Over 10,000 arrested as protests rage ahead of George Floyd memorial

Demonstrations against police brutality over the killing of George Floyd continued for a ninth consecutive night in the US on Wednesday but were notably calmer than on previous evenings, with city curfews, a rethinking of police tactics and rain credited for the decline in property damage, arson and looting as the total number of arrests from the protests hit 10,000.

Barack Obama has spoken out to hail the “transformative” actions of activists and to offer a key message of hope to people of color: “I want you to know that you matter, I want you to know that your lives matter, that your dreams matter.”

His successor Donald Trump has meanwhile lashed out at his ex-secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, after the admired general wrote an op-ed for The Atlantic in which he said he was “angry and appalled” by events of the last week, saying the president “tries to divide us” and was incapable of “mature leadership”.