Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Diplomat named Mali PM, meeting regional bloc demand for civilian

Former foreign minister Moctar Ouane was named as Mali’s interim prime minister, state television said on Sunday, a move likely to trigger the lifting of sanctions imposed by the West Africa regional bloc in the aftermath of the military coup last month. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Friday it would lift sanctions, which have caused imports to the landlocked country to slump 30%, once a civilian premier was named. France’s centre right keeps control of Senate in election

France’s centre-right Les Republicains party was on course to maintain its majority in the Senate after Sunday’s vote, while President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party avoided mishap 18 months away from a general election. Partial results also showed France’s green party making gains, with leaders of the Europe Ecology – The Greens saying they expected to be able to form a group, handing the party a little more clout in the upper house. Betrayed Macron says will continue Lebanon efforts, eyes Hezbollah

French President Emmanuel Macron admonished Lebanon’s leaders on Sunday for serving their own interests ahead of their country and vowed to push ahead with efforts to prevent chaos, but appeared to have no back up plan should his initiative fail. Lebanon’s prime minister-designate, Mustapha Adib, quit on Saturday after failing to line up a non-partisan cabinet, dealing a blow to a French plan aimed at rallying sectarian leaders to tackle the country’s crisis. Greece says first migrant dies of COVID-19 since the pandemic

A male migrant died of COVID-19 on Sunday, the first reported death of an asylum seeker since the pandemic broke out in Greece in late February, a government official told Reuters. The 61-year-old Afghan, a father of two children, who lived at the migrant camp of Malakasa north of Athens, was treated and died at a hospital in Athens, the official said, adding that authorities were tracing his contacts. Yemen’s warring parties agree to their largest prisoner swap as U.N. seeks ceasefire

The U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen wants to build on Sunday’s announcement of the largest prisoner exchange agreement in the five-year conflict to pave the way for a national ceasefire and a political solution to end the war, he said. Yemen’s warring parties agreed to exchange 1,081 prisoners, including 15 Saudis, as part of trust-building steps aimed at reviving a stalled peace process, the United Nations said. Australia COVID-19 hot spot says cases fall to single digits

Australia’s coronavirus hotspot of Victoria said on Monday its daily rise in new coronavirus infections fell to single digits for the first time in more than three months, as the state began winding back some restrictions. Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, placed nearly 5 million residents of its capital Melbourne into a hard lockdown in early August but lifted a night curfew on Sunday thanks to a steady fall in new daily case numbers. Tens of thousands rally against Belarus president in ‘people’s inauguration’

Masked police dragged people into vans and fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds as tens of thousands marched for a seventh straight weekend to demand veteran Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko quit. Protesters chanted “impostor” and “Sveta is our president” as they marched through Minsk and other cities decked out in red-and-white opposition colours. At least 200 people were detained, the interior ministry said. British ministers prepare for social lockdown in northern Britain, London: The Times

The British government is planning to enforce a total social lockdown across a majority of northern Britain and potentially London, to combat a second wave of COVID-19, The Times reported late on Sunday. Under the new lockdown measures being considered, all pubs, restaurants and bars would be ordered to shut for two weeks initially, the report said. Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes kill at least 16, undermine regional stability

At least 16 military members and several civilians were killed on Sunday in the heaviest clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 2016, reigniting concern about stability in the South Caucasus, a corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas to world markets. The clashes between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a war in the 1990s, were the latest flare-up of a long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that is inside Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians. New Zealanders may be able to travel to some Australian states before Christmas, Ardern says

Travel between New Zealand and some states of Australia is possible before the end of the year, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Plans for a travel ‘bubble’ between Australia and New Zealand has been in discussions for months as both nations slowed the spread of the coronavirus, but they were disrupted after a resurgence of COVID-19 in Melbourne, Australia, followed by a second wave of infections in Auckland.