Floyd’s death sparks global outrage

Outrage over the death of unarmed African American George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis has been growing across the United States, and now, beyond.

Floyd, 46, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes until he stopped breathing.

In a video footage, the victim was heard saying “I can’t breathe” while three other police officers stood by.

The incident has triggered massive protests against racial discrimination and police abuse across the country, prompting U.S. mayors and governors to impose curfews in more than 40 cities, while thousands of people have been arrested so far.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for restraint from the authorities in responding to demonstrators, said his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, adding that Guterres hopes to see peaceful protests in the United States over the death of Floyd.

The tragedy has also set off protests outside the United States. In neighboring Canada, protesters took to the streets in Montreal to denounce racial profiling and police brutality.

In Greece, hundreds of members of the youth wing of the Greek Communist party KKE protested peacefully on Monday outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens and the U.S. Consulate in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

Raising banners of “I can’t breathe,” protesters outside the U.S. embassy chanted slogans such as “No to a system giving birth to crises, wars, and racism.”

“We join Greek people’s voice with the voices of all people across the world against the barbarity … We join our voice with the U.S. people who are giving a struggle these days for their rights, to be able to breathe,” KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas said earlier.

In Britain, thousands of people gathered in London and Manchester to protest over the death of Floyd, despite an official ban of mass gatherings.

Chanting “no justice, no peace,” the protesters gathered in London’s landmark Trafalgar Square shortly after 1 p.m. before marching through Westminster to Downing Street.

From the French capital city of Paris to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, and…

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