World News Roundup: Bolivia's Arce to take office as socialists; Ethiopian prime minister fires senior officials and more

Azerbaijan announces capture of Karabakh's second-largest city, Armenia denies it Azeris celebrated on the streets of Baku after President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday his country's forces had taken Shusha, the second-largest city in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, but Armenian officials denied the city had been captured.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Bolivia's Arce to take office as socialists return after turbulent year

Bolivia's Luis Arce will be inaugurated as President on Sunday, capping a tumultuous period for the Andean nation and ushering the socialists back into power after long-term leftist leader Evo Morales was ousted amid angry protests late last year. Arce, 57, will be sworn in during a ceremony in La Paz, with heads of state from Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Spain in attendance, as well as senior officials from Chile, Iran and from the government of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

Ethiopian prime minister fires senior officials amid state of emergency

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sacked his army chief, head of intelligence and foreign minister on Sunday, as the military continued a five-day old offensive in the restive Tigray region with a new round of air strikes. Abiy announced a raft of dismissals on Sunday as the conflict escalated and is pushing the country towards civil war.

U.S. is our closest and most important ally, says PM Johnson

The United States is our closest and most important ally, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday, adding London and Washington could do something on trade despite Washington being a tough negotiator. "But on the trade deal with the U.S., I'm a keen student of the United States' trade policy and they're tough negotiators," he told reporters.

Iran's Rouhani says next U.S. administration should make up for Trump's mistakes

Iran's president said on Sunday the next U.S. administration should use the opportunity to compensate for President Donald Trump's mistakes, Iranian state TV reported after Joe Biden captured the U.S. presidency. Tensions have spiked between the United States and Iran since 2018, when Trump exited a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, and then reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

Loved or hated, Trump stamped his face on the Mideast conflict

"God Bless You Donald and Melania" read the poster hanging over an Israeli highway during the U.S. election campaign. In nearby Palestinian areas, anti-Trump graffiti adorned walls. Perhaps nowhere outside his own country did President Donald Trump polarise opinion more than in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, where to many he was either hero or villain.

Azerbaijan announces capture of Karabakh's second-largest city, Armenia denies it

Azeris celebrated on the streets of Baku after President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday his country's forces had taken Shusha, the second-largest city in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, but Armenian officials denied the city had been captured. Shusha, which Armenians call Shushi, is of cultural and strategic importance to both sides and is located 15 km (9 miles) south of the enclave's largest city Stepanakert.

Lebanon's Bassil rejects U.S. sanctions as unjust and politically motivated

Influential Lebanese Christian politician Gebran Bassil said on Sunday that U.S. sanctions against him were unjust, politically motivated and the result of his refusal to break ties with Hezbollah. The United States on Friday blacklisted Bassil, the leader of Lebanon's biggest Christian political bloc and the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, accusing him of corruption and ties to the Iranian-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah movement that Washington deems a terrorist group.

Belarus protests kick off with detentions, police chases

Security forces in Minsk detained 52 people on Sunday, a human rights watch group said, ahead of anti-government protests that have taken place every weekend since a disputed August election returned Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to power. Videos shared by independent local media showed members of the security services armed with batons chasing after some individuals in a public square, then rounding them up and putting them into vehicles. Reuters was not able to independently verify the footage.

Saudi Arabia holds its breath after Biden win

Saudi Arabia, which may have more to lose from Joe Biden's U.S. election victory than other Arab states, has taken its time to comment after the defeat of Donald Trump whose Middle East policies and staunch opposition to Iran had Riyadh's backing. As other Arab states raced to congratulate the Democrat challenger, the kingdom's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman remained silent on the U.S. vote for hours even as he sent warm words to the president of Tanzania on his re-election.

Four Indian soldiers, three militants killed in Kashmir gunbattle

Four Indian army soldiers and three militants were killed in Kashmir on Sunday, an Indian Defence Ministry spokesperson said, in the bloodiest gunbattle in the disputed region since April this year. An army patrol noticed suspicious movement along the LOC in the early hours of Sunday, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.