Statues fall as global anti-racism protests spread: Live updates

• The police killing of George Floyd has triggered anti-racism protests around the world. A number of monuments with links to colonialism and slavery have either been defaced or pulled down in Europe and the US as protests continue for racial justice.

• New York's state legislature is moving forward with police reform measures as the US Army, Navy as well as a number of other states look at measures they can take to address racial inequality.

• Floyd's death, after an officer who has now been charged with second-degree murder knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has triggered a US-wide debate on the future of law enforcement.

Tuesday, June 9 13:00 GMT - US protests spur calls for India to wake up to anti-Dalit discrimination

Spurred on by US anti-racism protests, lower-caste Dalits have called on India to acknowledge centuries of oppression they have endured and recognise that "every life matters".

Dalits are at the bottom of India's ancient caste hierarchy, whose membership was determined at birth, and have historically faced violence, segregation and been barred from even having their shadows touch those of people from higher castes.

"We extend our solidarity because we feel them and we have faced discrimination ourselves," said Omprakash Mahato, president of the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association, a Dalit organisation at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

12:00 GMT - Reddit names Michael Seibel to board after Ohanian's call for black candidate

Social network company Reddit has named venture capital investor Michael Seibel to its board, days after co-founder and former director Alexis Ohanian resigned and called for the company to replace him with a black candidate.

Ohanian's resignation came as the death of Floyd reignited the debate of diversity in America's corporate boardrooms.

Responding to Ohanian's request, Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman said on Friday, "the unacceptable gap" between Reddit's content policy and values has reduced the company's effectiveness in combating hate and racism, and slowed down its response to problems.

11:15 GMT - Adidas pledges to hire more black and Latino staff

German sportswear brand Adidas has pledged to invest $20m in the black community in the US and make sure that at least 30 percent of all new US jobs are filled with black and Latino people at its Adidas and Reebok brands.

The Adidas managing board said in a statement it recognised the contribution of the black community to its success, but admitted the company must do more to fight racism and improve company culture to ensure equity, diversity and opportunity.

"While we have talked about the importance of inclusion, we must do more to create an environment in which all of our employees feel safe, heard and have equal opportunity to advance their careers," Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said.

10:15 GMT - Tunisian parliament rejects bid for French colonial apology

After a heated, 14-hour debate, Tunisia's parliament has rejected a motion calling on France to apologise for crimes permitted during the colonial era and pay reparations.

Opponents argued that such a move would spell economic disaster, given that France is Tunisia's top trade partner and foreign investor. It is also home to one million Tunisians.

But proponents of the motion said an apology is necessary to "turn the page on this dark period" in the history of the two countries and put their relations on a more equal footing.

The debate came amid renewed anger in some European countries about colonialism's crimes, stemming from protests in the US Floyd's death.

09:10 GMT - North Carolina city passes resolution to remove Confederate monuments: Report 

A city in North Carolina has unanimously passed a resolution to begin a removal process for its confederate monuments, news outlets reported.

The joint action by the Asheville City Council and Buncombe County would establish a task force to recommend steps to remove or repurpose the monuments at the county courthouse and in the city's Pack Square Park, WLOS-TV reported.

The move comes amid national protests that has seen Confederate monuments toppled and taken down all across the South.

⚡Which statues have been toppled by the global anti-racism protests? https://t.co/GIv7oUjzMk

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 10, 2020

08:30 GMT - Lewis Hamilton on battle against racism: 'only the beginning'

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said the recent global protests against racism "is only the beginning and there is so much change to come."

The British Mercedes driver wrote on social media that "these past few weeks, we've seen the world open its eyes to the realities of racism today."

While a lot remains to be done, Hamilton said, he wanted to "appreciate the positive steps that have been taken so far."

pic.twitter.com/ry6pHFWg7o

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 9, 2020

08:00 GMT - US dictionary to change its definition of racism

The American reference dictionary Merriam-Webster will change its definition of the word racism at the suggestion of a young black woman, who wanted it to better reflect the oppression of people of color.

Kennedy Mitchum, a recent graduate of Drake University in Iowa, contacted Merriam-Webster, which has published its dictionaries since 1847, to propose updating the term.

"I basically told them that they need to include that there's a systematic oppression upon a group of people," she told the local CBS affiliate KMOV. "It's not just, 'Oh, I don't like someone.'"

Merriam-Webster's editorial manager Peter Sokolowski confirmed to AFP that the definition would be modified after Mitchum's request.

07:50 GMT - 'Cops,' on air for 33 seasons, dropped 

After 33 seasons on the air, the police documentary series Cops has been dropped by the Paramount Network as protests against police proliferate around the world.

"Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we don't have any current or future plans for it to return," a spokesperson for the cable channel said in a statement. 

The show had been pulled temporarily from the air in late May, when protests aimed at police over the death of Floyd began to gain momentum.

The show's 33rd season had been schedule to premiere on Monday, but no episode has aired on Paramount Network since at least June 1 https://t.co/Z8rRirJwB0

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 10, 2020

07:20 GMT - 'Gone with the Wind' removed from HBO Max

"Gone with the Wind" has been removed from the HBO Max streaming platform, as mass protests against racism and police brutality prompt television networks to reassess their offerings.

The multiple Oscar-winning US Civil War epic released in 1939 remains the highest-grossing movie of all time adjusted for inflation, but its depiction of contented slaves and heroic slaveholders has garnered criticism.

"'Gone With The Wind' is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society," an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement to AFP. 

"These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible."

HBO Max just removed Gone With the Wind from its platform citing concerns about racial injustice.

Here is the video of Hattie McDaniel becoming the first African-American to win an Academy Award for her role as Mammy in the film. pic.twitter.com/l0vh8pdpex

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 10, 2020

07:05 GMT - Tennis-Osaka in no mood to back down on support for Black Lives Matter

Naomi Osaka, the world's highest paid sportswoman, says the voices of prominent athletes can be more influential than those of politicians and is determined that hers will be heard on the subject of racial injustice.

The two-times Grand Slam champion has faced a backlash on social media after throwing her support behind the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of Floyd. 

"I'm vocal because I believe in the movement and want to try to use my platform to facilitate change," Osaka told Reuters via email. "Being silent is never the answer. Everyone should have a voice in the matter and use it."

I know I've been attacking a lot of racist Japanese tweets the last few days but Japan is actually a really amazing place. I really don't want to give the misconception that the entire country is racist, they just have a few bad apples like everyone else. Love you guys ❤️

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) June 10, 2020

06:50 GMT - Richmond protesters topple Columbus statue

A statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond was torn down by protesters, set on fire and then thrown into a lake.

The figure was toppled less than two hours after protesters gathered in the city's Byrd Park were chanting for the statue to be taken down, news outlets reported.

After the figure was removed from its pedestal by protesters using several ropes, a sign that reads, "Columbus represents genocide" was placed on the spray-painted foundation that once held the statue.

The Columbus statue in Byrd Park was dumped in Fountain Lake tonight, reports @ardzes.https://t.co/0FzwsCqmz7

— VPM (@myVPM) June 10, 2020

03:45 GMT (Wednesday) - New York legislature votes to scrap police disciplinary secrecy

The legislature in New York has voted to scrap a decades-old law that stops the public from seeing police disciplinary records.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says he will sign the bill into law this week.

03:30 GMT (Wednesday) - CrossFit founder steps down after Floyd tweet criticism

Greg Glassman, the founder and CEO of CrossFit, has stepped down days after he apologised for a tweet about George Floyd's killing that drew widespread criticism.

Glassman said he had "created a rift" in the CrossFit community and "unintentionally hurt many of its members".

The tweet which equated Floyd's death with the coronavirus led to Reebok ending its decade-long partnership with CrossFit.

22:32 GMT - Florida police union official who offered jobs to officers accused of using excessive force suspended by his department

The president of a Fraternal Order of Police chapter in Florida has been suspended by a sheriff's office as it investigates him for a social media post that encouraged officers from departments accused of using excessive force during recent protests to move to Florida.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said at a news conference Tuesday that Lieutenant Bert Gamin had been suspended from his agency as an internal investigation is conducted.

Earlier in the week, Gamin, president of the Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Brevard County, Florida, had called his post "in poor taste" in a statement sent to local media.

The message posted over the weekend on the Brevard FOP Facebook page said, "Hey Buffalo 57 ... and Atlanta 6 ... we are hiring in Florida. Lower taxes, no spineless leadership or dumb mayors rambling on at press conferences ... Plus ... we got your back!" It ended with the hashtags "lawandorderflorida" and "movetowhereyouare."

SUSPENDED: Brevard County Sheriff's Lt. Bert Gamin has been suspended after some inappropriate comments on the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) Facebook page drew criticism from the community and were condemned by law enforcement. https://t.co/nrLtV97okS

— FOX 35 Orlando (@fox35orlando) June 9, 2020

In Atlanta, Georgia, two officers were fired and face criminal charges after video showed them using stun guns on two college students pulled from a car that was in traffic during a large protest. Four other officers were placed on desk duty.

In Buffalo, New York, dozens of police officers stepped down from the department's crowd control unit last week, objecting to the suspensions of two fellow officers in the shoving of a 75-year-old protester who fell and injured his head.

22:08 GMT - Women in the US voice support for Floyd protests with #IAmASuburbanMom hashtag

Women in the US are pushing back against a Republican state representative in Minnesota who suggested that "moms out in the suburbs are scared to death" of the protests against racism and police brutality.

After Paul Gazelka demanded that Minnesota's Democratic governor apologise for allowing the protests to continue, Jamie Becker-Finn, a Democratic member of the state House of Representatives and a mother from the Minneapolis suburb of Roseville, responded, saying she did not need an apology.

"I need the GOP Senate to be more than just sad and sorry that George Floyd was killed by police," Becker-Finn said, adding the hashtag #IAmASuburbanMom.

#IAmASuburbanMom who brought the protest to the suburbs. pic.twitter.com/JITy61Hqdd

— Carrie Firestone (@CLLFirestone) June 6, 2020

Tens of thousands of people have since taken to Twitter with the hashtag, saying they are suburban women standing with protesters over the death of Floyd. As of Monday, it had appeared in more than 40,000 tweets.

21:45 GMT - US Navy to ban Confederate flags on bases, ships and aircraft

The US Navy is working to ban the Confederate battle flag from all public spaces on Navy installations, ships and aircraft, the Navy said on Tuesday, as the military and the country as a whole grapple with questions of racial inequality.

"The order is meant to ensure unit cohesion, preserve good order and discipline, and uphold the Navy's core values of honour, courage and commitment," the Navy said in a statement.

The move follows the Marine Corps ordering the removal of the Confederate flag from all its installations, including prohibiting depicting the flag on mugs and car bumpers, and word on Tuesday that Army officials were "open" to the idea of renaming 10 Army bases named for Confederate icons of the Civil War era.

20:47 GMT - Grammy winner Ne-Yo: Floyd 'changed the world for the better'

Ne-Yo sings Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye" at George Floyd's funeral