More statues fall as Floyd is laid to rest amid calls for end to racism

Men walk past a mural of George Floyd painted on a section of Israels controversial separation barrier in West Bank on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Hundreds of teary-eyed mourners wearing masks attended the solemn funeral service of George Floyd, whose custodial killing led to widespread protests in the US and other countries against police brutality and racial injustice.

Floyd, an African-American, was laid to rest on Tuesday as his friends and family shared personal stories about him and made pleas for racial justice in the US. Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 when a white police officer pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck while the 46-year-old gasped for breath. Floyd-s daughter Gianna attended the service with her mother and their attorney. "Dad changed the world," she said during a recent protest.

Workers clean a statue of Britain-s Queen Victoria that was defaced in Leeds

Meanwhile, protests continued not only in the US but across the world. Protesters in Richmond town in the US, tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus, set it on fire and then threw it into a lake.

Its toppling comes amid national protests over the death of Floyd and several days after a statue of Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham was pulled from its pedestal in Monroe Park by demonstrators who also used ropes to tear it down. Native American advocates have also long pressed states to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day over concerns that Columbus spurred centuries of genocide against indigenous populations in the Americas.

A worker rests after slave owner Robert Milligan's statue was taken down in the UK

NY OKs bill to repeal police secrecy law

New York lawmakers on Tuesday repealed a law that has kept law enforcement officers- disciplinary records secret. The passage came as criminal charges were brought against an NYPD officer over his rough treatment of a protester during demonstrations.

Merriam-Webster redefines -racism-

Merriam-Webster is revising its definition of racism after a Missouri woman claimed it fell short of including the systemic oppression of certain groups of people. It first defines racism as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race." The second definition is, "divided to express, first, explicit institutional bias against people because of their race, and, second, a broader implicit bias that can also result in an asymmetrical power structure."

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel @middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever