RADIO BLASTS WITH 'REGULAR RHYTHMS' AND UNKNOWN ORIGIN COMING FROM SPACE, SCIENTISTS SAY


New detections represent the 'the most definitive pattern we’ve seen from one of these sources', according to researchers
Andrew Griffin THE INDEPENDENT 6/18/2020

Researchers have picked up strange, repeating rhythms in blasts of energy coming from an unknown source in space.

The blasts are known as fast radio bursts, or FRBs, and are coming to Earth in a stable, repeating pattern, according to a new paper detailing the discovery.

Researchers still do not know the source of those bursts. Though they must come from some very extreme, intense part of the universe, there is no way of knowing what process gives rise to them.

The first FRB was picked up in 2007 and scientists have gone on to find more than 100 since. Initially, they were detected only as individual blasts, but in recent times researchers have found repeating sources.

Now astronomers have started to find bursts repeating in a pattern, where they seem to switch off and on in a predictable pattern.
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Scientists find exact location of radio blasts coming from space

The latest discovery sends out random bursts of radio waves over a four-day window, and then goes quiet for 12 days, before beginning again.

Researchers watched the bursts for more than 500 days, noting that the 16-day pattern occurred consistently over that time, making it the most definitive pattern yet seen.

“This FRB we’re reporting now is like clockwork,” says Kiyoshi Masui, assistant professor of physics in MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

“It’s the most definitive pattern we’ve seen from one of these sources. And it’s a big clue that we can use to start hunting down the physics of what’s causing these bright flashes, which nobody really understands.”

The discovery is reported in a new article, titled 'Periodic activity from a fast radio burst source', published in Nature today.

The latest FRBs were picked up by CHIME, a radio telescope in British Columbia that began its work in 2017. Since then, it quickly started picking up FRBs, using a technique that allows it to stare at the entire sky rather than moving around if and when any burst is detected.

The repeating nature of the burst could give new insight into where they are coming from.

Possibilities include one single object such as a neutron star that is spinning and wobbling in space. That could explain the pattern to the blasts, since the 16-day period may be the time it takes for the object to spin around, with the four days of activity the ones in which it is pointing towards us.

The blasts could also be the result of a binary system such as a neutron star orbiting around another neutron star or black hole. The pattern could be the result of the orbit between , and the interaction between the two objects, which would explain their regular pattern, scientists say.

Another involves a static radio source that is going around a central star – that star could be letting out a cloud of gas that magnify the radio emissions and send them powerfully towards Earth. The repeating pattern could therefore be an indication of when that source travels through its clouds.

The CHIME telescope works to keep exploring FRB, measuring one roughly each day. It will also keep watching the newly discovered burst, and any changes in its properties could offer an important hint about where it is coming from.

Rayshard Brooks death: Trump says 'you can't resist a police officer like that' and claims officer 'heard a shot'


President complains that police were unfairly treated during protests

Gino Spocchia


Donald Trump has described Rayshard Brooks' death as a “terrible situation” whilst appearing to lay blame the black victim, saying “you can’t resist a police officer.”

The US president’s comments came on Fox News on Wednesday night after the Atlanta cop who shot Brooks dead last week, Garrett Rolfe, was charged with felony murder among other charges.

“I thought it was a terrible situation, but you can’t resist a police officer,” Mr Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News. “And, you know, if you have a disagreement you have to take it up after the fact.”

Prosecutors said 27-year-old Brooks, who had stolen a stun gun from officers before attempting to leave the scene outside an Atlanta Wendy’s last week, posed no threat when police shot and killed him.

The white Atlanta cop was also said to have kicked Brooks, who was then wounded on the ground, and denied medical treatment for some time.

Still, the president said on Wednesday that whilst Brooks’s death was “very sad,” US police departments had “have not been treated fairly in our country, but again, you can’t resist a police officer”

The president added that he had seen a report from Rolfe’s lawyer which argued the policeman had “heard a sound like ... a gunshot” before shooting Brooks.

“So that’s an interesting, you know, I don’t know” if “I necessarily believe that...but that’s a very interesting thing”, said Mr Trump.


“I hope he gets a fair shake because police have not been treated fairly in our country,” said the president. “They ended up in a very terrible disagreement and look at the way it ended. Very bad. Very bad.”

Atlanta’s police chief walked-out this weekend over Brooks’s death, as demonstrations against systemic racism and police violence continue amid calls for both police abolishment and reform.

The president on Tuesday signed an executive order banning chokeholds in certain situations, some four weeks on from George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody on 25 May.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rayshard-brooks-death-trump-police-officer-resist-charge-shooting-a9572321.html

In Yemen, a deadly concoction of arms sales, conflict and Covid-19


Without a ceasefire, a humanitarian catastrophe fuelled
by Western arms shipments is about to get much worse.

Yemeni Houthi loyalists at a tribal gathering in Sana’a, 20 February 2020 (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Published 10 Jun 2020 REBECCA BARBER


In April, the UN Security Council issued a statement endorsing the UN Secretary-General’s call for a ceasefire in Yemen to better enable a response to Covid-19. The Council recognised that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen made the country “exceptionally vulnerable”, and that any further military escalation would “hinder the access of humanitarian and healthcare workers and the availability of healthcare facilities”.

The Council is right to be concerned. Thus far, Yemen has confirmed just 469 Covid-19 infections. But testing rates are among the lowest in the world, and the fatality rate – at 24% – is one of the highest, suggesting that the real caseload is much higher. The UN Secretary General said last week that there was “every reason to believe that community transmission is already underway across the country”.

Even without Covid-19, after more than five years of war, Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The conflict has devastated the economy, destroyed civilian infrastructure and brought the provision of basic services to the brink of collapse. The health system has been particularly hard hit. Hospitals have been bombed, only half the country’s health facilities are fully functioning, power cuts are common, and items such as personal protective equipment and ventilators are in short supply.


As concerns about the spread of Covid-19 in Yemen have escalated, arms sales have continued.

The conflict in Yemen has been fuelled by arms supplied by foreign states to the Saudi Arabian–led international coalition (or SLC), which since 2015 has been engaged in a military campaign to oust the Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest arms importer. Most of its arms come from the US, followed by the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Canada. Other SLC members Egypt and the UAE are also among the world’s leading arms importers, receiving most of their weapons from the US and France.

Since 2015, arms exports to the SLC have continued despite overwhelming evidence that the SLC has been violating human rights and international humanitarian law in Yemen. Most of the civilians killed in the conflict have been killed in SLC airstrikes, many of which have targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure – schools, houses, markets, farms, factories. Some of these attacks were carried out with weapons supplied by Western states. A report released by human rights organisations last year documented 27 “apparently unlawful Saudi/UAE-led Coalition attacks” on civilian homes, educational and health facilities, businesses and gatherings that appeared to have used weapons made in the US or UK.

The supply of arms to the SLC has prompted efforts to block arms sales through legislative and judicial processes. Last year the UK Court of Appeal ruled that the UK Government had acted illegally by exporting arms to Saudi Arabia without assessing whether the SLC had been violating international humanitarian law. In the US, Congress has repeatedly tried to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia, but every time has been overruled by presidential veto. The European Parliament has called for an EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia.
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock (onscreen) briefs members of the Security Council during a video teleconference on the situation in Yemen, 16 April 2020 (UN Photo)

As concerns about the spread of Covid-19 in Yemen have escalated, arms sales have continued. In April, Canada lifted a moratorium on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, and in May, the US approved a possible sale of thousands of armoured vehicles to the UAE. Germany has approved US$341 million in arms sales to Egypt and $8.5 million to the UAE this year alone.

In other words, members of the Security Council have called for a ceasefire while simultaneously providing arms to enable the fighting in Yemen to continue.

This is not the only irony in the Security Council’s response to the conflict. The other is that in 2014 the Council established a sanctions regime for those found to be violating international human rights and humanitarian law. It established a Panel of Experts to review the evidence and help it decide whom to impose sanctions on. Every year since 2016, the Panel of Experts has reported to the Council that all parties to the conflict in Yemen have violated human rights and international humanitarian law, and it has recommended that sanctions be imposed against individuals from all parties. The Security Council has responded by imposing sanctions and an arms embargo against Houthi-aligned individuals, while studiously ignoring the evidence regarding the SLC’s airstrikes and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law – that is to say: the evidence from its own Panel of Experts, which it established for the specific purpose of assisting it to designate individuals and entities to be subject to sanctions.

To be clear: states such as the US, the UK, France, Canada, Germany and others who have supplied arms to the SLC have contributed to the destruction of Yemen’s infrastructure. In doing so, they have aided in the collapse of Yemen’s healthcare system, and thus increased the country’s vulnerability to Covid-19. These countries should now hold themselves responsible for enabling a response to the outbreak. This means immediately ceasing arms sales to members of the SLC, funding the humanitarian response to enable aid agencies to respond to Covid-19, and supporting a Security Council resolution that extends the existing sanctions regime to include individuals engaged in violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, from all sides of the conflict.

FAA 'made mistakes' with 737 Max oversight, agency chief says


Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Steve Dickson speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Pool Photo by Graeme Jennings/UPI | License Photo
June 17 (UPI) -- The head of the Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged Wednesday that the agency and Boeing "made mistakes" that led to two 737 Max aircraft crashing within months of each other and killing hundreds of people.

Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation ripped into FAA Administrator Steve Dickson during a hearing examining the agency's process of certifying aircraft.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused Dickson of not taking responsibility for the FAA's faults when the latter used passive voice to tell lawmakers "mistakes were made."

"So, unknown somebodies made unspecified mistakes for which there were no repercussions," Cruz said. "What mistakes were made and who made them?"

Dickson rephrased his remark.

"The manufacturer made mistakes and the FAA made mistakes in its oversight. The full implications of the flight control system were not understood as design changes were made," he said.

Boeing and individual governments worldwide grounded the 737 Max in spring 2019 after the crashes occurred over the span of about six months.

Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea on Oct. 29, 2018, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board. The plane was en route from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang -- both in Indonesia.

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed months later on March 10, 2019, in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, about 6 minutes after takeoff. The crash killed all 157 on board who were en route from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya.

Aviation investigators linked both crashes to a malfunction of the planes' Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which can affect pitch in an aircraft. When pilots attempted to respond to the system, it caused them to nose dive.
RELATED British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair ask High Court to nix quarantine

Senators at Wednesday's hearing accused the FAA of stonewalling a congressional investigation into the agency's certification process.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said there was a "lack of responsiveness" to the panel's request for documents.

"It's hard not to conclude your team at the FAA has deliberately attempted to keep us in the dark," he told Dickson.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Mass., said that since Dickson took control of the FAA, the "culture of secrecy ... has only been aggravated."

"The fact of the matter is that the FAA has been complicit in these crashes by failing to do more diligent oversight," he said.

The senator said the FAA should do more of the work of evaluating aircraft instead of simply overseeing as manufacturers conduct tests.

As Dickson testified, an attendee raised a sign behind him featuring photos of crash victims.

Michael Stumo, the father of Flight 302 passenger Samya Stumo, testified in the afternoon.

"The first crash should not have happened," he said. "The second crash is inexcusable.

"They gambled, we lost."
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New diamond frog species found in northern Madagascar


Though the coloration of the new species, Rhombophryne ellae, is unlike most other diamond frogs, its red to orange flash markings on its legs are common among hopping amphibians. Photo by Mark D. Scherz

June 16 (UPI) -- Scientists have discovered a new species of diamond frog in the dense tropical forests of northern Madagascar. The new species, Rhombophryne ellae, belongs to a genus that has doubled in diversity over last decade.

The diamond frog was found inside northern Madagascar's Montagne d'Ambre National Park, which is known for its rich biodiversity.

While the national park's flora and fauna are relatively well-studied, its forests continue to offer up previously undescribed species.

In recent years, the park's reptile and amphibian populations have offered scientists a wealth of surprises. Rhombophryne ellae -- described Tuesday in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution -- is only the latest.

"As soon as I saw this frog, I knew it was a new species," lead researcher Mark D. Scherz said in a news release. "The orange flash-markings on the legs and the large black spots on the hip made it immediately obvious to me.

"During my master's and Ph.D. research, I studied this genus and described several species," said Scherz, herpetologist with the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Germany. "There are no described species with such orange legs, and only few species have these black markings on the hip."

Often, new species look so similar to their relatives that scientists must resort to DNA analysis to confirm two species are genetically -- and taxonomically -- distinct. The new diamond frog species is so visibly distinct, scientists didn't need to wait for the genomic sequencing results -- they knew.

The newly named frog's closest relative is an undescribed frog from Tsaratanana, an area 300 miles south of Montagne d'Ambre National Park.

Though the new species is quite different from most other diamond frogs, he is one of many hopping amphibians to boast red to orange flash-markings. Although the color pattern has evolved dozens of times in frogs, scientists still aren't sure of its function.

Now that Rhombophryne ellae is official in the scientific literature, Scherz and his colleagues will turn their attention to the frog's unnamed relatives. In Madagascar, the work of biological discovery is never-ending.

RELATED Mothering poison frog in Madagascar helps scientists study the maternal brain

"The discovery of such a distinctive species within a comparatively well-studied park points towards the gaps in our knowledge of the amphibians of the tropics," Scherz said.

"It also highlights the role that bad weather, especially cyclones, can play in bringing otherwise hidden frogs out of hiding -- Rhombophryne ellae was caught just as Cyclone Ava was moving in on Madagascar, and several other species my colleagues and I have recently described were also caught under similar cyclonic conditions," he said.

State Department approves $862.3M sale of Sidewinder missiles to Canada


Captain Steve Boatright, an F-16C Fighting Falcon pilot with the 34th Fighter Squadron "Rude Rams", located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, fires an AIM-9M Sidewinder heat-seeking missile at an MQM-107 "Streaker" sub-scale aerial target drone over the Gulf of Mexico recently. Photo by Michael Ammons/U.S. Air Force | License Photo

June 16 (UPI) -- The State Department announced Tuesday that it had approved a possible $862.3 million sale of 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Tactical missiles and related equipment to the Canadian government.

"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the military capability of Canada, a NATO ally that is an important force for ensuring political stability and economic progress and a contributor to military, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations around the world," said DSCA's statement.

According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the government of Canada requested 50) Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Tactical missiles; 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Captive Air Training Missiles, 10 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Special Air Training Missiles and assorted related equipment, as well as technical and logistics support, upgrades to the Advanced Distributed Combat Training System to ensure flight trainers remain current with the new technologies and software development.

The prime contractors on this deal will be Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing and Collins Aerospace.

In April 2019 Raytheon was awarded a $12.1 million contract for AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles for the United States and 21 allies.

The AIM-9X Sidewinder missile includes advanced infrared-tracking, short-range, air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, and the Block II variant has a redesigned fuse and a digital ignition safety device to enhance ground handling and in-flight safety.

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About 1 in 7 worldwide can't afford food or shelter, survey shows

A displaced girl waits for water at a temporary shelter in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 29. Gallup's index listed Afghanistan as the nation with the greatest share of citizens in the "high" vulnerability range. File Photo by Hedayatullah Amid/EPA-EFE

June 16 (UPI) -- About 750 million people worldwide are unable to afford food or shelter, or both, according to a new research report published Tuesday.

Gallup reported in its Basic Needs Vulnerability Index that about one in seven adults classify as part of the "high vulnerability" group, meaning they struggle to afford food and/or shelter and don't have any support systems.

The figures, compiled in almost 150 countries last year, said every nation has "high vulnerability" populations. Afghanistan has the greatest share in this group, 50 percent, and several nations -- including Britain, Sweden and Singapore -- have the lowest share at 1 percent.

Gallup's index found that a person's health plays a factor in their vulnerability classification.

"More than four in 10 of the highly vulnerable (41 percent) say they have health problems that keep them from doing activities that people their age normally do," Gallup wrote. "This percentage drops to 29 percent among those who are moderately vulnerable and to 14 percent among those with low vulnerability."

Nearly half of the world's population, 47 percent, is in the "low" vulnerability category -- those who can afford food and shelter and have supporting systems like relatives or friends.

Thirty-nine percent fell into the "moderate" category -- those who, at times, were unable to afford the basics but have friends or family for support.

Other very highly vulnerable populations were found in Benin (49 percent), Malawi (36 percent) and Togo (34 percent). India, home to one of the world's fastest-growing economies, is listed in the "high" category with 30 percent of its population vulnerable.

Five percent of the United States fell into the "high" vulnerability group, tied with Russia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

Gallup surveyed more than 140,000 people in 142 nations to compile the index, which has a margin of error between 1.5 and 5.4 points.
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Researchers baffled by 'completely weird' underwater tornado

May 27 (UPI) -- Researchers said a tornadolike formation caught on camera off the coast of Australia was "completely weird."

Schmidt Ocean Institute researchers were performing live commentary on a live-stream video of a remotely operated vehicle dive in Coral Sea Marine Park, off the Queensland coast, when the underwater tornado appeared on the sea floor.

The commentators described the formation as "amazing," "completely weird" and "really unusual."

Marine geologist Robin Beaman, one of the scientists performing the commentary, said the formation was reminiscent of a benthic storm, which involves waves traveling under the surface and creating turbulence near the ocean floor.

The scientists said they do not know the cause of the whirling water.

Scientists find unique underwater rivers along Australia's continental shelves

Researchers say the scale of underwater rivers along the Australian continental shelves is unprecedented. Photo by palinska/Pixabay

June 17 (UPI) -- Underwater rivers running along Australia's continental shelves are unlike any others in the world, according to a group of scientists at the University of Western Australia. Researchers claim the scale of the underwater rivers is unprecedented.

"This is the most significant discovery for coastal oceanography in recent decades, not only in Australia but globally," Chari Pattiaratchi, professor of coastal oceanography, said in a news release.

Researchers detailed their discovery of these unique underwater rivers this week in the journal Scientific Reports.

The scientists used a fleet of underwater autonomous vehicles, part of Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System, to observe the underwater rivers as they shifted through the seasons.

"The data spanned more than a decade and is the equivalent to spending more than 2500 days at sea," said Tanziha Mahjabin, who completed the research as part of her doctoral thesis at University of Western Australia. "We were able to examine data from different areas of Australia and also look at the seasonal variability."

Scientists typically use satellites to study river plumes, the flow patterns formed where large amounts of freshwater meet bodies of saltwater.

But the large, unique flow patterns found along Australia's continental shelves are hidden beneath the surface, invisible to satellites.

Unlike coastal freshwater inflows in other parts of the world, where freshwater remains buoyant and flows on top of the water, Australia's freshwater is quickly evaporated as a result of its hot, dry summers. As a result, coastal waters are actually denser than surrounding ocean water.

Scientists estimate the underwater rivers are fueled by these differences in density, sediment load and temperature of coastal and deep ocean water masses. As temperature and composition differences in the adjacent water masses shift through the seasons, the rivers ebb and flow in size and strength.

"The coastal ocean is the receiving basin for suspended and dissolved matter that includes nutrients, plant and animal matter and pollutants and represents an important component of the ocean environment, connecting the land to the deeper ocean," said UWA researcher Yasha Hetzel.

According to the study's authors, their findings suggest underwater rivers play an underappreciated role in the transportation of sediments, pollution and marine nutrients along the coasts of continents all over world.

 Floyd's brother tells UN 'black lives do not 

matter' in US

AFP / Fabrice COFFRINIGeorge Floyd's brother calls on the UN to set up an independent commission to investigate the killings of African Americans by police

George Floyd's brother on Wednesday begged the United Nations to help African Americans because "black lives do not matter in the United States", as the UN's rights chief urged reparations for centuries of discrimination.

Philonise Floyd made an impassioned speech via video-link to an urgent United Nations Human Rights Council debate on "systemic racism" in the US and beyond.

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the "gratuitous brutality" of Floyd's death in police custody encapsulated racism that harmed millions of people of African descent.

She also urged countries to confront the legacy of slavery and colonialism and to make reparations.

The council, based in Geneva, is debating a draft resolution pushing for Bachelet to investigate racism and police civil liberties violations against people of African descent in the United States.

President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the council two years ago.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white police officer -- since charged with murder -- pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.

Amateur video of the incident sparked demonstrations and calls to address systemic racism in the United States and around the world.

Philonise Floyd said his brother had been "tortured to death" as witnesses begged the officer to stop, "showing us black people the same lesson, yet again: black lives do not matter in the United States of America".

"You in the United Nations are your brothers' and sisters' keepers in America, and you have the power to help us get justice for my brother George Floyd."

"I am asking you to help him. I am asking you to help me. I am asking you to help us black people in America."

He urged them to establish an independent international commission of inquiry -- one of the UN's highest-level probes, generally reserved for major crises like the Syrian conflict.

- Probe proposal dropped -

An initial text presented on Tuesday on behalf of 54 African countries had proposed such an inquiry.

But the proposal was dropped, the resolution heavily watered down following stark opposition from Washington and some of its allies.

But the proposal was dropped, the resolution heavily watered down following stark opposition from Washington and some of its allies.

It now calls on Bachelet and UN rights experts to "establish the facts and circumstances relating to the systemic racism, alleged violations of international human rights law and abuses against Africans and people of African descent" by law enforcement in the US and beyond -- especially those incidents that resulted in deaths.

POOL/AFP / MARTIAL TREZZINIUN rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged countries to confront the legacy of slavery and colonialism and to make reparations

The aim, it said, was "to ensure the accountability of perpetrators and redress for victims".

In her statement to the council, Bachelet said Floyd's death had brought to head the sense of outrage felt by overlooked people and the protests were "the culmination of many generations of pain".

"Behind today's racial violence, systemic racism, and discriminatory policing lies the failure to acknowledge and confront the legacy of the slave trade and colonialism," the former Chilean president said.

She stressed the need to "make amends for centuries of violence and discrimination, including through formal apologies, truth-telling processes, and reparations in various forms."

- US call for transparency -

On Tuesday, Trump issued an order to improve policing, calling for a ban on dangerous choke holds -- except if an officer's life is at risk.

The executive order encourages de-escalation training, better recruitment, sharing of data on police who have bad records, and money to support police in complicated duties related to people with mental or drug issues.

However, it stopped well short of demands made at nationwide protests.

Andrew Bremberg, the US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said his country was open in its commitment to addressing racial discrimination and injustice, citing Trump's executive order.

"We call upon all governments to demonstrate the same level of transparency and accountability," he said.

"Sadly, there are too many places in the world where governments commit grave violations of human rights and practice systematic racial discrimination while many of those assembled in Geneva are silent."

It remains to be seen whether the current draft resolution will pass.

Australia, South Korea and the Netherlands all issued statements in the chamber that were broadly supportive of Washington's outlook.

"We have confidence in their transparent justice systems to address these issues appropriately," Australia's representative said.

The UN Human Rights Council's 47 members are due to vote on the resolution following the urgent debate, which was set to conclude on Thursday.

Wednesday marks only the fifth time in the council's 14-year history that it has agreed to hold an "urgent debate", which is like a special session, but within a regular session of the council.

Brother of George Floyd asks U.N. to take action on violence against black people

Philonise Floyd called on the United Nations to take action to address violence against black people and police brutality during an Urgent Debate on racism Wednesday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
June 17 (UPI) -- Philonise Floyd urged the United Nations to launch an international probe into the killings of black people in the United States following the police-involved killing of his brother George Floyd.

During the U.N Human Right's Council's urgent debate on racism, Floyd delivered an impassioned plea on Wednesday for the international body to take action in response to police brutality in the United States as exhibited in the killing of his brother by Minneapolis police and violence against protesters who have demonstrated throughout the world in response to his death.

"You watched my brother die. That could have been me," Floyd said in a recording played during the debate. "I am my brother's keeper. You in the United Nations are your brothers' and sisters' keepers in America and you have the power to help us get justice for my brother George Floyd. I am asking you to help him. I am asking you to help me. I am asking you to help us. Black people in America."

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed opened the debate by saying that George Floyd's death was the "most recent trigger" for the global protests but said that the violence "spans history and borders alike" throughout the world.
RELATED House debates police reform bill; Senate unveils rival proposal



"Today people are saying loudly and movingly, 'enough.' The United Nations has a duty to respond to the anguish that has been felt by so many for so long," Mohammed said. "This cause is at the heart of our organization's identity. Equal rights are enshrined in our founding charter. Just as we fought apartheid years ago, so must we fight the hatred, oppression and humiliation today."

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet issued a similar statement declaring "Time is of the essence. Patience has run out."

Bachelet called for specific institutions and law enforcement agencies throughout the world to be reformed in addition to implementing measures to address "pervasive racism," adding that lethal harm results too often.

RELATED Trump signs executive order for police reforms

"Gratuitous brutality has come to symbolize the systemic racism that harms millions of people of African descent," she said.

Bachelet also said she has been "disturbed by the criminal acts undertaken by a small number of people amid the many peaceful protests around the world" while adding video evidence has shown excessive use of force by police "including during entirely peaceful protests."

Philonise Floyd detailed some of the violence he has witnessed during the protests, which he said was an effort to silence the voices of the demonstrators.

RELATED Family of Rayshard Brooks call for justice, change in policing in Atlanta

"When people dared to raise their voice and protest for my brother, they were tear-gassed, run over with police vehicles, several people lost eyes and suffered brain damage from rubber bullets and peaceful protesters were shot and killed by police," he said. "Journalists were beaten and blinded when they tried to show the world the brutality happening at the protests. When people raise their voices to protest the treatment of black people in America they are silenced; they are shot and killed."

Protesters demand justice in police killing of George Floyd


Doctors and medical care workers march and rally outside the Twin Towers Jail to express outrage at police brutality in Los Angeles on June 13. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo