World News Roundup: Myanmar's Suu Kyi asks court to let her meet lawyers; Prince Harry arrives back in the UK for Prince Philip and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

India's daily virus infections are world's highest but crowds gather for festival

Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees flocked on Monday to take a holy bath in India's Ganges river, even as the nation racked up the world's highest tally of new daily coronavirus infections. With 168,912 new cases, India accounts for one in six of all new infections globally, although the figure is still well below the U.S. peak of nearly 300,000 new cases on Jan. 8.

Britain opens official probe into former PM Cameron's lobbying: The Sun

Britain has launched an official independent probe into former Prime Minister David Cameron's efforts to lobby ministers on behalf of financier Lex Greensill, The Sun newspaper, and the BBC reported. The probe is likely to be independent and carried out on behalf of the Cabinet Office, the BBC said. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the reports.

Peru presidential vote heads for run-off, far-left candidate leads

Peruvian far-left candidate Pedro Castillo is set to win the Andean country's first-round presidential election, though he will face a run-off vote in June with an electorate fragmented after a year of political and economic crisis. The 51-year-old union leader and primary school teacher, a shock winner after a late surge in the polls, had 16.2% of the vote with half the ballots tallied on the official count https://www.resultados.eleccionesgenerales2021.pe/EG2021/EleccionesPresidenciales/RePres/T. A fast count from Ipsos Peru showed him winning the race.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi asks court to let her meet lawyers, activists urge New Year defiance

Myanmar's detained government leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked a court on Monday to be allowed to meet her lawyers in person when she appeared at a hearing via video link to face charges brought by the military junta that could see her jailed for years. As Suu Kyi appeared, her supporters called for people to show their opposition to the Feb. 1 coup during this week's traditional new year holiday in the largely Buddhist country.

Prince Harry arrives back in the UK for Prince Philip funeral

Prince Harry, whose explosive interview alongside his wife Meghan plunged the royal family into its biggest crisis in decades, has arrived back in Britain for Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday. Philip, the husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth who had been at her side throughout her 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday.

One person shot dead in front of Paris hospital: police source

Two people were shot in front of a hospital in Paris on Monday, a police source told Reuters. The source said that one person was dead, another was injured and being treated at the Henry Dunant hospital in front of which he had been shot.

Yemen's Houthis say they attacked Saudi Aramco facilities; no Saudi confirmation

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Monday it had fired 17 drones and two ballistic missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Aramco facilities in Jubail and Jeddah. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation. Saudi Aramco, the state oil firm, said when contacted by Reuters that it would respond at the earliest opportunity.

'I'm so excited' - England reopens with pints pulled, shopping sprees and hair cuts

Crowds queued up outside shops, pubs started selling pints at midnight and hairdressers welcomed desperate customers on Monday as England started to reopen its economy after three months of lockdown. After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain's peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening was a "major step" towards freedom but urged people to behave responsibly as the coronavirus was still a threat.

Ukraine says Putin won't talk to Zelenskiy about Russian troop build-up despite request

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has not yet been able to speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine despite lodging a request to do so, Zelenskiy's spokeswoman said on Monday. Kyiv and Moscow have traded blame over the worsening situation in the eastern Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed forces in a conflict Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.

Philippines, U.S. launch military drills amid South China Sea tensions

Philippine and U.S. soldiers started two weeks of military exercises on Monday against a backdrop of rising tensions in the South China Sea, though the drills were reduced in scale due to the coronavirus pandemic. The countries are proceeding with the exercises, which were postponed last year due to the pandemic after Manila recently accused China of territorial incursions by hundreds of its vessels manned by militias in the South China Sea.