World News Roundup: Time is running out to enact any trade deal with UK; Cuba braces for Storm Eta after deadly toll in Central America and more

The United States on Friday blacklisted Bassil, leader of Lebanon's biggest Christian political bloc, accusing him of corruption and ties to the Iranian-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah movement that Washington deems a terrorist group.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Time is running out to enact any trade deal with UK: EU lawmakers

European lawmakers said on Friday time was running out to put in place any new trade agreement between London and the European Union before the end of an 11-month transition period following Britain's departure from the bloc. Britain formally left the EU last January but has been following the bloc's rules since then as the two sides try to agree on their future trade relationship.

Belarusian police detain doctors ahead of anti-government rally

Belarusian police on Saturday detained more than 30 doctors who had planned to take part in an anti-government protest in the capital Minsk, a prominent rights group said. Human rights group Viasna said 35 doctors who had gathered to take part in a rally of medical professionals were detained and taken to police stations.

Cuba braces for Storm Eta after deadly toll in Central America

Cuba's meteorology office warned on Saturday of torrential rain and flooding as Tropical Depression Eta churned northwards towards the Caribbean island, and on track to Florida, after killing more than 70 people in Central America last week. Eta could strengthen back into a tropical storm over the warm Caribbean waters before making landfall on the southern coast of central Cuba overnight, the office said, warning of coastal flooding and winds of 80-100 km per hour.

In Evo's shadow, Bolivia's new president Luis Arce promises moderate socialism

Luis Arce, a quiet economist who will be sworn in as Bolivia's president on Sunday after a landslide election win, knew where he stood in the political spectrum as a young teenager in La Paz, when he picked up the writings of philosopher Karl Marx. Arce steered the Andean country's economy for over a decade under former leader Evo Morales, an ebullient leftist who resigned last year after an election dogged by disputed claims of fraud sparked widespread protests. Arce was often seen as a moderating influence to more radical elements in Morales' Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party.

Ivory Coast opposition leader arrested for creating rival government

Ivory Coast opposition leader and former prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan was under arrest on Saturday for creating a rival government after President Alassane Ouattara's election victory, his wife and a spokeswoman said. Ivorian prosecutors are pursuing terrorism charges against more than a dozen opposition leaders who boycotted the Oct. 31 vote in which Ouattara won a third term in office and announced they were creating a transitional council.

Trump administration advances $10 billion defense sale to UAE, source says

The U.S. State Department sent Congress an informal notification of plans to sell $10 billion of defense equipment, including precision-guided munitions, non-precision bombs and missiles to the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. congressional aide said on Friday. The informal notification about the ordnance, which was sent to lawmakers late on Thursday, came just after President Donald Trump's administration informed Congress it planned to sell sophisticated armed aerial drones to the UAE, news first reported by Reuters.

Lebanon's president seeks evidence behind U.S. sanctions on son-in-law

President Michel Aoun said on Saturday that Lebanon would seek evidence and documents from the United States that led Washington to impose sanctions on his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, a prominent Christian politician. The United States on Friday blacklisted Bassil, leader of Lebanon's biggest Christian political bloc, accusing him of corruption and ties to the Iranian-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah movement that Washington deems a terrorist group.

Ethiopian air strikes in Tigray will continue, says PM, as civil war risk grows

Ethiopian jets bombed the Tigray region on Friday and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledged more air strikes in the escalating conflict amid reports that Tigrayan forces had seized control of federal military sites and weapons. Civilians in the northern region should avoid "collateral damage" by not gathering outside as strikes would continue, Abiy said in a televised speech on Friday evening, defying international pleas for both sides to show restraint.

U.N. panel urges Iran to speed investigation of downed jet

A governing panel at the United Nations' aviation agency urged Iran on Friday to accelerate an investigation into the downing of a Ukrainian airliner in January, while an Iranian official said a final report on the crash would be circulated soon. The International Civil Aviation Organization said members of its 36-nation council issued the call, nearly 10 months after a Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down by an Iranian ground-to-air missile, killing 176 people.

French PM vows to fight radical Islam in tribute to attack victims

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Saturday the government would keep "fighting relentlessly" against radical Islam as he paid tribute to the three victims of a knife attack in the southern city of Nice last month. A Tunisian man shouting "Allahu akbar" (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in the coastal city on Oct. 29 before being shot and taken away by police.