World News Roundup: Lebanese opposition lawmakers stage sit-in to demand new president; Yellen says Russian oil price cap could save African countries $6 billion annually and more

Warsaw and other NATO allies have been urging Germany to give them the go-ahead to send the German-made tanks to Ukraine amid ever louder Kyiv pleas for heavy weaponry it says is essential to turning the tide against Russia's invasion. Yellen says Russian oil price cap could save African countries $6 billion annually Russia's war against Ukraine is hitting Africans particularly hard by exacerbating food insecurity and putting an unnecessary drag on the continent's economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Senegal's capital Dakar on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Lebanese opposition lawmakers stage sit-in to demand new president

Independent lawmakers in Lebanon are staging a sit-in at parliament to pile pressure on dominant factions to elect a new president nearly three months since the post fell vacant with the country in the throes of an economic crisis. "We're staying in an open session until further notice," lawmaker Najat Saliba told Reuters by telephone on Friday, a day after the sit-in began.

Yellen says Russian oil price cap could save African countries $6 billion annually

Russia's war against Ukraine is hitting Africans particularly hard by exacerbating food insecurity and putting an unnecessary drag on the continent's economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Senegal's capital Dakar on Friday. Yellen said ending the war would be the best thing to help the global economy, but Treasury estimated that a Group of Seven-led price cap on Russian crude oil and refined products to limit Russia's revenues could save the 17 largest net oil-importing African countries $6 billion annually.

Poland ready to send Ukraine tanks even if Germany opposes it -deputy FM

Poland could send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine even without Germany's re-export approval, a deputy foreign minister said on Friday, ahead of a crunch meeting on weapons for Kyiv. Warsaw and other NATO allies have been urging Germany to give them the go-ahead to send the German-made tanks to Ukraine amid ever louder Kyiv pleas for heavy weaponry it says is essential to turning the tide against Russia's invasion.

When is the New Zealand prime minister election and how will it work?

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will step down no later than Feb. 7 after a shock resignation on Thursday in which she said she "had no more in the tank". Leadership hopefuls will gather on Sunday when the centre-left Labour party caucus meets to elect a new leader, who will become prime minister. Here's what will happen:

Thousands march on Peru's capital as unrest spreads, building set ablaze

Thousands of protesters in Peru, many from the country's heavily indigenous south, descended on Lima, the capital, on Thursday, angered by a mounting death toll since unrest erupted last month and calling for sweeping change. Police estimated the march at around 3,500 people, but others speculated it attracted more than double that.

UK's bishops apologise to LGBTQI+ people for 'shameful' treatment

Church of England bishops apologised to LGBTQI+ people on Friday for the rejection and hostility they have faced, with the Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledging that the religious body was still "very divided" on the subject. The apology comes days after the Church of England set out proposals developed by the bishops that showed it would refuse to allow same-sex couples to get married in its churches, but said priests could bless them in church.

European leaders urge Berlin to agree tanks for Ukraine

European leaders urged Berlin to give the green light on Friday for the delivery of German-made tanks to Ukraine to fend off Moscow's invasion and both Washington and Kyiv said time was of the essence. The defence ministers' talks at Ramstein Air Base in Germany follow Ukrainian warnings that Russia is seeking to reenergise its almost 11-month-old invasion after unilaterally annexing parts of Ukraine's east and south it does not fully control.

As COVID surged in China, so did spending by funeral providers

A funeral parlour in the Chinese city of Shantou published a tender recently for an "emergency purchase" of two cremation ovens, according to a government procurement database, one of several indications of COVID-19's deadly toll. A funeral service centre in the Sichuan province city of Zigong explained the purchase of 196,230 litres of diesel, a 40% increase from its annual average, by noting its supply was "almost exhausted."

Trade unions call for more strikes over Macron's pension reform

More than a million people marched through French cities on Thursday to denounce President Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the retirement age, with a wave of nationwide strikes halting trains, blocking refineries and curbing power generation. Buoyed by their success, the country's leading trade unions called for a second day of strikes on Jan. 31 in a bid to force Macron and his government to back down on a pension reform plan that would see most people work an extra two years to age 64.

Russia says relations with U.S. at an all-time low

Russia said on Friday that relations with the United States were at an all-time low, dismissing the idea the two sides could turn things around halfway through U.S. President Joe Biden's term in office. "Bilateral relations are probably at their lowest point historically, unfortunately," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.