World News Roundup: Myanmar police file charges against Aung San Suu Kyi after coup; Tripoli, Lebanon's poorest city, on edge after curfew, protests and more

With social media solidarity, protesting Indian farmers win global attention Protesting Indian farmers won global attention on Wednesday with prominent Western activists joining pop superstar Rihanna in support of their months-long campaign against agriculture reforms but India said the intervention was irresponsible.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

As Poland's Church embraces politics, Catholics depart

Katarzyna Lipka is no longer Catholic, and she says that is a political statement. Like most Poles, the 35-year-old has marked life's milestones in the Church, a beacon of freedom in Communist times. Also like many, she'd been drifting away. In November, after the country's courts decreed a clampdown on abortion that the bishops had lobbied for, she filed papers to cut loose.

Tripoli, Lebanon's poorest city, on edge after curfew, protests

Lebanon's poorest city, Tripoli, was again racked by violent protests last week, and some politicians and experts warn that unrest could spread if more is not done to support people facing deepening poverty amid coronavirus restrictions. The country was already in financial meltdown before the pandemic struck, with national debt spiralling, unemployment high and a tumbling currency stoking inflation.

Myanmar police file charges against Aung San Suu Kyi after coup

Myanmar police have filed charges against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment and she will be detained until Feb. 15 for investigations, according to a police document. The move followed a military coup on Monday and the detention of Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi and other civilian politicians. The takeover cut short Myanmar's long transition to democracy and drew condemnation from the United States and other Western countries.

Italy's president asks Draghi to form govt, parties hesitate

Italian President Sergio Mattarella asked former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Wednesday to form a government to tackle the twin coronavirus and economic crises battering the country. Draghi must now try and muster support in the fractured parliament, with some political parties reluctant to back an administration led by a technocrat.

With tears and flowers, Britain mourns 'hero' Captain Tom Moore

With flowers and lights, Britain paid tribute on Wednesday to Captain Tom Moore, 100, who touched the hearts of millions by offering a simple message of hope and self-sacrifice during the COVID-19 lockdown. Moore, who raised tens of millions of pounds for the National Health Service by walking up and down his garden, leaning on a frame, died on Tuesday in Bedford Hospital after suffering pneumonia and COVID-19. He had been fighting cancer for 5 years.

South Korea urges U.S. flexibility on sanctions to restart North Korea talks

The United States should flexibly enforce sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear programmes to revive denuclearisation talks, South Korea's point man on North Korea said on Wednesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula at their first summit in 2018, but a second summit and subsequent working-level talks fell apart.

UK asks EU for Brexit grace period extension to 2023, BBC reports

Britain has asked for an extension until 2023 of a grace period on checks that would be conducted on trade moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom to soften the Brexit impact on the province, the BBC reported. Political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Cabinet Office Secretary Michael Gove had written to the European Commission's vice president, Maros Sefcovic, to ask for urgent political solutions.

With social media solidarity, protesting Indian farmers win global attention

Protesting Indian farmers won global attention on Wednesday with prominent Western activists joining pop superstar Rihanna in support of their months-long campaign against agriculture reforms but India said the intervention was irresponsible. Tens of thousands of farmers have been camped out on the outskirts of New Delhi since late last year, braving the winter chill to oppose three new laws that they say will benefit big business at their expense.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny jailed, declares Putin 'the Underwear Poisoner'

A Russian court jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Tuesday, ignoring the West in a ruling the opposition politician blamed on President Vladimir Putin's personal hatred and fear of him. The Moscow court handed Navalny a three-and-a-half-year sentence, but his lawyer said the anti-corruption blogger would actually serve two years and eight months in jail because of time already spent under house arrest.

Thousands protest Myanmar coup in Tokyo, demand Japan take tougher action

Thousands of Burmese demonstrators gathered outside Japan's foreign affairs ministry on Wednesday demanding Tokyo join its allies in taking a harder stance against the military coup in Myanmar. Wearing red and waving printed photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, a long line of protesters surrounded government buildings in Tokyo, where large political demonstrations are relatively rare.