End racism, police brutality

Thousands have marched in cities around the world for a second week of rallies to support the US Black Lives Matter movement, but also to highlight racism and police brutality in their own countries.

There were rallies in cities across Europe on Saturday, with thousands demonstrating in several French cities, and clashes breaking out in Paris and Lyon. The protesters were back on the streets yesterday in major cities from Tokyo to Barcelona.

Police arrested several far-right demonstrators in London after violence when they challenged people supporting racial quality there, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson denouncing their "racist thuggery".

The weeks of historic demonstrations have been ignited by the May 25 killing of African American George Floyd by a police officer -- the latest in a long line of unarmed black men being killed by white law enforcement in the US.

His agonising death as the officer knelt on his neck was filmed by bystanders and swiftly went viral, triggering fury first in the US and then around the world.

The mass unrest has forced an unprecedented global conversation on the legacy of slavery, European colonialism and white violence against people of colour, as well as the militarisation of police in America.

Police stopped protesters in Paris Saturday from marching through the capital, firing tear gas after some demonstrators pelted them with projectiles.

In the southeast city of Lyon, police used water cannons and tear gas at the end of a demonstration attended by about 2,000 people.

The Paris demonstration was called by a pressure group campaigning for justice for Adama Traore, a young black man who died in police custody in 2016.

Amnesty International called in a statement for "a systemic reform of police practices" in France. The rallies came at the end of a week when France's police watchdog revealed it had received almost 1,500 complaints against officers last year -- half of them for alleged violence.

In London, far-right protesters clashed with police in the city centre after gathering to challenge people demonstrating against racism.

Thousands of people defied coronavirus restrictions to assemble in and around Parliament Square, requiring a "major" policing operation, said the Metropolitan Police Service. Television footage showed some agitators throwing punches, bottles and smoke bombs at officers as well as fighting with rival protesters.

Police said they arrested more than 100 people, and six officers suffered injuries.

Anti-racism protests went ahead in other British cities, including Brighton in the south and Liverpool in the north.

Thousands marched in several cities across Switzerland, with the largest in Zurich, where 10,000 people turned out.

In Germany, around 2,000 rallied in the southern city of Stuttgart, the DPA news agency reported. In the north, another 500 turned out in Lubeck and 250 in Hamburg.

In Australia, thousands turned out in several cities for the second weekend running, despite coronavirus restrictions. The biggest was in the Western Australian capital Perth.

In Asia, hundreds gathered in a Taipei park with some holding signs with slogans such as "This is a movement, not a moment".  Dozens also marched through the rain in Tokyo.