Australian state blocks protest

An Australian court granted a last-minute appeal to allow an anti-racism march in Sydney on Saturday despite concerns about the coronavirus. Demonstrators had already begun to gather outside Sydney’s Town Hall when the court ruled they could lawfully protest just 30 minutes before the march was scheduled to begin, The Guardian reported. Police handed out masks to protesters, while other officials distributed hand sanitizer.

How is the pandemic affecting social movements? Protesters turned out on Saturday in London, Paris, Seoul, and other international cities—some despite gathering bans—to show solidarity with African Americans decrying the death of George Floyd. Floyd died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck during an attempted arrest. In London, most protesters wore masks and appeared to make an effort to follow social distancing guidelines by walking in small groups. Authorities in Paris banned a protest scheduled for Saturday in front of the U.S. Embassy because of several public safety concerns, including the spread of the coronavirus, but several thousand people gathered nearby anyway.

Dig deeper: Read June Cheng and Erica Kwong’s report on an unauthorized vigil in Hong Kong to remember the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.