Informing, engaging & connecting the people of the world. JUNE 9, 2020

To view this newsletter online, please click here .

Family and friends are honoring George Floyd at a private funeral Tuesday in the U.S. city of Houston, two weeks after his death in police custody inspired renewed protests against police brutality in numerous cities across the country.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY   On June 9, 1954, attorney Joseph Welch was representing the U.S. Army at a hearing convened by anticommunist crusader Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Welch interrupted McCarthy as the Wisconsin senator accused one of Welch’s fellow attorneys of having communist ties.  “Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator,” Welch said. “You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”  The televised exchange marked the beginning of the end of McCarthy’s national popularity.

U.S. demonstrations over Floyd’s death sparked wonder in the Middle East, where mass protests in Iraq and Lebanon were only recently quieted by pandemic lockdowns. Activists say they see their dreams reflected in the calls of U.S. protesters and express support and warnings.

Several restaurants and cafes were damaged amid the protests that flared up in Washington. But despite repair expenses and having to wait even longer to finally reopen, some business owners are choosing to support the protesters.

Hundreds of activists and ordinary citizens in Hong Kong marked the first anniversary of the city’s anti-government movement by staging protests.  On June 9 last year, about 1 million Hong Kongers staged a peaceful protest against a proposed extradition, plunging the former British colony into one of the deepest crises in its history. More than 8,900 people have been arrested since the protests began.

U.S. military officials said more than 60 Islamic State (IS) terrorists were captured by U.S.-backed forces in Syria as part of a major campaign to hunt down remnants of the terror group. Since its territorial defeat in March 2019, IS has carried out terror attacks against civilians and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, especially in areas along the border with Iraq.