As the day unfolded: NSW Supreme Court rules against Sydney Black Lives Matter protest as Minneapolis holds memorial service"

Thanks for reading. This is Matt Bungard signing off. We'll be back tomorrow with more coverage of the ongoing fallout in the United States, and around the world.

This is what you need to know from today:

• Sydney Aboriginal leaders say nothing will stop them marching in a Black Lives Matter protest despite it being deemed unlawful by the courts after a last minute move by police to block the rally over fears of coronavirus transmission.

• In Victoria, police warn protest organisers they'll face fines of more than $1600 amid fears an expected 20,000 protesters could promote a new spike in coronavirus cases.

• Two Buffalo, New York, police officers have been suspended without pay after a video showed them shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground, as protests over the police killing of George Floyd continued into their tenth night.

• Queensland police have not ruled out issuing fines for those flagrantly breaking public health orders at solidarity protest for the Black Lives Matter movement, but say it is not practical to do so for the thousands who have indicated they will potentially attend.

• Prominent civil rights activist the Reverend Al Sharpton told mourners at George Floyd's memorial that his fatal encounter with police marked a reckoning for America over race and justice, demanding: "Get your knee off our necks".

French police have banned a demonstration, planned to take place in front of the US Embassy in Paris as protests mount around the world over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The Paris police department said on Friday it had decided to ban Saturday's demonstrations because of the risks of social disorder and health dangers from large gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trouble had broken out on Wednesday at another anti-police demonstration in the French capital. Thousands had turned up despite a police ban on the event in memory of Adama Traore, a 24-year old black Frenchman, killed in a 2016 police operation which some have likened to Floyd's death.

Unrest has broken out across the United States after the killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died on May 25 after a white policeman pinned his neck under a knee for almost nine minutes in Minneapolis.

Reuters

NSW Supreme Court Justice Desmond Fagan has ruled tomorrow's Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney will not go ahead.

In a hearing that stretched for more than four hours, Justice Fagan said the social distancing measures imposed to date have been "the key element" in stopping the spread of COVID-19, thus allowing the protest to go ahead at this time is "an unreasonable proposition".

Justice Fagan added that many forms of public gatherings had been restricted, including funeral services which loved ones had not been able to attend.

Justice Fagan added the right to gather for such a cause is not being "taken away", it is being "deferred".

Prominent civil rights activist the Reverend Al Sharpton has told mourners George Floyd's fatal encounter with police and the nationwide protests against his death ignited have marked a reckoning for America over race and justice, demanding "Get your knee off our necks".

Memorial tributes to Floyd in Minneapolis, where he was killed on May 25, and in New York City's borough of Brooklyn - a major flashpoint for demonstrations - came as protesters returned to the streets of several US cities for a 10th- straight day, including Atlanta, Washington DC, Denver, Detroit and Los Angeles.

The gatherings, while boisterous at times, were for the most part orderly, in contrast to several previous nights punctuated by sporadic arson, looting and clashes between protesters and police.

PA

NSW Supreme Court Justice Desmond Fagan is considering whether to prohibit tomorrow's Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney in court now and appears likely to block it.

He says we are in the midst of a "health crisis" and social distancing has been propounded as one of the most effective means of stopping the spread of COVID-19.

He says that people have given up their livelihoods, their ability to worship and more in order to combat the disease.

"I don't see how I can diminish the [police] commissioner's concerns in that way," Justice Fagan said.
He said this would not deny but merely defer the protest.

Making an order prohibiting the protest would not stop protesters gathering but would leave them open to criminal sanction.