Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Libya’s presidency seeks consensus on election law

The head of Libya’s Presidency Council said on Saturday he would urge candidates in elections proposed for December not to take part unless there was consensus on the vote’s legal framework. Speaking to Reuters in New York, Mohamed al-Menfi said it was his goal to make sure the national presidential and parliamentary elections went ahead as planned on Dec. 24.

U.S. border agents briefly detain 14 Mexican soldiers in El Paso

Fourteen Mexican soldiers were detained early Saturday morning for several hours by U.S. border agents after they crossed into El Paso, Texas, from Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)said. “Just after midnight today CBP officers working at the Bridge of the America’s international crossing in El Paso noted two Mexican military vehicles crossing the boundary and entering the U.S.,” the CBP told Reuters in an emailed statement.

Germans vote in close election to decide Merkel successor

Germans vote in a national election on Sunday that looks too close to call, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) mounting a strong challenge to retiring Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives. Merkel has been in power since 2005 but plans to step down after the election, making the vote an era-changing event https://reut.rs/3hfDamG to set the future course of Europe’s largest economy.

Kosovo says offices attacked in volatile north as Serbs block roads

Two interior ministry offices in northern Kosovo were attacked near border crossings blocked by local Serbs angered by a ban on cars with Serbian licence plates entering the country, police said on Saturday. The car registration office in the town of Zubin Potok was set ablaze and two hand grenades were thrown at the civil registration office in the town of Zvecan, though they did not go off, the police said.

Quad leaders press for free Indo-Pacific, with wary eye on China

Leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia vowed on Friday to pursue a free and open Indo-Pacific region “undaunted by coercion” at their first in-person summit, which presented a united front amid shared concerns about China. The two-hour meeting at the White House of the Quad, as the grouping of four major democracies is called, will be watched closely in Beijing, which criticized the group as “doomed to fail.”

UK warned visa plan to fix truck driver shortage will not solve crunch

Britain’s decision to issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers is a short-term fix that will not solve an acute labour shortage that risks major disruption for retailers in the run-up to Christmas, business leaders have warned. Long lines of vehicles formed at petrol stations for a second day on Saturday as motorists waited in line, some for hours, to fill up with fuel after oil firms reported a lack of drivers was causing transport problems from refineries to forecourts, leading some operators to ration supplies and others to close gas stations.

China welcomes Huawei executive home, Trudeau hugs Canadians freed by Beijing

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrived in China on Saturday, ending her near three-year U.S. extradition fight, the same day two Canadians detained by Beijing for more than 1,000 days returned home, potentially paving the way for improved ties between China and the two western allies. Meng https://www.reuters.com/business/huawei-heir-apparent-prepares-life-after-three-years-canada-court-battle-2021-09-24, the daughter of Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei, was allowed to go home after reaching an agreement with U.S. prosecutors on Friday to end a bank fraud case against her.

Catalan separatist leader to attend hearing in Italy on Oct. 4

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said on Saturday he would be in Sardinia on Oct. 4 to attend a court hearing on his European arrest warrant after being kept in police custody in Italy for less then 24 hours. A court in Sardinia released Puigdemont on Friday, a day after Italian police detained him under the European arrest warrant issued by Spain, as he travelled to the Italian island to attend a Catalan folklore festival in the city of Alghero.

Exclusive-Under U.S. sanctions, Iran and Venezuela strike oil export deal – sources

Venezuela has agreed to a key contract to swap its heavy oil for Iranian condensate that it can use to improve the quality of its tar-like crude, with the first cargoes due this week, five people close to the deal said. As the South American country seeks to boost its flagging oil exports in the face of U.S. sanctions, according to the sources, the deal between state-run firms Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) deepens the cooperation between two of Washington’s foes.

Lavrov says Mali asked private Russian military company for help

Mali has asked a private Russian military company to help it fight against insurgents, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday at the United Nations. Mali’s year-old military junta is close to a deal to recruit the Russian private military contractors the Wagner Group, sources have told Reuters, triggering opposition from France, which has said it was “incompatible” with a continued French presence in the West African state.

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