Italy begins 3-day lockdown

Italy entered a threeday nationwide coronavirus lockdown Saturday to deter Easter travel and get-togethers, even as the country’s variant-fueled spike in new infections began to wane.

The government had announced last month that it would place all regions into the strictest “red zone” lockdown over the Easter weekend to limit the chances of contagion, taking the same precautions it enforced over Christmas and New Year’s.

Travel between regions and visits to relatives were being limited through Monday. Nonessential shops were closed, and restaurants and bars were only open for takeout.

The Interior Ministry also ordered up extra foot police patrols to break up large gatherings in squares and parks, which over Easter are usually packed with picnic goers.

Myanmar forces kill 2 more demonstrators

Security forces in central Myanmar opened fire on anti-coup protesters Saturday, killing at least two people according to local media. A human rights group said mounting violence since the Feb. 1 military takeover has killed at least 550 civilians.

Of those, 46 were children, according to Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Some 2,751 people have been detained or sentenced, the group said.

Threats of lethal violence and arrests of protesters have failed to suppress daily demonstrations across Myanmar demanding the military step down and reinstate the democratically elected government. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

Government forces fired at demonstrators in central Myanmar on Saturday, killing at least two people, the Myanmar Now news service reported. One video posted on social media showed a group of protesters carrying away a young man with what appeared to be a serious head wound, as gunfire sounded. His condition wasn’t immediately known.

At least seven people were injured in the shooting.

Thousands march to protest U.K. police bill

Hundreds of people marched Saturday through central London and other cities across England and Wales to protest the British government’s plan to hand the police new powers to tackle demonstrations.

Protesters walked past Buckingham Palace towards Parliament Square, just outside the Houses of Parliament. A ring of officers positioned themselves around the statue of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square; the statue had been defaced during antiracism protests last year.

Protesters, including many who carried anti-sexism placards and chanted “Women scared everywhere, police and government do not care!” passed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office at No. 10 Downing Street.

The protests were taking place over the long Easter holidayweekend, including inthe northern England cities of Liverpool, Manches