Belgium's government called Sunday for Belgians in Iran to leave the country, mired in a violent crackdown on nationwide protests, because of the risk of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.

"All Belgian visitors, including (dual) nationals, are at high risk of arrest, arbitrary detention and unfair trial. This risk also applies to people who are simply visiting Iran for tourism," the government said in a statement.

"In the event of arrest or detention, respect for fundamental rights and the safety of individuals are not guaranteed," the statement added.

War-weary Ukrainian Jews gathered on Sunday for prayer and candle-lighting ceremonies to kick off Hannukah, the so-called Festival of Lights, vowing to overcome blackouts caused by persistent Russian bombardment.

In the capital's iconic Independence Square, known as the Maidan, worshippers huddled together for warmth near what officials claimed was the largest Hannukah menorah -- a nine-branched candelabrum -- in Europe.

United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon took part in a memorial service Sunday as the body of their slain Irish comrade was repatriated, days after being shot dead in an attack.

Private Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three others were wounded Wednesday after the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy came under fire near the village of Al-Aqbiya in the south of the Mediterranean country.

"Sean Rooney made the hardest sacrifice a soldier can do: giving his life while serving lasting peace in Lebanon," UNIFIL commander Major General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz said.

Iraq on Sunday burnt some six tons of illegal drugs including vast piles of cannabis, captagon and cocaine, in what officials said was the largest destruction for over a decade.

Government officials, wearing white coveralls and face masks, piled the drugs in holes dug into the sand, doused them with fuel and set them on fire.

Health Minister Saleh al-Hasnawi, speaking at the event outside a military base near the capital Baghdad, said it was the first "destruction operation of this magnitude" since 2009.

Egyptian businessman Mohamed el-Amin has died while serving a three-year sentence for trafficking and sexually assaulting girls at an orphanage he had founded, his lawyer and a lawmaker said Sunday.

The former media and real estate tycoon was transferred to hospital from prison "several months ago" and died "due to his illness", parliamentarian Mostafa Bakry said on Twitter.

Tunisia plunged into political uncertainty Sunday after voters overwhelming snubbed elections for a neutered parliament, as the main opposition alliance called on President Kais Saied to "leave immediately".

The move comes as Saied's government negotiates a nearly $2-billion package from the International Monetary Fund to bail out the North African country's crippled public finances.

Celebrities and rights groups called on Iran on Sunday to free actor Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the most prominent figures yet arrested in its three-month crackdown on protests.

Alidoosti, 38, was arrested on Saturday, official media said, after making a string of social media posts supporting the protest movement -- including removing her headscarf and condemning the execution of protesters.

The unrest was sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, whom the morality police accused of violating the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.

Islamic State group jihadists said Sunday they had carried out an attack in northern Iraq killing nine police officers, setting off a roadside bomb before machine-gunning survivors.

The attack in the Kirkuk area -- which police said left nine federal officers dead -- is one of the deadliest in Iraq in recent months.

IS fighters attacked "a police patrol... detonated an explosive device then attacked them with machine guns and hand grenades," the group said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

French-Palestinian human rights lawyer Salah Hamouri, held without charge in Israeli prisons since March accused of security offences, arrived in Paris on Sunday following his expulsion from Israel condemned by Paris.

Hamouri, 37, had been held in Israel under a controversial practice known as administrative detention, which allows suspects to be detained for renewable periods of up to six months.

He arrived at the French capital's Charles de Gaulle airport on Sunday morning, an AFP correspondent saw, the culmination of a lengthy judicial saga after his deportation.

Syrian student Ziad al-Ezz can no longer get to university as severe fuel shortages cripple the capital Damascus, pushing residents to seek alternatives for heating and shuttering businesses.

With the country's economy battered by more than a decade of war, authorities have announced four fuel price hikes since the start of the year as well as rationing of petrol and fuel oil supplies.

"Our struggle for fuel starts at home and doesn't end" in the classroom, said Ezz, 20, who studies literature at the University of Damascus.