkedIn including a science fiction author and an adult model.
The firm was involved in yet another attention-grabbing study that found the anti-parasite drug ivermectin could be useful against COVID-19.
Though this paper had not been peer-reviewed or appeared in a journal, it caused a run on the drug in Latin America where it is widely available.
While Desai and Surgisphere have been the focus of most scrutiny, the lead author of all of these papers was Mehra, who is also the medical director at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Heart and Vascular Center in Boston.
The lead author is considered responsible for performing due diligence on data and vouching for its integrity.
Chris Chambers, a professor of psychology at Cardiff University, added the affair "raises serious questions about the standard of editing at the Lancet and NEJM -- ostensibly two of the world's most prestigious medical journals."
(AFP)
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france24--2020-06-05--France denies harbouring Venezuelan opposition leader Guaido in Caracas

Venezuela 's National Assembly President and opposition leader Juan Guaido , who many nations have recognised as the country 's @ @ @ @ @ as he speaks during a demonstration in Caracas , Venezuela March 10 , 2020 .
@ @ @ @ @ Friday denied reports that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido was at the French Embassy in @ @ @ @ @ the South American country 's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Thursday .
The allegations came @ @ @ @ @ Maduro hinted that his rival was `` in hiding '' at a diplomatic location .
@ @ @ @ @ the premises of any country 's embassy whatsoever , in this case Spain or France @ @ @ @ @ adding that that meant an arrest by force `` is not possible . ''
He @ @ @ @ @ about the presence of Leopoldo Lopez , another leading opposition figure , at the Spanish @ @ @ @ @ about Guaido at the French Embassy .

The French foreign ministry on Friday denied reports that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido was at the French Embassy in Caracas, as claimed by the South American country's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Thursday.
Venezuela's National Assembly President and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognised as the country's rightful interim ruler, gestures as he speaks during a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela March 10, 2020.
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The allegations came three days after President Nicolas Maduro hinted that his rival was "in hiding" at a diplomatic location.
"We cannot enter the premises of any country's embassy whatsoever, in this case Spain or France," Arreaza said, adding that that meant an arrest by force "is not possible."
He made the comments when asked about the presence of Leopoldo Lopez, another leading opposition figure, at the Spanish ambassador's residence, and about Guaido at the French Embassy.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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france24--2020-06-05--Brazil overtakes Italy as country with third-highest Covid-19 death toll

Gravediggers wearing protective suits bury the coffin of 48-years-old Jose Soares , who died from the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19 ) , as one of them places a cross at Sao Luiz cemetery , in Sao Paulo , Brazil , June 4 , 2020 .
Brazil 's death toll from the novel coronavirus has surged past 34,000 to become the third-highest in the world , surpassing Italy 's , according to official figures released Thursday .
The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours , bringing its overall toll to 34,021 , behind only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has now confirmed 614,941 infections , the health ministry said -- the second-largest caseload in the world , behind the US .
Experts say under-testing in Brazil means the real numbers are probably much higher .
The latest figures underlined the grim toll the virus is taking in Latin America , the latest epicenter in the pandemic .
Brazil , a country of 210 million people , has been the hardest-hit in the region .
President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticised coronavirus stay-at-home measures , even as the number of infections and deaths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has urged businesses to wage `` war '' on state governors who order business closures , arguing they are needlessly hurting Latin America 's biggest economy .

Brazil's death toll from the novel coronavirus has surged past 34,000 to become the third-highest in the world, surpassing Italy's, according to official figures released Thursday.
Gravediggers wearing protective suits bury the coffin of 48-years-old Jose Soares, who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as one of them places a cross at Sao Luiz cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 4, 2020.
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The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, behind only the United States and Britain.
Brazil has now confirmed 614,941 infections, the health ministry said -- the second-largest caseload in the world, behind the US.
Experts say under-testing in Brazil means the real numbers are probably much higher.
The latest figures underlined the grim toll the virus is taking in Latin America, the latest epicenter in the pandemic.
Brazil, a country of 210 million people, has been the hardest-hit in the region.
President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticised coronavirus stay-at-home measures, even as the number of infections and deaths continues to soar.
The far-right leader has urged businesses to wage "war" on state governors who order business closures, arguing they are needlessly hurting Latin America's biggest economy.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-06-05--Atmospheric CO2 levels hit new record high despite Covid-19 lockdowns

Heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has hit a record high despite lower emissions during the coronavirus pandemic .
The world hit another new record high for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere , despite reduced emissions because of the coronavirus pandemic , scientists announced Thursday .
Measurements of carbon dioxide , the chief human-caused greenhouse gas , averaged 417.1 parts per million at Mauna Loa , Hawaii , for the month of May , when carbon levels in the air peak , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said .
That 's 2.4 parts per million higher than a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels dropped by as much as 17 % in April , it was a brief decline .
Carbon dioxide can stay in the air for centuries , so the short-term reductions of new carbon pollution for a few months did n't have much of a big picture effect , said NOAA senior scientist Pieter Tans .
“ It illustrates how difficult it is — what a huge job it is — to bring emissions down , ” Tans said .
“ We are really committing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a very large time . ''
Records with direct measurements go back to 1958 .
And carbon dioxide levels are now nearly 100 parts per million higher than then .
That 's a 31 % increase in 62 years .
“ The rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels is relentless , and this means the costs of climate change to humans and the planet continue to rise relentlessly as well , '' said University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck .
Carbon levels in the air were higher in the distant past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dioxide levels peak in May because starting in late May , growing plants suck up more of heat-trapping gas , causing carbon amounts in the air to drop , Tans said .

The world hit another new record high for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, despite reduced emissions because of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists announced Thursday.
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has hit a record high despite lower emissions during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Measurements of carbon dioxide, the chief human-caused greenhouse gas, averaged 417.1 parts per million at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, for the month of May, when carbon levels in the air peak, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. That's 2.4 parts per million higher than a year ago.
Even though emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels dropped by as much as 17% in April, it was a brief decline. Carbon dioxide can stay in the air for centuries, so the short-term reductions of new carbon pollution for a few months didn't have much of a big picture effect, said NOAA senior scientist Pieter Tans.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa Observatory reached a monthly peak exceeding 417 parts per million (ppm) in May 2020, the highest monthly total ever recorded, scientists from Scripps and @NOAA reported today. https://t.co/bMW45C29ET pic.twitter.com/rY57eA6HqO — Scripps Institution of Oceanography (@Scripps_Ocean) June 4, 2020
“It illustrates how difficult it is — what a huge job it is — to bring emissions down,” Tans said. “We are really committing the Earth to an enormous amount of warming for a very large time."
Records with direct measurements go back to 1958. And carbon dioxide levels are now nearly 100 parts per million higher than then. That's a 31% increase in 62 years.
“The rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels is relentless, and this means the costs of climate change to humans and the planet continue to rise relentlessly as well," said University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck.
Carbon levels in the air were higher in the distant past before humans, Tans said.
Carbon dioxide levels peak in May because starting in late May, growing plants suck up more of heat-trapping gas, causing carbon amounts in the air to drop, Tans said.
(AP)
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france24--2020-06-05--Australian officials take legal action to stop Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney

A woman holds up a sign as people protest in solidarity with those in the United States protesting police brutality and the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd , in Sydney , Australia , June 2 , 2020 .
Australian authorities are taking legal action to try to stop a Black Lives Matter protest scheduled to take place in Sydney on Saturday , citing the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19 given the large numbers expected to attend .
The last-minute move by the New South Wales state government on Friday came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar rallies in Melbourne and other major cities .
NSW police had originally approved the protest , on the understanding there would be fewer than 500 participants .
Organizers now expect thousands of people to attend the gatherings .
`` The New South Wales government would never , ever give the green light to thousands of people flagrantly disregarding the health orders , '' NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney .
The NSW Supreme Court will hear the matter on Friday afternoon .
Morrison said earlier that people should find other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of black American George Floyd in U.S. police custody .
`` The health advice is very clear , it 's not a good idea to go , '' he told reporters in Canberra .
`` Let 's find a better way and another way to express these sentiments ... let 's exercise our liberties responsibly . ''
The Melbourne protest is still scheduled to take place with state police approval , although Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews has urged people not to attend .
The protests will also throw a spotlight on police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the deaths of Aboriginal men in custody .
Australia has reported daily single digit and low double digit numbers of new COVID-19 cases in recent weeks and has 490 active cases , with just 25 people in hospital .

Australian authorities are taking legal action to try to stop a Black Lives Matter protest scheduled to take place in Sydney on Saturday, citing the risk of an outbreak of COVID-19 given the large numbers expected to attend.
A woman holds up a sign as people protest in solidarity with those in the United States protesting police brutality and the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Sydney, Australia, June 2, 2020.
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The last-minute move by the New South Wales state government on Friday came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison told people not to attend the gathering and similar rallies in Melbourne and other major cities.
NSW police had originally approved the protest, on the understanding there would be fewer than 500 participants. Organizers now expect thousands of people to attend the gatherings.
"The New South Wales government would never, ever give the green light to thousands of people flagrantly disregarding the health orders," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
The NSW Supreme Court will hear the matter on Friday afternoon.
Morrison said earlier that people should find other ways to express anger following the death of black American George Floyd in U.S. police custody.
"The health advice is very clear, it's not a good idea to go," he told reporters in Canberra. "Let's find a better way and another way to express these sentiments ... let's exercise our liberties responsibly."
The Melbourne protest is still scheduled to take place with state police approval, although Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews has urged people not to attend.
The protests will also throw a spotlight on police treatment of Australian indigenous people, including the deaths of Aboriginal men in custody.
Australia has reported daily single digit and low double digit numbers of new COVID-19 cases in recent weeks and has 490 active cases, with just 25 people in hospital.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-06-05--Video shows police in Buffalo, New York, shoving elderly man to ground

Two Buffalo , New York , police officers were suspended without pay on Thursday after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground , as protests over the police killing of George Floyd continued into their tenth night .
The video taken by a reporter from local public radio station WBFO and posted on its website and Twitter account shows the white-haired man approaching a line of officers in riot gear .
One officer pushes him with a baton and a second one with his hand .
The sound of a crack is heard and then blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The man , who is white , is not identified .
`` I was deeply disturbed by the video , '' Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement .
`` After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself , police leadership and members of the community , tonight 's event is disheartening . ''
The incident drew widespread condemnation on social media as protesters returned to the streets of several U.S. cities to demonstrate against police brutality .
Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after former police officer Derek @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest .
The video in Buffalo shows the majority of the officers march past after the man falls , though the officer who pushed him with a baton starts to lean over him before he is motioned away by another officer .
Someone is heard calling for a medic .
The radio station reported that two medics came forward and helped the man into an ambulance .
Police later said that a man was injured after tripping and falling , the radio station said .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Commissioner Byron Lockwood ordered an investigation and suspended the two officers , Brown said .
The 75-year-old victim was in stable but serious condition at Erie County Medical Center Hospital in Buffalo , Brown said .
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted that the incident was `` unjustified and utterly disgraceful '' .

Two Buffalo, New York, police officers were suspended without pay on Thursday after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground as protests over the police killing of George Floyd continued.
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The video, taken by a reporter from local public radio station WBFO and posted on its website and Twitter account, shows the white-haired man approaching a line of officers in riot gear. One officer pushes him with a baton and a second one with his hand. As he falls, the sound of a crack is heard and then blood trickles from the man's head. The man, who is white, is not identified.
The footage shows officers march past as the man lies on the ground, though the officer who pushed him with a baton starts to lean over him before he is motioned away by another officer. Someone is heard calling for a medic.
"I was deeply disturbed by the video," Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement. "After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight's event is disheartening."
The victim was in stable but serious condition at Erie County Medical Center Hospital in Buffalo, Brown said.
The incident drew widespread condemnation on social media as protesters returned to the streets of several US cities to demonstrate against police brutality.
New Tonight: Disturbing video from @WBFO in Buffalo, NY shows an elderly man walk up to police in riot gear. An officer shoves the man...he falls backwards, hits his head...starts bleeding immediately...motionless.
Why did this happen @BPDAlerts ?
pic.twitter.com/qbTvXAAPLH — David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) June 5, 2020
The radio station reported that two medics came forward and helped the man into an ambulance. Police later said that a man was injured after tripping and falling, the radio station said.
But after viewing the video, Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood ordered an investigation and suspended the two officers, Brown said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted that the incident was "unjustified and utterly disgraceful".
This incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful.
I've spoken with Buffalo @MayorByronBrown and we agree that the officers involved should be immediately suspended pending a formal investigation.
Police Officers must enforce — NOT ABUSE — the law. https://t.co/EYIbTlXnPt — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 5, 2020
(FRANCE 24 and REUTERS)
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france24--2020-06-05--White defendant 'used racial slur' after shooting black jogger in Georgia

Ahmaud Arbery , who was shot and killed in Brunswick , Georgia , U.S. on February 23 , 2020 , is seen in an undated photo provided by Marcus Arbery .
One of the white men charged in the Georgia killing of Ahmaud Arbery used a racial slur after shooting the unarmed black man , an investigator testified in court on Thursday , an explosive allegation in one of the cases roiling race relations in the United States .
After more than five hours of arguments during which a prosecutor said Arbery , 25 , had been `` chased , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County Chief Magistrate Judge Wallace Harrell ruled probable cause existed and the case could go to trial .
Special Agent Richard Dial of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ( GBI ) said William Bryan told his office in an interview last month that Travis McMichael uttered the slur as Arbery lay dying from shotgun wounds on Feb. 23 .
Bryan and McMichael are both defendants in the case .
`` Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival , while Mr. Arbery was on the ground , that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fucking nigger , '' Dial said in testimony .
The Arbery case triggered a national outcry after cellphone video of the shooting was leaked on social media a month ago .
Thursday 's hearing follows more than a week of protests across the United States over the May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd , also a black American .
Four officers have been charged in that case .
Dial said he had evidence from social media and elsewhere that Travis McMichael had used racial slurs in the past .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ boarding officer , once told a friend that he loved his job because he `` was on a boat and there were n't any N-words anywhere , '' Dial testified .
Dial said the three defendants - Bryan , 50 , Travis McMichael , 34 , and his father , former police officer Gregory McMichael , 64 - chased Arbery in pickup trucks and sought to box him in as he was jogging in their neighbourhood .
Both McMichaels are charged with murder and aggravated assault .
Bryan , their neighbour who took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ murder and attempting to illegally detain and confine .
Jason Sheffield , an attorney for Travis McMichael , pressed Dial on whether Bryan was promised leniency for possible cooperation with prosecutors when he cited the alleged slur , and argued that his client had acted in self defense .
Dial said he was unaware of any leniency offer and that it was Arbery who was defending himself .
`` I believe Mr. Arbery 's decision was to just try to get away and when he felt like he could not escape , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testified that investigators found several text messages on Bryan 's phone containing derogatory comments that exhibited a `` racist attitude '' which Dial said likely played a role in Bryan 's decision to chase and help trap Arbery .
That testimony was elicited by Kevin Gough , Bryan 's attorney , who later argued that his client did not know why the McMichaels were chasing Arbery and had done what `` any patriotic American citizen would have done '' .
Special prosecutor Jesse Evans called that assertion `` asinine '' .
`` Any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call 911 , '' Evans told the court .
The three defendants were not charged until more than two months after the shooting .
The GBI stepped in to investigate after the video circulated widely and Glynn County police took no action .
Police say Gregory McMichael saw Arbery running in his neighborhood and believed he looked like a burglary suspect .
The elder McMichael called his son and the two armed themselves and gave chase in a pickup truck , police say .
Dial said video and other evidence showed that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's 12-gauge Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun was to Arbery 's chest .
`` You see the front of his shirt is saturated with blood , '' Dial said .
`` The second shot is off camera as well but you do see the blood mist come into the camera screen . ''

One of the white men charged in the Georgia killing of Ahmaud Arbery used a racial slur after shooting the unarmed black man, an investigator testified in court on Thursday, an explosive allegation in one of the cases roiling race relations in the United States.
Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia, U.S. on February 23, 2020, is seen in an undated photo provided by Marcus Arbery.
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After more than five hours of arguments during which a prosecutor said Arbery, 25, had been "chased, hunted and ultimately executed", Glynn County Chief Magistrate Judge Wallace Harrell ruled probable cause existed and the case could go to trial.
Special Agent Richard Dial of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said William Bryan told his office in an interview last month that Travis McMichael uttered the slur as Arbery lay dying from shotgun wounds on Feb. 23. Bryan and McMichael are both defendants in the case.
"Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival, while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement: fucking nigger," Dial said in testimony.
The Arbery case triggered a national outcry after cellphone video of the shooting was leaked on social media a month ago. Thursday's hearing follows more than a week of protests across the United States over the May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, also a black American. Four officers have been charged in that case.
Dial said he had evidence from social media and elsewhere that Travis McMichael had used racial slurs in the past. McMichael, a former U.S. Coast Guard boarding officer, once told a friend that he loved his job because he "was on a boat and there weren't any N-words anywhere," Dial testified.
Dial said the three defendants - Bryan, 50, Travis McMichael, 34, and his father, former police officer Gregory McMichael, 64 - chased Arbery in pickup trucks and sought to box him in as he was jogging in their neighbourhood.
Both McMichaels are charged with murder and aggravated assault. Bryan, their neighbour who took the cellphone video, was charged with murder and attempting to illegally detain and confine.
Jason Sheffield, an attorney for Travis McMichael, pressed Dial on whether Bryan was promised leniency for possible cooperation with prosecutors when he cited the alleged slur, and argued that his client had acted in self defense.
Dial said he was unaware of any leniency offer and that it was Arbery who was defending himself.
"I believe Mr. Arbery's decision was to just try to get away and when he felt like he could not escape, he chose to fight."
Dial also testified that investigators found several text messages on Bryan's phone containing derogatory comments that exhibited a "racist attitude" which Dial said likely played a role in Bryan's decision to chase and help trap Arbery.
That testimony was elicited by Kevin Gough, Bryan's attorney, who later argued that his client did not know why the McMichaels were chasing Arbery and had done what "any patriotic American citizen would have done".
Special prosecutor Jesse Evans called that assertion "asinine". "Any American would pick up the phone and call 911," Evans told the court.
The three defendants were not charged until more than two months after the shooting. The GBI stepped in to investigate after the video circulated widely and Glynn County police took no action.
Police say Gregory McMichael saw Arbery running in his neighborhood and believed he looked like a burglary suspect. The elder McMichael called his son and the two armed themselves and gave chase in a pickup truck, police say.
Dial said video and other evidence showed that the first of three shots from Travis McMichael's 12-gauge Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun was to Arbery's chest.
"You see the front of his shirt is saturated with blood," Dial said. "The second shot is off camera as well but you do see the blood mist come into the camera screen."
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-06-05--French forces kill al Qaeda's North Africa chief in Mali

( FILES ) In this file photo taken on November 19 , 2010 , a man looks at a picture of Abdelmalek Droukdel , aka Abu Musab Abdul Wadud , head of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQIM ) seen on US monitoring group SITE Intelligence , in Paris .
French forces have killed al Qaeda 's North Africa chief Abdelmalek Droukdel in northern Mali , Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Friday .
`` On June 3 , French army forces with the support of their local partners , killed al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several of his closest collaborators , during an operation in northern Mali , '' Parly said in Twitter .
Droukdel was among North Africa ’ s most experienced militants and was one of those who took part in the Islamist militant takeover of northern Mali before a French military intervention in 2013 drove them back and scattered fighters across the Sahel region .
Droukdel was believed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Algeria .
The group operates across northern Mali , Niger , Mauritania and Algeria .
Parly said that French @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the region , had also on May 19 captured Mohamed el Mrabat , a fighter she identified as a veteran militant in the region and member of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara .
`` Our forces , in cooperation with their local partners ... will continue to track these ( people ) down without respite , '' Parly said .

French forces have killed the leader of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, in northern Mali, France's Defence Minister Florence Parly said Friday.
Abdelmalek Droukdel, aka Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, the head of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), seen here in a screen grab from a propaganda video released by the group.
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Droukdel was killed on Thursday near the Algerian border, where the group has bases from which it has carried out attacks and abductions of Westerners in the sub-Saharan Sahel zone, Parly said.
"Many close associates" of Droukdel – who commanded several affiliate jihadist groups across the lawless region – were also "neutralised", she added.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb emerged from a group started in the late 1990s by radical Algerian Islamists, who in 2007 pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
According to the UN, Droukdel was an explosives expert and manufactured devices that killed hundreds of civilians in attacks on public places.
He was sentenced to death in Algeria in 2013 for his involvement in the bombings of a government building and offices of the UN's refugee committee in Algiers that killed 26 people and wounded 177.
The US said it had provided intelligence to help track down Droukdel.
"US Africa Command was able to assist with intelligence and ... support to fix the target," spokesman Colonel Chris Karns told CNN on Friday.
01:00
The group has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on troops and civilians across the Sahel, including a 2016 attack on an upmarket hotel and restaurant in Burkina Faso that killed 30 people, mainly Westerners.
France has deployed more than 5,000 troops to combat jihadist groups in the region – a largely lawless expanse stretching over Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – where drugs and arms flow through porous borders.
Northern Mali is the site of frequent clashes between rival armed groups as well as a haven for jihadist activity.
In 2012 key Malian cities fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda, which exploited the unrest resulting from an ethnic Tuareg-led rebel uprising. A French-led military intervention was launched in January 2013 to beat back the Islamists.
Islamic State official captured
France also claimed on Friday to have captured a leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) group, which carries out frequent attacks over Niger's western borders.
"On May 19, French forces captured Mohamed el Mrabat, veteran jihadist in the Sahel region and an important cadre in EIGS", Parly said on Twitter.
Operations against EIGS "the other great terrorist threat in the region" are continuing, said Parly.
>> Exclusive with al Qaeda in North Africa leader Abu Obeida Youssef Al-Aanabi
Mali is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that erupted in 2012 and has claimed thousands of military and civilian lives since.
Despite the presence of thousands of French and UN troops, the conflict has engulfed the centre of the country and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
A source told AFP that some 500 jihadist fighters had been killed or captured by French troops in the region in recent months, among them several leading figures including commanders and recruiters.
Droukdel's death is a symbolic coup for the French, a military source said. He had remained a threat in the region, capable of financing jihadist movements even though his leadership had been contested, the source added.
His death, and that of other al Qaeda figures, could leave the group disorganised in the Sahel.
Born in 1971 in a poor neighbourhood of Algiers, Droukdel took helped found the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) in Algeria. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, elected president in 1999, managed to convince most Algerian armed groups to lay down their weapons. The GSPC, however, refused and Droukdel decided to ally with al Qaeda.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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france24--2020-06-05--China revels in US protests, sees unrest as PR opportunity

A protester raises a fist near a fire during a demonstration outside the White House over the death of George Floyd on May 31 , 2020 .
The unrest in the US over George Floyd ’ s death in custody has been seized by China and renewed discourse on “ the end of the American era ” .
But Hong Kong ’ s defiant demonstration this week suggests Washington ’ s fall may not be Beijing ’ s gain .
The scenes unfolding on US streets this week , with federal and local law enforcement officers viciously cracking down on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Hong Kong ’ s pro-democracy activists .
Since Beijing ’ s shock announcement last month of a plan to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong , attention was fixed on June 4 , an important date on the semi-autonomous territory ’ s political calendar .
> > Read more on Beijing ’ s bid for a new security law on Hong Kong For three decades , Hong Kongers have held massive candlelight vigils to mark the anniversary of China ’ s 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mainland .
This year , in what many viewed as a symbolic display of Beijing ’ s tightening control , Hong Kong ’ s Legislative Council was scheduled to vote on a contentious national anthem bill on June 4 .
The Legislative Council – dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers since the semi-autonomous city does not have universal suffrage – was expected to approve the bill , which it duly did following an opposition boycott of the vote and symbolic protests inside the chamber .
Tiananmen anniversary commemorations were also banned this year , officially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the territory of 7.5 million residents were braced for a mass show of defiance .
On Friday evening , tens of thousands of Hong Kongers knocked down barriers around Victoria Park , the territory ’ s landmark gathering point for demonstrations , to hold a candlelit vigil .
The June 4 event at Victoria Park was expected , some would say even scripted , although there was no certainty about the number of demonstrators it would attract .
What was not anticipated this week was a showdown thousands of miles away , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the free ” , on Lafayette Square , the public park right by the White House .
The scenes in Washington DC on Monday , of federal law enforcement officials cracking down on protesters demanding justice for George Floyd – an unarmed African American killed under police custody – to make way for President Donald Trump ’ s photo-op before a church sparked widespread criticism .
The nightly unrest on the streets of several US cities , fueled by heavy-handed security responses , has drawn condemnations from across the world , including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human rights chief , Michelle Bachelet .
The scenes of tear gas fumes engulfing streets , police firing rubber bullets , beating up and arresting protesters and journalists have been distressing for many Americans and non-Americans .
But for many Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who have been staging protests against Beijing ’ s tightening control of the territory , they were distressingly familiar .
“ The repression in the US looks exactly like the repression in Hong Kong .
If you put pictures from the two places together , you can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Malovic , Asia editor of French daily , La Croix , and author of several books on China .
“ It ’ s very unfortunate for Hong Kong people , for the civil rights movement and democrats .
Unfortunately , the events in the US are neutralising what ’ s happening in Hong Kong .
It gives credibility and the green light to Beijing to continue the repression .
For Beijing , it ’ s perfect , it ’ s milk and honey.
” It ’ s also raw meat for Beijing ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ named after a Chinese blockbuster about a commando who kills American baddies with his bare hands .
And it couldn ’ t have come at a better time for the ruling Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) .
Chinese diplomats have seized on the unrest in the US to hammer home CCP talking points of a violent , racist , imperialist power that has double standards and is structurally hypocritical .
“ The racial discrimination against minorities is a social ill in the United States .
What happened again reflects there are serious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing .
Zhao , a former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan , is widely regarded as the “ alpha male ” of the “ wolf warrior ” pack and has been retweeting a volley of taunts against the US , including a post by the editor of state-owned daily , Global Times , noting , “ I want to ask Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Pompeo : Should Beijing support protests in the US , like you glorified rioters in Hong Kong ?
” While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests as the product of “ foreign interference , ” its gloating diplomats overlook the fact that US envoys have not opposed Black Lives Matter protests across the world and have issued statements mourning Floyd ’ s tragic death and reiterating the US position that no one is above the law .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ’ s comment last summer that the Hong Kong protests were `` a beautiful sight to behold '' has been a particular gloating point , with the Global Times editor inviting US politicians to `` enjoy this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hua Chunying , another Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson , took the schadenfreude to new heights when she retweeted a statement by US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus blasting the Chinese Communist Party for “ flagrantly ” breaking its promise “ to the people of Hong Kong ” .
Hua added a three-word comment : “ I can ’ t breathe ” .
Those were Floyd ’ s last words as Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the unarmed black man ’ s neck on a Minneapolis street .
It was also the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2014 , which became a slogan of the Black Lives Matter movement against racism and police brutality in the US .
America ’ s systemic racism , born out of slavery and persistent police brutality against African Americans despite countless protests , investigations and policy recommendations , has long been the subject of intense national soul searching .
In the George Floyd case , the extent of the brutality , captured on mobile phones and disseminated within minutes across the world , has deepened a mass anguish that was simmering over Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Covid-19 crisis .
The Trump administration ’ s disastrous handling of the Covid-19 pandemic was already being compared to the US leadership role during earlier epidemics , such as Ebola and AIDS , with headlines proclaiming , “ Another Virus Victim : The US as a Global Leader in a Time of Crisis ” .
The latest unrest has renewed discourse on the “ end of the American era , ” amid questions of how the American dream of opportunity for all has failed the country ’ s most vulnerable and marginalised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another unarmed black man by a white US police officer have erupted across the globe , reflecting what critics called the erosion of America ’ s moral authority on the world stage .
It comes at an opportune time for Beijing as its global power grab in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak backfired with the unraveling of China ’ s “ mask diplomacy ” amid questions of cover-ups , exports of faulty health devices and a backlash against “ wolf warrior ” diplomacy .
> > Read more on the unmasking of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Concerns over Beijing ’ s handling of the outbreak and its hold on the World Health Organization ( WHO ) and other UN agencies resurfaced this week when the Associated Press reported Tuesday that China failed to share the genetic map of the virus more than a week after it was decoded .
While the UN health agency was publicly praising China ’ s early public health response , internal documents and emails reveal immense frustration among WHO representatives over Beijing ’ s obfuscations with a senior WHO official exasperatedly proclaiming , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ genetic code ] to us 15 minutes before it appears on CCTV , ” referring to the state-owned China Central Television .
> > Read more on China ’ s hold on the WHO and UN agencies The latest unrest in the US has given Beijing a fresh chance to seize the narrative by portraying a violent implosion of a declining power turning its back on the magnanimity and multilateralism that defined the postwar global order .
China views itself as a natural replacement , ready to extend its strategic influence with its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and strengthen its hold on multilateral institutions that have been a favourite punching bag for Republican US presidents .
“ That ’ s what [ Chinese President ] Xi Jinping tends to believe .
He started to be convinced about the American decline a few years ago , since around 2014 .
But I think they miscalculated that it was time for China to be more assertive , to be more aggressive based on the assumption of an American decline , which is overstated , ” said Malovic .
“ Despite the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and racial inequalities , the lack of social security , healthcare – it ’ s still impossible to deny the US is still the most powerful country militarily and in terms of soft power , even with Trump .
The people are against Trump , he is not overwhelmingly popular and the world can see that Trump ’ s influence looks weak , but America is still very strong.
” The domestic opposition to Trump , institutional and political , has dominated world attention for four years and contrasts sharply with the lack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in China .
Beijing ’ s assertions of US hypocrisy , for instance , faces routine push-back on social media platforms such as Twitter , which is banned in China .
When foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua ’ s posted her “ I can ’ t breathe ” tweet , responses included photographs of security officials cracking down on Hong Kong protesters with messages such as , “ Can Hong Kong breathe ?
” and clips of Chinese tanks rolling down Tiananmen Square .
China ’ s track record on racism , from Han @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and religious minorities such as Uighur Muslims and Tibetans , also comes up for scrutiny .
When the foreign ministry retweeted the African Union ’ s call on the US to “ intensify efforts ” to eliminate discrimination , with a message on China opposing “ all forms of racism , ” responses included , “ Dude , sit this one out , ” with hashtags ranging from banned religious group Falun Gong to Free Tibet .
Another response included , “ I didn ’ t see this tweet when Africans were being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the targeting of Africans in the southern Chinese city during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year .
Beijing has not apologised for the incidents and has described them as a series of `` misunderstandings '' .
But if China does not have the moral authority or governance system to convince the world of its global leadership status , US power has unquestionably been on the decline and a talking point that predates the Trump presidency .
In a May 2014 column , Edward Luce , the Financial Times chief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proving inept at transforming its Soviet containment strategy during the Cold War to a “ dual containment ” of China and Russia .
“ The demand for US leadership remains strong .
But America ’ s ability to sustain a dual containment strategy is an open question , ” wrote Luce .
During his two terms at the White House , Barack Obama signaled a US withdrawal from the costly conflicts in the Middle East to a “ pivot to Asia ” that would entail more US military and economic engagement with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in both , the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions with the Trump administration further accelerating the decline of US global leadership .
The result , according to Malovic , has been a dangerous uncertainty and absence of global leadership since the European Union remains too divided to coalesce on a China strategy .
“ The big problem about the way Trump works is that with him in the White House , nobody wants to chose between China and the US .
If there was no Trump , the world would be with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The world ’ s two biggest powers are fighting like children in a schoolyard .
The credibility of both , Washington and Beijing , is low .
Trump is going crazy , Xi Jinping is already crazy .
They ’ re neutralising each other and neither is credible for the rest of the international community .
”

The unrest in the US over George Floyd’s death in custody has been seized by China and renewed discourse on “the end of the American era”. But Hong Kong’s defiant demonstration this week suggests Washington’s fall may not be Beijing’s gain.
A protester raises a fist near a fire during a demonstration outside the White House over the death of George Floyd on May 31, 2020.
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The scenes unfolding on US streets this week, with federal and local law enforcement officers viciously cracking down on anti-racism protesters, have been particularly distressing for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists.
Since Beijing’s shock announcement last month of a plan to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong, attention was fixed on June 4, an important date on the semi-autonomous territory’s political calendar.
>> Read more on Beijing’s bid for a new security law on Hong Kong
For three decades, Hong Kongers have held massive candlelight vigils to mark the anniversary of China’s 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, an event strenuously overlooked on the mainland.
This year, in what many viewed as a symbolic display of Beijing’s tightening control, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council was scheduled to vote on a contentious national anthem bill on June 4. The Legislative Council – dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers since the semi-autonomous city does not have universal suffrage – was expected to approve the bill, which it duly did following an opposition boycott of the vote and symbolic protests inside the chamber.
Tiananmen anniversary commemorations were also banned this year, officially due to the Covid-19 crisis, but the territory of 7.5 million residents were braced for a mass show of defiance. On Friday evening, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers knocked down barriers around Victoria Park, the territory’s landmark gathering point for demonstrations, to hold a candlelit vigil.
The June 4 event at Victoria Park was expected, some would say even scripted, although there was no certainty about the number of demonstrators it would attract. What was not anticipated this week was a showdown thousands of miles away, in the capital of “the land of the free”, on Lafayette Square, the public park right by the White House.
The scenes in Washington DC on Monday, of federal law enforcement officials cracking down on protesters demanding justice for George Floyd – an unarmed African American killed under police custody – to make way for President Donald Trump’s photo-op before a church sparked widespread criticism.
The nightly unrest on the streets of several US cities, fueled by heavy-handed security responses, has drawn condemnations from across the world, including the European Union and the UN’s human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet. The scenes of tear gas fumes engulfing streets, police firing rubber bullets, beating up and arresting protesters and journalists have been distressing for many Americans and non-Americans. But for many Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who have been staging protests against Beijing’s tightening control of the territory, they were distressingly familiar.
“The repression in the US looks exactly like the repression in Hong Kong. If you put pictures from the two places together, you can’t tell the difference,” said Dorian Malovic, Asia editor of French daily, La Croix, and author of several books on China. “It’s very unfortunate for Hong Kong people, for the civil rights movement and democrats. Unfortunately, the events in the US are neutralising what’s happening in Hong Kong. It gives credibility and the green light to Beijing to continue the repression. For Beijing, it’s perfect, it’s milk and honey.”
Raw meat for China’s ‘wolf warriors’
It’s also raw meat for Beijing’s aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomats named after a Chinese blockbuster about a commando who kills American baddies with his bare hands. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
>> Read more about China’s ‘wolf warrior’ diplomats
Chinese diplomats have seized on the unrest in the US to hammer home CCP talking points of a violent, racist, imperialist power that has double standards and is structurally hypocritical.
“The racial discrimination against minorities is a social ill in the United States. What happened again reflects there are serious problems that should be urgently addressed,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing.
Zhao, a former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, is widely regarded as the “alpha male” of the “wolf warrior” pack and has been retweeting a volley of taunts against the US, including a post by the editor of state-owned daily, Global Times, noting, “I want to ask Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Pompeo: Should Beijing support protests in the US, like you glorified rioters in Hong Kong?”
The 'beautiful sight' difined by US politicians has eventually extended from Hong Kong to the US. Now they can witness it by their home windows. I want to ask Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Pompeo: Should Beijing support protests in the US, like you glorified rioters in Hong Kong? pic.twitter.com/tvg0kyK8j0 — Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) May 30, 2020
While Beijing views Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests as the product of “foreign interference,” its gloating diplomats overlook the fact that US envoys have not opposed Black Lives Matter protests across the world and have issued statements mourning Floyd’s tragic death and reiterating the US position that no one is above the law.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comment last summer that the Hong Kong protests were "a beautiful sight to behold" has been a particular gloating point, with the Global Times editor inviting US politicians to "enjoy this sight from their own windows".
Hua Chunying, another Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, took the schadenfreude to new heights when she retweeted a statement by US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus blasting the Chinese Communist Party for “flagrantly” breaking its promise “to the people of Hong Kong”. Hua added a three-word comment: “I can’t breathe”.
Those were Floyd’s last words as Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the unarmed black man’s neck on a Minneapolis street. It was also the dying plea of New Yorker Eric Gardner in 2014, which became a slogan of the Black Lives Matter movement against racism and police brutality in the US.
American dream, racial nightmare
America’s systemic racism, born out of slavery and persistent police brutality against African Americans despite countless protests, investigations and policy recommendations, has long been the subject of intense national soul searching. In the George Floyd case, the extent of the brutality, captured on mobile phones and disseminated within minutes across the world, has deepened a mass anguish that was simmering over Trump’s divisive policies and compounded by the Covid-19 crisis.
The Trump administration’s disastrous handling of the Covid-19 pandemic was already being compared to the US leadership role during earlier epidemics, such as Ebola and AIDS, with headlines proclaiming, “Another Virus Victim: The US as a Global Leader in a Time of Crisis”.
The latest unrest has renewed discourse on the “end of the American era,” amid questions of how the American dream of opportunity for all has failed the country’s most vulnerable and marginalised. Protests over the killing of yet another unarmed black man by a white US police officer have erupted across the globe, reflecting what critics called the erosion of America’s moral authority on the world stage.
It comes at an opportune time for Beijing as its global power grab in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak backfired with the unraveling of China’s “mask diplomacy” amid questions of cover-ups, exports of faulty health devices and a backlash against “wolf warrior” diplomacy.
>> Read more on the unmasking of China’s Covid-19 ‘mask diplomacy'
Concerns over Beijing’s handling of the outbreak and its hold on the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies resurfaced this week when the Associated Press reported Tuesday that China failed to share the genetic map of the virus more than a week after it was decoded.
While the UN health agency was publicly praising China’s early public health response, internal documents and emails reveal immense frustration among WHO representatives over Beijing’s obfuscations with a senior WHO official exasperatedly proclaiming, “they’re giving it [the genetic code] to us 15 minutes before it appears on CCTV,” referring to the state-owned China Central Television.
>> Read more on China’s hold on the WHO and UN agencies
‘Sit this one out’
The latest unrest in the US has given Beijing a fresh chance to seize the narrative by portraying a violent implosion of a declining power turning its back on the magnanimity and multilateralism that defined the postwar global order. China views itself as a natural replacement, ready to extend its strategic influence with its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and strengthen its hold on multilateral institutions that have been a favourite punching bag for Republican US presidents.
“That’s what [Chinese President] Xi Jinping tends to believe. He started to be convinced about the American decline a few years ago, since around 2014. But I think they miscalculated that it was time for China to be more assertive, to be more aggressive based on the assumption of an American decline, which is overstated,” said Malovic. “Despite the problems in the US – the economic and racial inequalities, the lack of social security, healthcare – it’s still impossible to deny the US is still the most powerful country militarily and in terms of soft power, even with Trump. The people are against Trump, he is not overwhelmingly popular and the world can see that Trump’s influence looks weak, but America is still very strong.”
The domestic opposition to Trump, institutional and political, has dominated world attention for four years and contrasts sharply with the lack of dissent against the single ruling party in China. Beijing’s assertions of US hypocrisy, for instance, faces routine push-back on social media platforms such as Twitter, which is banned in China.
When foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua’s posted her “I can’t breathe” tweet, responses included photographs of security officials cracking down on Hong Kong protesters with messages such as, “Can Hong Kong breathe?” and clips of Chinese tanks rolling down Tiananmen Square.
China’s track record on racism, from Han Chinese domination to its treatment of ethnic and religious minorities such as Uighur Muslims and Tibetans, also comes up for scrutiny. When the foreign ministry retweeted the African Union’s call on the US to “intensify efforts” to eliminate discrimination, with a message on China opposing “all forms of racism,” responses included, “Dude, sit this one out,” with hashtags ranging from banned religious group Falun Gong to Free Tibet.
Another response included, “I didn’t see this tweet when Africans were being discriminated against in Guangzhou,” referring to the targeting of Africans in the southern Chinese city during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year. Beijing has not apologised for the incidents and has described them as a series of "misunderstandings".
I didn’t see this tweet when Africans were being discriminated against in Guangzhou — 王老师 (@Wang_Laoshi_) June 1, 2020
Neither Washington, nor Beijing
But if China does not have the moral authority or governance system to convince the world of its global leadership status, US power has unquestionably been on the decline and a talking point that predates the Trump presidency.
In a May 2014 column, Edward Luce, the Financial Times chief US commentator, noted that Washington was proving inept at transforming its Soviet containment strategy during the Cold War to a “dual containment” of China and Russia. “The demand for US leadership remains strong. But America’s ability to sustain a dual containment strategy is an open question,” wrote Luce.
During his two terms at the White House, Barack Obama signaled a US withdrawal from the costly conflicts in the Middle East to a “pivot to Asia” that would entail more US military and economic engagement with the Asia Pacific region. The strategy failed in both, the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions with the Trump administration further accelerating the decline of US global leadership.
The result, according to Malovic, has been a dangerous uncertainty and absence of global leadership since the European Union remains too divided to coalesce on a China strategy.
“The big problem about the way Trump works is that with him in the White House, nobody wants to chose between China and the US. If there was no Trump, the world would be with America against China,” said Malovic. “The world’s two biggest powers are fighting like children in a schoolyard. The credibility of both, Washington and Beijing, is low. Trump is going crazy, Xi Jinping is already crazy. They’re neutralising each other and neither is credible for the rest of the international community.”
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