Equality campaigners have been up in arms this week following the release of a government-commissioned report that claims the UK is not “institutionally racist” and is a model for other countries to follow.
The review was written by an independent panel set up by Boris Johnson last summer in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests - and concludes that while the UK is not yet a “post-racial society”, social class and family structures better explain disparities.
Critics have taken issue with that verdict, and also accuse the report of “glorifying” slavery, after the panel said that the slave era was about how “culturally African people transformed themselves”.
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As the race row continues, the prime minister is facing mounting questions over his “intimate relationship” with US businesswoman Jennifer Acuri during his tenure as London Mayor. The alleged affair is back in the spotlight after Acuri gave a tell-all interview that could impact the ongoing investigation by the Greater London Authority into Johnson’s conduct during his time in City Hall.
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The trial of the former police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd has begun in Minnesota, almost a year after his death triggered protests worldwide. Prosecutors are pursuing three charges against Derek Chauvin: second- and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
In India, hospitals nationwide are nearing breaking point as a double mutation of the coronavirus triggers a spike in Covid cases. More than 68,000 Covid infections were recorded on Monday - a sixfold increase since mid-February - as a growing number of Indian states report cases of the variant.
Over in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro was hit by the resignations of his three most senior military figures after axing his defence minister, Fernando Azevedo e Silva, a reserve army general with 45 years of service.
Meanwhile, investigators in Egypt boarded the Ever Given as a probe began into how the 400-metre-long freight ship became wedged across the Suez Canal. Legal experts are warning that compensation claims for losses triggered by the resulting maritime traffic jam could amount to billions of dollars - and that deciding who should foot the bill could take years.
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