Iraq has rejected Syria's request to repatriate thousands of suspected Islamic State members transferred from Syrian detention centers to Iraqi custody earlier this year, a senior Iraqi security official said.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi said Wednesday that a meeting had been held recently between Syria, Iraq and the United States to discuss the fate of the prisoners.

European soccer body UEFA has detailed the kind of FIFA president it wants to replace Gianni Infantino — "a respected and unifying figure, deeply rooted in football."

A candidate that "represents FIFA globally and provides leadership without exercising management functions," UEFA said on Thursday after a meeting of its 55 member federations that shaped a strategy to find an opponent for Infantino before a Nov. 18 deadline.

Enzo Maresca came out in defense of Manchester City's ownership on Friday, despite the club being found guilty of breaking the Premier League's financial rules in the biggest scandal in the competition's history.

The manager Maresca said he had complete trust in City's hierarchy, and dismissed suggestions the club's unprecedented dominance of English soccer had been tainted by the bombshell verdict that it had artificially inflated its revenue by more than $1 billion to help sign some of soccer's biggest stars.

Police and protesters clashed in Brussels on Friday as tens of thousands of people rallied in the Belgian capital against rising living costs and budget-tightening measures introduced by the government.

Dozens of protesters, many of them young, dressed in black and wearing masks, threw rocks and firecrackers at police at the central Brussels railway station, before setting several fires, one to a pile of city bikes and electric scooters.

Two Renoir paintings stolen from a museum in southern France last month have been found, and six people arrested, local authorities said Friday.

The mayor of the town housing the Renoir Museum, Bryan Masson, issued a statement praising investigators who tracked down the paintings and suspects. The statement did not elaborate on how they did so.

Pakistan has a "substantial" number of forces deployed in Saudi Arabia acting in a defensive capacity, Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.

"From Pakistan already we have substantial number of forces as well as resources in town, in Riyadh," foreign ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan told journalists, adding Pakistani military personnel in the kingdom "would not be crossing the borders of the other side for an attack on the Houthis, but of course (is acting) in the defense of the territory".

The European Union on Friday said it had "serious concerns" about democratic standards in Turkey, warning that a crackdown on rights was further undermining Ankara's long-stalled bid to join the bloc.

"Our concerns about democratic standards remain. The latest developments affecting media freedom, the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and local democracy are widening the gap with Turkey's objective of joining the EU," EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told journalists in the northwestern Turkish city of Edirne.

The United Nations said Friday it was watching "with concern" school protests in France that have resulted in thousands of youngsters being arrested and several seriously injured.

"We are following with concern incidents related to the student protests and high school blockades in France, some of which have turned violent," said Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the UN human rights agency, urging people on all sides to ensure they remain peaceful.

Heavy rains lashed much of central Vietnam on Friday and caused flooding in parts of the historic city of Hue, a day after floods and landslides hit the coastal port city of Danang. Troops were mobilized and amphibious armored vehicles readied for rescue operations, state media reported.

More rainfall was forecast through Sunday morning and authorities warned that continued downpours could trigger flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in low-lying communities.

Former U.N. human rights chief Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, a judge on the International Court of Justice, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in Oslo, Norway.

The South Africa-born Pillay, 85 years old, was recognized for her efforts to promote peace and international law, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.