Where are the Black Lives Matter protests taking place in the UK?

Thousands of people have begun protesting around the world over the death of George Floyd in the US.

Floyd, a black man from Minneapolis, died last week after being filmed gasping for breath as a white policeman knelt on his neck in the city.

Since then violent demonstrations have erupted across the US over his death, with protesters reigniting the Black Lives Matter movement aimed at ending police brutality and racism.

Protests have also taken place in the UK over the weekend and look set to continue this week. But where exactly are they happening?

Why are people protesting?

George Floyd died last week after he was pinned to the pavement in Minneapolis, by a white police officer who put his knee on the handcuffed black man's neck while restraining him.

Floyd was seen in a video pleading for air.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, is due to appear in court next week after being charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other police officers have been fired but not charged.

On Monday, his death was declared a homicide in an official post-mortem examination, which said he died from a “cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s)”.

The 46-year-old’s death set off protests that spread across the US and which have seen at least 5,600 people arrested so far.

Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the military if state governors do not stamp out violent protests over police brutality.

A military deployment by Trump would mark a stunning federal intervention rarely seen in modern US history.

Where are the protests happening in the UK?

Protests have already taken place in London, Cardiff and Manchester last weekend with more planned this week.

Protesters knelt in central London's Trafalgar Square on Sunday, chanting: "No justice, no peace", and then marched past the Houses of Parliament before ending their march at the US embassy.

The Metropolitan Police said they had made five arrests outside the embassy – three for violations of the coronavirus lockdown guidelines and two for assault on police.

More protests have been organised for this weekend in Leeds, and another will take place in Birmingham on Thursday, beginning in the city’s Victoria Square.

In Manchester, there are more marches scheduled for Saturday in Piccadilly Gardens, while Coventry, Cambridge and Bath are all set to stage smaller demonstrations.

In central London there is another protest planned on Saturday, despite the UK’s Black Lives Matter Twitter account saying the organisation is not associated with the plans.

Where else are protests taking place?

Demonstrations also took place over the weekend in Italy, Syria, Brazil, Mexico, Ireland and Austalia.

Thousands of New Zealanders marched peacefully on Monday in Auckland and the capital Wellington.

In Wellington, more than 100 people walked from New Zealand's parliament building to the American Embassy, chanting “black lives matter”.

Crowds gathered in Berlin in front of the US embassy on Saturday and Sunday. Participants wore face masks and carried signs declaring "justice can't wait".

Activists wearing black clothing and face masks took a knee and held up signs reading "I can't breathe," "We are all George Floyd" and "Racism chokes us" in Paris on Monday.

Chants of "no justice, no peace" were also heard In the streets of Copenhagen on Sunday, as protesters marched over Floyd's death. Some rallied outside the Danish capital's US embassy.