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Tear gas choked Paris streets as riot police faced off with protesters setting fires Tuesday amid growing global outrage over George Floyd's death in the United States, racial injustice and heavy-handed police tactics around the world. French protesters took a knee and raised their fists while firefighters struggled to extinguish multiple blazes as a largely peaceful, multiracial demonstration degenerated into scattered tensions.

Hong Kong's leader on Tuesday criticized the “double standards” of foreign governments regarding national security, pointing to the current unrest in the United States as an example of how attitudes differ when protests hit home. “We have recently seen these kind of double standards most clearly with the riots in the United States,” Chief Executive Carrie Lam said. Lam pointed to more recent criticism of an imminent national security law that many foreign politicians have characterized as Beijing eroding freedoms promised to Hong Kong.

Many Hong Kong people will find their own way to mark the 31st anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on protesters in and around Tiananmen Square, after an annual candlelight vigil was cancelled for the first time because of the coronavirus. The anniversary of the crackdown on the student-led democracy protests has a special poignancy this year, coming a week after Beijing gave the green light to move ahead with national security legislation for Hong Kong, which critics fear will crush freedoms in the former British colony. Former Hong Kong student leader Chan Ching-wah, 56, was in Beijing on June 4, 1989, and recalled the kindness of a customs officer who let him to take a bag full of photos and video of the military crackdown when he left Beijing.

Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday that a plane had taken off from arch-foe the United States carrying scientist Sirous Asgari after his apparent release from a US prison. Asgari was accused by a US court in 2016 of stealing trade secrets while on an academic visit to Ohio, but the 59-year-old scientist from Tehran's Sharif University of Technology was acquitted in November.

An Iranian professor imprisoned in the United States after being acquitted of stealing trade secrets has left the country and is on his way back to Iran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an Instagram post on Tuesday. Dr. Sirous Asgari is in the air on a flight back to Iran.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has called in more reinforcement from the National Guard after protests in some Chicago suburbs devolved into violence and looting overnight.

Throughout January, the World Health Organization publicly praised China for what it called a speedy response to the new coronavirus and thanked the Chinese government for sharing the genetic map of the virus “immediately." The story behind the early response to the pandemic comes at a time when the U.N. health agency is under siege.

When Andrés Manuel López Obrador won Mexico’s presidency after years of agitating for change, many expected a transformative leader who would take the country to the left even as much of Latin America moved right. Instead, López Obrador is leading like a conservative in many ways — cutting spending, investing heavily in fossil fuel development and helping the U.S. crack down on the northbound flow of migrants. As coronavirus spreads through Mexico, the president known as AMLO has rejected widespread shutdowns and pressed to keep the economy going.

Missions were small in scale, tactical in nature, and for most soldiers it was a one-way trip.

Hong Kong's leader accused the United States on Tuesday of applying "double standards" in its response to violent protests as she warned Washington's plan to place trade restrictions on the financial hub would "only hurt themselves". Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has been rocked by months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests over the past year, which riot police have stamped out with more than 9,000 arrests. Washington has been critical of Hong Kong's response to the demonstrations with US President Donald Trump last week vowing to end the city's special trading status after Beijing announced plans to impose a sweeping national security law on the business hub.

A Qatari arms factory that makes rifles and grenade launchers has added a product that saves rather than takes lives -- ventilators, needed at home and abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic. The venture is the latest salvo in Doha's charm offensive to cement old partnerships and secure new friends as a bitter spat with Saudi Arabia and its allies drags into its fourth year this Friday. It has also allowed the small Gulf state to draw on capabilities developed the hard way in the wake of its regional isolation.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia led its Gulf allies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, to cut all ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing radical Islamist movements and Iran -- a charge denied by Doha. On May 24, 2017, a statement attributed to Qatar's ruler appears on the state news agency's website, apparently endorsing Islamist movements and criticising US President Donald Trump. Qatar says the site has been hacked and that the statement is fake, but it is picked up and published in regional media.

The curfew will be in effect from 11 p.m. Monday night until 5 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Two KCPD officers hurt during this weekend’s protests are now recovering at home. But at least one protester says police action put him in the hospital, too.

It was around 6.35pm that the tear gas was fired. Hundreds of protesters had gathered by the park just north of the White House under the clear blue sky. Moments earlier some in the crowds had been urging the policemen in riot helmets and shields to “take a knee”, a sign of support for their cause, and chanting “no justice, no peace”. Then, suddenly, the officers push forward. Huge bangs startled the crowds and sent many sprinting away from the front line. Plumes of tear gas forced others back. The officers by foot strode forward while around a dozen followed on horseback. There were screams when each explosion rang out. Some chanted “hands up, don’t shoot”. Around the time the action broke out Donald Trump was due to be addressing the nation from the other side of the White House, in the Rose Garden.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson tore into White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner on Monday night, blaming him for leading the president astray and having “contempt” for Trump’s voters as violent protests rage across the country.Kicking off Tucker Carlson Tonight by raging against the increasingly chaotic demonstrations that have flared up over George Floyd’s death, Carlson first took issue with Republican leaders sympathizing with peaceful protesters.“Who are you talking about?” Carlson growled. “Is it the people spitting foam as they scream ‘F the police’? Is it the one sitting next to the arsonist doing nothing as they set fire to buildings? Is it the kids laughing as they filmed the looting and the beatings on their iPhones?”After wondering aloud why he should be “required to be upset about” an unarmed black man’s death at the hands of police, Carlson then turned his attention to the president, whom he has almost never personally criticized on his show.Noting that Fox News anchor Leland Vittert was harassed by protesters outside the White House on Friday night, Carlson asked Trump: “If you can’t keep a Fox News correspondent from getting attacked directly across from your house, how can you protect my family? How are you going to protect the country? How hard are you trying?”Kayleigh McEnany Insists Trump’s Not ‘Hiding’ While Speaking for HimThe right-wing Fox host went on to grumble that Trump declared the following day that he and his family were safe, complaining that the president “seemed aware only of himself” before warning Trump that he could lose his voters for not taking action, likening him to the infamous Roman emperor Nero.“You can regularly say embarrassing things on television,” Carlson said. “You can hire Omarosa to work at the White House. All of that will be forgiven if you protect your people. But if you do not protect them... then you’re done.”The Fox star then applauded the president for his Monday evening statement threatening to deploy the military to tamp down the protests, which Trump delivered as Washington, D.C., police tear-gassed peaceful protesters. “Good for him,” Carlson said before turning his attention to Kushner.Claiming Trump will lose in November if he doesn’t ratchet up his response to the protests, Carlson blamed Kushner for not understanding the gravity of the situation and advising Trump not to address the situation.“No one has more contempt for Donald Trump’s voters than Jared Kushner and no one expresses it more frequently,” Carlson said. Adding that Trump’s “law and order” worldview remains “fundamentally unchanged” since he first ran for president, Carlson insisted that the president’s “famously sharp instincts” have been “subverted at every level” by Kushner.While Trump appears to sense that Kushner is leading him in the “wrong direction,” Carlson said, Kushner convinced the president to pass criminal justice reform in order to win over black voters.“Several times over the past few days, the president signaled he was very much liking to crack down on rioters,” he continued. “That is his instinct. If you watch it—you believe it. But every time he’s been talked out of it by Jared Kushner and by aides that Kushner has hired and controlled.”CNN’s Don Lemon Goes Off on Trump for ‘Declaring War on Americans’Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

* Demonstrators in close proximity, many without masks * Trump under fire as violence flares across America * George Floyd protests: live coverageEven as all US states continue further phased reopening of businesses and social movement amid the coronavirus pandemic, governors, mayors and public health officials across the US are raising fears of a surge in cases of Covid-19 arising from escalating protests over the death of George Floyd.Floyd, 46, died in Minneapolis a week ago, on Memorial Day, during an arrest by four police officers. The killing focused a fierce light on police brutality towards African Americans, and stoked protest and violence in most major cities.According to figures from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, the US has seen nearly 1.8m infections and surpassed 105,000 deaths  in the Covid-19 pandemic. In a country that does not have universal healthcare, the crisis has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly those who live in crowded urban areas.Images of demonstrators in close proximity, many without masks, have therefore alarmed leaders – to the point where some are pleading with those on the streets to protest “the right way”, in order to better protect themselves.On Monday, New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, expressed concern about “super spreaders” in the crowds of protesters seen across the state, but especially among throngs in New York City. New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, also urged protesters to maintain social distancing and wear masks.“Obviously we don’t want people in close proximity to each other, we don’t want people out there where they might catch this disease or spread this disease,” he said.Police outside the White House fired teargas at protesters on Monday evening while Donald Trump was holding a press conference inside. Substances such as teargas make people cough, which can spread viruses more easily.“I’m concerned that we had mass gatherings on our streets when we just lifted a stay-at-home order and what that could mean for spikes in coronavirus cases later,” Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington DC, had said on Sunday.“I’m so concerned about it that I’m urging everybody to consider their exposure, if they need to isolate from their family members when they go home and if they need to be tested … because we have worked very hard to blunt the curve.”Bowser said protests in her city, which has seen violence several days in a row at the White House and other areas, were a mixed bag.“While I saw some people with masks last night, others didn’t,” she said. “I saw some people social distancing, other people were right on top of each other. So we don’t want to compound this deadly virus and the impact it’s had on our community.“We’ve been working hard to not have mass gatherings. As a nation, we have to be concerned about rebound.”Bowser’s message was echoed by Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland, and by Keisha Lance-Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, who said she was “extremely concerned” about Covid-19 spreading, and that protests had distracted her from dealing with the pandemic.On Saturday, Bottoms said at a press conference: “If you were out protesting last night, you probably need to go get a Covid test this week.”On Sunday, she told CNN’s State of the Union: “I realised that I hadn’t looked at our coronavirus numbers in two days. And that’s frightening, because it’s a pandemic, and people of color are getting hit harder.“We know what’s already happening in our community with this virus. We’re going to see the other side of this in a couple of weeks.”According to the Georgia health department, more African Americans have contracted Covid-19 in the state than any other race.“The question is: how do we do protesting safely?” Dr Ashish Jha, the director of the global health institute at Harvard’s TH Chan school of public health, told CNN. “I think masks are a critical part of it.”In New York, De Blasio said he supported the public’s right to demonstrate peacefully but added that the protests meant an uncertain future.“You have all the frustrations about injustice, combined with the frustrations about the injustice within the pandemic, because the pandemic displayed immense disparity combined with the fact that people spent two months cooped up indoors,” he said.“We don’t know what the summer brings.”Dr Theodore Long, leading the city’s contact tracing strategy, offered advice.“We strongly encourage anybody who is out in the protests to wear a mask, practice proper hand hygiene and to the extent possible, socially distance, though we know that’s not always going to be feasible,” he said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday criticised Black Lives Matter protesters for flouting social distancing rules when the country is on the verge of eliminating the coronavirus, with just one active case remaining. The centre-left leader said she sympathised with people who marched in New Zealand cities on Monday to protest the death of US man George Floyd, an African-American, at the hands of a white police officer. New Zealand, with a population of five million, has recorded just 1,154 cases of COVID-19 with 22 deaths, after imposing a strict seven-week lockdown that ended last month.

A federal judge on Monday upheld Arkansas’ execution process, ruling that the state can continue to use a sedative in lethal injections that other states have backed away from and rejecting claims that its use amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled the use of midazolam in lethal injections is constitutional and dismissed claims that less painful methods of execution are available. “The Court cannot conclude that plaintiffs have proven that the Arkansas Midazolam Protocol entails a substantial risk of severe pain as a result of the use of a 500-mg dose of midazolam as the first drug in the three-drug protocol," Baker wrote in the 106-page ruling.