Reuters World News Summary

Lukashenko, a long-standing but truculent Moscow ally, has been buffeted by nearly two weeks of street protests which have loosened his grip on power in a country many Russians regard as another Russian region in all but name.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Libya's Tripoli-based government and a rival parliament take steps to end hostilities

Libya's internationally recognised government in Tripoli announced a ceasefire on Friday and the leader of a rival parliament in eastern Libya also appealed for a halt to hostilities. The statements offered hope for a deescalation in the country's long-running conflict, though previous efforts to secure lasting ceasefires have stalled. Political leaders hold limited sway over armed groups in two broad factions that have been largely split between the west and east of Libya since 2014. U.S. moves to restore all U.N. sanctions on Iran in dispute over nuclear deal

The United States moved on Thursday to restore U.N. sanctions on Iran, including an arms embargo, arguing Tehran was in violation of a nuclear deal it struck with world powers in 2015 even though Washington itself abandoned that agreement two years ago. The United States submitted a letter to the 15-member U.N. Security Council accusing Tehran of non-compliance, starting a 30-day clock that could lead to a "snapback" of U.N. sanctions. Putin bets on Lukashenko keeping power in Belarus for now: sources

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko will probably cling to power for now despite protests against him and is content to let him sweat it out, two sources close to the Kremlin said. Lukashenko, a long-standing but truculent Moscow ally, has been buffeted by nearly two weeks of street protests which have loosened his grip on power in a country many Russians regard as another Russian region in all but name. Wife of Kremlin critic Navalny appeals to Putin to allow his evacuation to Germany

The wife of stricken Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny appealed to President Vladimir Putin on Friday to allow the opposition politician to be flown to Germany for urgent medical care from a hospital in Siberia. Navalny, a foe of Putin and his lieutenants and a campainger against corruption, is in serious condition after drinking tea on Thursday morning that his allies believe was laced with poison. Lebanon enforces new partial lockdown in effort to curb COVID-19

Lebanon imposed a partial lockdown for two weeks starting on Friday in an effort to counter COVID-19 infections which have spiralled since the catastrophic explosion at Beirut port. The spread of COVID-19 is compounding the woes of a country still reeling from the Aug. 4 blast that killed at least 179 people and wounded some 6,000, and a financial meltdown that has devastated the economy since October. After Hagia Sophia, Turkey's historic Chora church also switched to mosque

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reconverted the historic Chora church, one of Istanbul's most celebrated Byzantine buildings, into a mosque on Friday, a month after opening the famed Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship. The mediaeval Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, built near the ancient city walls of Constantinople, contains 14th century Byzantine mosaics and frescoes showing scenes from biblical stories. Spain seeks to shut brothels to curb coronavirus contagion

Spanish Equality Minister Irene Montero has asked regions to order the closure of brothels in a bid to prevent new coronavirus outbreaks, a week after the government shut most nightlife establishments and imposed various other restrictions. The ministry has sent a letter asking "regions to specifically act on places where prostitution is exercised, like brothels", she told radio station RNE on Friday. EU, Britain trade blame after scant progress towards post-Brexit deal

Britain and the European Union made scant progress towards a deal on future ties in talks this week, and their chief negotiators blamed each other for the stalemate as time ticks down to an end-of-year deadline. "Those who were hoping for negotiations to move swiftly forward this week will have been disappointed," the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told a news conference after two full days of talks in Brussels. Mali junta releases two officials as coup supporters plan to rally

Mali's military junta has released two senior government officials detained during the coup against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, an ally of Keita said, as U.N. human rights officials met overnight with the ousted leader. There has been no word from Keita since Tuesday, when he dissolved parliament and then resigned after being detained at gunpoint, deepening the crisis facing a country already struggling to fend off an insurgency by Islamist militants. Belarus opposition council members questioned in criminal case

Two leading members of a newly formed opposition council in Belarus were questioned on Friday in a criminal case that accuses the body of trying to seize power from President Alexander Lukashenko after a disputed election. Dozens of supporters accompanied Maksim Znak and Sarhey Dyleuski as they arrived for questioning at the headquarters of the Investigative Committee.