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, reports Al Jazeera.
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.
Protests have erupted in hundreds of US cities after George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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.
North Carolina city passes resolution to remove Confederate monuments
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
Florida police official suspended over racism charges
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."
US Navy to ban Confederate flags on bases
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.
NYC Governor 'disgusted' by Trump tweet about Buffalo protester
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that he was "disgusted" by President Donald Trump's claim that a 75-year-old man seen in a video being pushed by a Buffalo police officer during a protest "fell harder than (he) was pushed".
"President Trump did a tweet today that surprises me even after all the tweets he has done," Cuomo said at his daily news briefing.
Trump suggested that the protestor, Martin Gugino, had staged his fall at the hands of an officer during a protest last Thursday, and that he could be "an ANTIFA provocateur" who appeared to be trying to electronically black-out police communications.
Two Buffalo officers were arraigned on assault charges on Saturday over the incident, which left Gugino hospitalised.
