Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Libyan foreign minister says groups of foreign fighters left Libya

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush told a news conference in Kuwait on Sunday that groups of foreign fighters have left Libya.

Thousands rally for Tunisian president urging a change to the political system

Thousands of supporters of Tunisian President Kais Saied rallied in the capital and other cities on Sunday to back his suspension of parliament and promises to change the political system, acts his critics call a coup. The demonstration of at least 8,000 people in central Tunis was by far the biggest since Saied seized executive power in July – a show of support by his supporters that dwarfed two protests over the previous two weekends against his actions.

Qatar flight with more than 230 evacuees leaves Kabul, official says

A fifth chartered flight carrying civilians from Afghanistan to Qatar since U.S. forces withdrew in August left Kabul on Sunday with 235 passengers, most of them Afghan citizens, a senior Qatari government official said. Citizens from several other states were also on the flight, the official said, without identifying them. The passengers will be housed in a compound in Qatar that is hosting evacuees from Afghanistan until departing to their final destinations.

UAE official says time to manage rivalry with Iran and Turkey

The United Arab Emirates is trying to manage long-running rivalries with Iran and Turkey through dialogue to avoid any new confrontations in the region as the Gulf state hones in on its economy post COVID-19, a senior official said. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told a conference on Saturday there was uncertainty about the United States commitment to the region and concern about a “looming cold war” between Washington and Beijing.

German liberals press conservatives to say if they want to govern

Germany’s liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) pressed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives to say whether they really want to lead a new coalition government, ramping up pressure on its would-be ruling partners ahead of exploratory talks on Sunday. The conservatives’ chancellor candidate, Armin Laschet, has said he wants to form a government, even after his bloc of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) slumped to a record low result in last Sunday’s vote.

Philippines’ Duterte says daughter running for president in 2022 elections – media

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter will run for president in the 2022 election and her father’s long-time aide, who has filed his vice presidential candidacy, will be her running mate, ABS-CBN news reported late on Saturday. Sara Duterte-Carpio is currently mayor of Davao, the Philippines’ third-largest city, and on Saturday filed her candidacy to run again for mayor. She has previously said she would not run for national office next year.

N.Korea accuses U.N. of double standards over missile tests, warns of consequences

North Korea said on Sunday the United Nations Security Council applied double standards over military activities among U.N. member states, state media KCNA said, amid international criticism over its recent missile tests. The Council met behind closed doors on Friday upon requests from the United States and other countries over the North’s missile launches.

No more immigration: PM says Britain is in period of adjustment

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday he would not return to “uncontrolled immigration” to solve fuel, gas and Christmas food crises, suggesting such strains were part of a period of post-Brexit adjustment. At the start of his Conservative Party’s conference, Johnson was again forced to defend his government against complaints from those unable to get petrol for their cars, retailers warning of Christmas shortages, and gas companies struggling with a spike in wholesale prices.

French Catholic Church had an estimated 3,000 paedophiles since 1950s – commission head

The French Catholic Church has had an estimated 3,000 paedophiles in its ranks over the past 70 years, the head of an independent commission investigating the sex abuse scandal said in an interview published on Sunday. The scandal in the French Church is the latest to hit the Roman Catholic Church, which has been rocked by sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children, over the past 20 years.

Ecuador police, military enter Guayaquil jail amid violence

A police and military operation to enter a jail in the southern Ecuadorean city of Guayaquil amid disturbances mobilized more than a thousand personnel, officials said on Saturday. The Regional Guayas jail is located next to the Penitenciaria del Litoral prison, where 118 inmates were killed in the country’s worst-ever prison violence earlier this week.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)