Most Americans “sympathetic” with protestors
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on the protests calling for justice for George Floyd shows that more than 55% of Americans say they disapprove of president Donald Trump’s handling of the situation, including 40% who “strongly” disapprove. 64% of American adults were “sympathetic to people who are out protesting right now,” Reuters reports. Meanwhile, the protests continue with people in several cities across the USA defying curfew orders. Troops have been moved in to the Washington DC area, but, according to CNN and Politico, Pentagon officials have expressed concern about using active military forces in crowd control. Chicago’s mayor announced a reform of police accountability and a $10 million fund for businesses damaged in the protest. The Washington Post, CNN, Reuters and CNBC have live updates. The Guardian has a list of some of those who have been killed during the protests.
MPs queue for virtual voting bill
The UK parliament’s outdated voting system was criticised on Tuesday as British MPs formed a kilometre-long queue to vote on a motion that will, well, stop them voting virtually. To vote on the motion proposed by House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, 527 MPs were required to queue through a system that “snaked through Westminster halls and courtyards for an hour and 23 minutes” according to The Guardian. The government proposal has been labelled discriminatory as it means that MPs who cannot attend parliament for age or medical reasons during the coronavirus pandemic will no longer be able to vote on legislation, says the BBC. Sky said the queuing was reminiscent of “areas of Disneyland, Alton Towers or a budget airline check-in.”
Mühlenbach man dead after shooting himself
A man who shuttered himself into his home in the Mühlenbach neighbourhood of Luxembourg city died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds on Tuesday. City police as well as special units and an emergency medical team were at the scene after the man called police to tell them he intended to kill himself. But attempts to talk with the man were in vain. Nobody else was harmed in the incident.
Coronavirus updates
Brazil’s fatality rate from the coronavirus has passed 30,000; New Zealand has reported a 12th consecutive day of no new cases; Australia's GDP shrunk 0.3% for the first three months of the year and will enter recession; globally at least 379,000 people have died from covid-19 and more than 6,390,000 have been infected. Sources: The Guardian, the BBC and Reuters.
UK could change immigration rules for Hong Kong
UK prime minister Boris Johnson, writing in The Times on Wednesday, has said in the event that China imposes its national security law and strips Hong Kong of its autonomy, Britain would change its immigration rules and "allow any holder of these [British National Overseas] passports from Hong Kong to come to the UK…”. British foreign secretary Dominic Raab on Tuesday had told parliament that he wants to create an international alliance of countries with “a likeminded attachment to the rule of law” to pressure China to withdraw its plans and to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy. The Guardian, Politico and Sky News have more.
Zuckerberg won’t back down
Despite a virtual walkout by many of his employees, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg insisted that after a thorough review the company stood by its decision not to act against a post from US president Donald Trump. The post in question had contained the phrase, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”, which was originally used in 1967 by a bigoted Miami police chief. Reuters, The Verge and NBC News have more.
US ambassador to Germany quits
Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, resigned from his post and the State Department on June 1, just two years into the job. Deutsche Welle and Reuters say that Grenell had often criticised German policies on NATO and the NordStream 2 gas pipeline.
MEP with no trousers
Independent Irish MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan was the subject of much humour when he joined a European Parliament committee meeting in a state of partial undress on Tuesday. Flanagan took any potential embarrassment in his stride, explaining he had just returned from a jog. “Was in a T-shirt two minutes before. Decided to put on shirt to look respectable! That worked really well,” he tweeted. The Irish Times, Irish Independent and Reuters have details (and video).
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts