New York City police have come under criticism after a viral video showing officers, including some in plainclothes, were seen arresting a protester and taking her away in an unmarked van as protest continued across the country.

Videos of the arrest have circulated on social media, attracting scrutiny from politicians and civil rights groups.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “There is no excuse for snatching women off the street and throwing them into unmarked vans,” connecting these actions to authoritarianism.

US Congresswomen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – who was subject to a verbal attack by Florida Republican Representative Ted Yoho – slammed the comments and the apology made by Yoho, at the House Chamber, in Washington, D.C.

She emphasised the incident as extending the “culture of lack of impunity and accepting of violence and violent language against women” and that “an entire structure of power supports that”.

The University of Hong Kong has fired an associate law professor, Benny Tai, under criminal charges for his role in the 2014 pro-democracy “umbrella protests.”

Australian supreme court granted a bid on Sunday to prevent Black Lives Matter protests from happening in Sydney, accepting police concerns about possible coronavirus outbreaks.

Several thousand people had been expected to gather in Sydney on Tuesday to protest the deaths of Aboriginal people in custody, building on the recent international Black Lives Matter protests due to the killing of George Floyd.

Two people have been killed and between 20-30 injured by security forces during renewed anti-government protests on Sunday in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, over corruption, rising unemployment, and poor public services.

The UN human rights office has called on U.S. police security forces to limit their use of force against protestors and journalists on Friday, due to recent clashes between federal agents and protestors in Portland, Oregon.

UN human rights spokesperson stated that:

“[Peaceful demonstrations] really must be able to continue without those participating in them and also the people reporting on them, risking arbitrary arrest or detention being subject to the unnecessary, disproportionate or discriminatory use of force, or suffering other violations of their rights.”

Recent racial injustice protests

Malaysian authorities confirmed the arrest of a Bangladeshi worker who has been critical of the government’s treatment of migrant workers in a recent documentary by broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Mohammed Rayham Kabir has also had his work permit revoked and is to be expelled from the country after being quoted in the Qatar-based media outlet’s documentary on the detention of undocumented migrant workers during the recent lockdown. Malaysian authorities have refused to comment on the particular reasons behind his arrest or whether there was a suspicion of criminal activity.

A hospital in Lyon, France is testing a new breathalyzer-style machine that can tell doctors whether a patient has Covid-19 within seconds.

The French hospital, Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse, is entering its second trial phase of the new machine after three months of use on dozens of both infected and healthy people.  

Christian George the director of research at the National Centre of Scientific Research at the French hospital stated the new breathalyzer machine will “register the molecules in the exhaled air and then detect the traces of the sickness.”

Villagers living in the Pakistani-controlled disputed region of Kashmir accused Indian forces of “intentionally targeting” civilians with mortar fire. 

Indian officials have not responded to the claims, but they have previously accused Pakistan of violence in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.

<p>On the 19th July, in an interview with the BBC, China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, has refuted reports that Uighur women in the western Xinjiang region are the subjects of a calibrated sterilisation.</p> <p>Xiaoming was challenged with drone footage that seems to show Uighurs being blindfolded and herded onto trains. The “not beautiful coverage” of Xinjiang depicts the Uighurs kneeling, blindfolded and shaven. The video posted anonymously online last year, has resurfaced recently, and gained much attention.</p> <p>"I cannot see this view," he stated, before probing the credibility of the source.</p>