World News Roundup: Beijing smog casts gloom over China's Lunar New Year holiday; UK ministers in push to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake and more

Nigerian police beat, arrest protesters at site of Lekki shootings: witnesses Nigerian police beat and arrested demonstrators on Saturday as a small group protested over the reopening of the site where activists denouncing police brutality were shot last year in the commercial capital, Lagos, Reuters witnesses said.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Beijing smog casts gloom over China's Lunar New Year holiday

Beijing was once again shrouded in smog on Saturday after several days of heavy pollution which have plagued China's capital during the Lunar New Year national holiday. Visibility across Beijing was severely limited by the smog on the second day of Lunar New Year, with the tops of the city's Beijing's tallest group of buildings in the east of the city almost completely covered by the haze.

UK ministers in push to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake

British ministers, health workers and volunteers will join a weekend drive to encourage those in the most vulnerable groups to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, as the government nears its target of reaching 15 million people in top priority tiers. Britain says it is on track to have offered an injection by Monday to everyone who is aged 70 and over, as well as those who are clinically vulnerable, frontline health and social care workers and older adults in care homes.

Clashes, blasts intensify across Afghanistan

At least four Afghan security force members, including a commander, were killed and seven were critically injured in blasts in eastern and southern provinces on Saturday, officials said, adding that three civilians were injured in the east. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the three attacks, which come amid an upsurge in violence in Afghanistan as clashes intensify between government forces and Taliban insurgents.

Melbourne starts snap virus lockdown, no crowds at Australian Open

Australia's second most populous state Victoria entered a five-day lockdown on Saturday as authorities raced to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 cases sparked by the highly infections UK variant. One new locally acquired case was confirmed in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Saturday, taking the number of cases tied to a quarantine hotel at Melbourne airport to 14 and total active cases in the state to 20.

Myanmar army hunts protest backers over social media comments

Myanmar's army is hunting for seven well-known supporters of protests against this month's coup and they face charges over comments on social media that threaten national stability, the army said on Saturday. Among those named was Min Ko Naing, a one-time leader of bloodily suppressed protests in 1988, who has made calls supporting the street demonstrations and a civil disobedience campaign.

Nigerian police beat, arrest protesters at site of Lekki shootings: witnesses

Nigerian police beat and arrested demonstrators on Saturday as a small group protested over the reopening of the site where activists denouncing police brutality were shot last year in the commercial capital, Lagos, Reuters witnesses said. Rights group Amnesty International and witnesses have said soldiers opened fire on protesters on Oct. 20, killing at least 12 people at a toll gate in the city's affluent Lekki district and another area. The military has denied shooting live rounds and the police have denied involvement.

Oxford University to test COVID-19 vaccine response among children for first time

The University of Oxford has launched a study to assess the safety and immune response of the COVID-19 vaccine it has developed with AstraZeneca Plc in children for the first time, it said on Saturday. The new mid-stage trial will determine whether the vaccine is effective on people between the ages of 6 and 17, according to an emailed statement from the university.

China refused to provide WHO team with raw data on early COVID cases, team member says

China refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to a World Health Organization-led team probing the origins of the pandemic, one of the team's investigators said, potentially complicating efforts to understand how the outbreak began. The team had requested raw patient data on the 174 cases of COVID-19 that China had identified from the early phase of the outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, as well as other cases, but were only provided with a summary, said Dominic Dwyer, an Australian infectious diseases expert who is a member of the team.

EU calls on China to reverse ban on BBC World News channel: AP News

The European Union called on China to reverse its ban on the BBC World News television, the Associated Press reported https://apnews.com/article/europe-beijing-television-media-coronavirus-pandemic-464b7a1fa313f485a012ce1d0f090a5a on Saturday. China barred Britain's BBC World News from its television networks on Friday and Hong Kong's public broadcaster said it would stop relaying BBC World Service radio, a week after Britain revoked Chinese state television's broadcast licence. Analysis: Draghi takes the reins as Italian PM, now comes the hard part

Italians' hopes in Mario Draghi could hardly be higher. But the former European Central Bank chief, who was sworn in as the country's new prime minister on Saturday, will have a tough time fulfilling them. His main tasks will be the efficient management of over 200 billion euros ($241 billion) Italy expects from a European Union fund to help the bloc's recovery, and ensuring smooth progress of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.