VOA NEWS

June 2, 2020

This is VOA news. Via re(mote, I'm Marissa Melton.)



U.S. President Donald Trump declared himself "your law and order president" in remarks in the Rose Garden at the White House Monday evening as protesters just a block away from the White House spread tear gas and rubber bullets fired by military police.

The president vowed that he will fight to protect the American people. He said he is an ally of peaceful protesters but added that in recent days, the nation has been gripped by, in his words, "professional anarchists," criminals, looters and others.

Trump cast the violence of the protests and looting that have taken place in American cities over the past six days as "acts of domestic terror."

He vowed to use all federal resources both civilian and military to stop the looting and the violence.

He pledged to protect the rights of all Americans including that of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the right to bear arms.

He spoke just minutes before a 7 p.m. curfew was to take effect in the District of Columbia, the nation's capital city.

A block away in front the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, a line of military police on horseback advanced on a crowd of protesters to drive them out of the area. Some protesters yelled their rage at television cameras as they departed. Others walked in pairs to wash tear gas from their eyes.

After the president spoke and the area in front of the church was cleared, the president surrounded by his daughter Ivana, son-in-law Jared and a group of other aides in business suits toured the protest area on foot, waving to law enforcement officers who are guarding the perimeter.

The protests stemmed from anger over the death a week ago of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, who was pinned face down on a [me...] Minneapolis street by a white policeman, Derek Chauvin, who held a knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes even as Floyd said he could not breathe.



From Washington D.C., you're listening to VOA news.



The State Department is issuing "demonstration alerts" in Amsterdam, Sydney, Bermuda and elsewhere as demonstrations in support of the growing protests in the United States began in other parts of the world. Protesters over the death of [George Flo...] George Floyd continue with plans to assemble near U.S. diplomatic posts.

The U.S. Consulate General in Australia said it would close early tomorrow as demonstrations may take place beginning at 5 that afternoon. On Monday today, the [gene...] General Consulate in Bermuda said it was closed to the public.



The International Rescue Committee says COVID-19 infections in Afghanistan rose by almost 700 percent in May.

The committee said Afghanistan's extremely low testing capacity resulted in many suspected cases going untested and undetected.

The IRC said millions of Afghans were already facing food [secure] insecurity after decades of conflict and now the economic strain of the COVID pandemic "leaves Afghanistan on the brink of a humanitarian disaster."

Russia reported more than 9,000 new COVID-19 infections on Monday. Only the United States and Brazil have more cases than Russia.

South [Afr...] African schools were scheduled to open Monday, but those plans were canceled at the last minute. The Health Ministry had received pushback from teacher unions, school staff and governing boards about the opening date.

The White House announced Sunday it has delivered two million doses of hydroxychloroquine to Brazil to help the [South African country] South 5American country, rather, [fi...] in its fight against the coronavirus.

Hydroxychloroquine is a widely used malaria drug. U.S. President Donald Trump, in a controversial move, has ignored his public health advisers and has pushed for the use of the drug in the fight against the coronavirus even though there is no hard evidence that the drug is effective against the coronavirus.

Trump recently announced that he has taken a round of the drug even though he says he does not have the virus.

Also Monday, the prime minister of Armenia tested positive for coronavirus. He told Public Radio of Armenia that he and his family have tested positive, but all are asymptomatic.



China has threatened to retaliate against the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to begin the process of eliminating Hong Kong's special status and impose restrictions on Chinese students in the U.S. Trump's action was prompted by a new Chinese national security law in Hong Kong.

Speaking to reporters at the daily briefing on Monday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said "the announced measures severely interfere with China's internal affairs, damage U.S.-China relations, and will harm both sides.

He said China is firmly opposed to this, adding that "any words or actions by the United States that harm China's interests will meet with China's firm counterattack."



Marissa Melton, VOA news.