The world demands justice for George Floyd: Thousands of protesters from Berlin to New Zealand show solidarity with US demonstrators as violent riots rock America

• Thousands rallied outside the US embassies in London, Copenhagen and Berlin, chanting 'I can't breathe,' the words Floyd gasped as a white police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last Monday 
• They defied coronavirus lockdowns in Dublin, Ireland; Toronto, Canada; Cardiff, Wales; and in the Italian cities of Rome and Milan, to protest the latest African-American death in police custody in the States
• Candles were lit in Krakow, Poland, and also in Mashhad, Iran, where leaders have cynically criticised Donald Trump's 'racism' and tweeted their support for #BlackLivesMatter
• In Germany's Bundesliga - Europe's first top flight soccer league to get back into action amid the pandemic - players wrote messages under their shirts and, inspired by the NFL, 'took a knee'
• Dozens of American cities have been set ablaze over the last seven days in deadly clashes with police officers over the killing of Floyd, whose death is seen as a symbol of systemic police brutality against black men

Protests over the death of George Floyd have swept across the globe with demonstrations from Poland to New Zealand in solidarity with US demonstrators caught up in violent riots.

Thousands rallied outside the US embassies in London, Copenhagen and Berlin, chanting 'I can't breathe,' the words Floyd gasped as a white police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last Monday.

They defied coronavirus lockdown and social distancing rules in Dublin, Ireland; Toronto, Canada; Cardiff, Wales; and in Milan, Italy; to protest the latest African-American death in police custody in the States. 

Candles were lit in Krakow, Poland, and also in Mashhad, Iran, where leaders have cynically criticised Donald Trump's 'racism' and tweeted their support for #BlackLivesMatter.

In Germany's Bundesliga - Europe's first top flight soccer league to get back into action amid the pandemic - players wrote messages under their shirts and, inspired by the NFL, 'took a knee.' 

Dozens of American cities have been set ablaze over the last seven days in deadly clashes with police officers over the killing of Floyd, whose death is seen as a symbol of systemic police brutality against African-Americans. 

Scroll down for video. 

WASHINGTON, DC, USA: Demonstrators flipping a car over and smashing its class windows during a protest near the White House on Sunday night

The protests around the world were comparatively peaceful, although in London protesters outside the gates of Downing Street chanted, 'F**k the police.' 

One of those chanting was waving the black and red flag of Antifa (anti-fascist). Donald Trump has accused the militant left-wingers of fomenting anarchist violence during the riots in the States. 

Twenty-three were arrested in the capital: three for breaching coronavirus legislation, two for assaulting officers and others for a range of offences including possession of an offensive weapon and breaches of COVID legislation.

Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators also packed the lawns outside Cardiff Castle and in St Peter's Square in Manchester they flocked with placards which said: 'The UK is not innocent.'

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday appealed for the US not to 'tear itself apart' and said that the Floyd case was 'very distressing'. 

But he insisted he would not comment on the backlash against Donald Trump's response to a wave of furious protests across the US, merely saying he wanted the country to 'come back together.' 

TORONTO, CANADA: Black Lives Matter protesters joined thousands across the world in spontaneous marches over the weekend

BLM, which has become an international group after it launched seven years ago in response to African-American deaths in police custody, was successful on Sunday in mobilising thousands throughout the world. 

Raab appeals for US not to 'tear itself apart' over 'distressing' Floyd case

Asked about Donald Trump's response, Dominic Raab told Sky: 'I'm not going to start commenting on the commentary or indeed the press statements that other world leaders make, or indeed the US president.

'Footage of what happened to George Floyd was very distressing, as has been the scenes across America of the rioting and some of the violence.

'And what we do know is that the lead suspect has now been charged with murder, there is a federal review and we want to see de-escalation of all of those tensions and American come together.'

Later he told the BBC: 'I've long kept to the self-imposed guidance not to comment on what President Trump says or indeed other world leaders, it is not really what my job is.'

Mr Raab said he wanted to see the US 'come back together not tear itself apart over this, and of course that is a very distressing and upsetting case'. 

In New Zealand protesters gathered across the North and South Islands in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

BLM protests in Australia were cancelled, however, over fears of violence. 

Nigerian-New Zealand musician, Mazbou Q, who organised the protest, said the gatherings were not just about the death of Floyd.

'The ongoing persecution of the black community is an ongoing phenomenon. The same white supremacy which has led to disproportionate killings of black people in the US exists here in New Zealand,' he told the crowd.

'We pride ourselves on being a nation of empathy, kindness and love. But the silence from the government and the media does not reflect that at all. In fact, it makes us complicit.'

Nigerian-born mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya was one of about 4,000 demonstrators who gathered in Auckland 

In Christchurch, where 51 people were killed by a self-proclaimed white supremacist last year, one speaker, Josephine Varghese, told the crowd: 'We demand racial and economic justice. Black lives matter, indigenous lives matter, Muslim lives matter.' 

In London one demonstrator said that the protests were 'very important because it is sending a clear message that we have had enough racial injustice in our country'.

Isabelle Orsini, 20, originally from New York, said: 'The US obviously has a much deeper and darker history of black discrimination compared to the UK. The reason people are so angry is because this is reopening wounds that go back hundreds of years.

'It is very important that we do whatever it takes to tell our government that racism will not be tolerated.'

After marching on the US Embassy, they crossed back over the Thames before gathering at the base of Grenfell Tower where 72 mainly black and ethnic minority people died in a 2017 fire.

A reverend at a church on Trafalgar Square, where the protest started, said she was 'very sympathetic' towards those marching but expressed some concern about how close they were.

Reverend Sally Hitchiner, associate vicar at St Martin-in-the-Fields, said: 'It's showing there are people in the UK who care passionately about the situation in the US.

'Clearly they're not following lockdown and social distancing, but I think there's a huge amount of passion there and that's overriding their concerns.

'It's an issue that requires passion but at the same time there's a huge amount of risk in what they're doing.' 

A man in a Spiderman costume raises his fist in solidarity with protesters with the Freedom Tower shining in the back during protests in Brooklyn Sunday evening

Two men fleeing the store were arrested down the block by cops who arrived two minutes after the break in.

In Los Angeles the county sheriff said people were out on the streets 'acting like terrorists' following a day that saw peaceful protests alongside widespread looting and store raids. 

'The peaceful [protesters]... tend to remain peaceful but what's embedded within them are people that are right now, they're just acting like terrorists, trying to instill fear, damage property and loot,' Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said to press Sunday. 

'There's no lawful protesters left anymore. Everybody who's here is just trying to do damage,' he added.