Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pope opens two-year consultation on Catholic Church future

Pope Francis on Sunday launched a two-year worldwide consultative process that could change the way the Roman Catholic Church makes decisions and leave its mark long after his pontificate is over. Proponents see the initiative called “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission” as an opportunity to change the Church’s power dynamics and give a greater voice to lay Catholics, including women, and people on the margins of society.

Aden car bomb targeting officials kills at least four – security source

A car bomb targeting the governor’s convoy shook Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Sunday killing at least four people, a Reuters witness and a security source said. Governor Ahmed Lamlas and agriculture minister Salem al-Suqatri survived the blast but at least four people were killed, the security source said. A Reuters witness saw two charred bodies at the scene.

Austria’s ruling coalition soldiers on after fight to near-death

Austria’s ruling coalition soldiered on on Sunday after Chancellor Sebastian Kurz quit to keep it alive, but a top newspaper likened his future role in parliament to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s stint as prime minister in name only. Prosecutors placed Kurz under investigation last week on suspicion of corruption. Kurz denies wrongdoing but embarrassing text-message exchanges that are part of the investigation and have been published in Austrian media have already done serious political damage.

Iraqis vote in parliamentary election as some stage boycott in test for democracy

Iraqis were voting in small numbers on Sunday in a parliamentary election that many said they would boycott, having lost faith in the democratic system brought in by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. The established, Shi’ite Islamist-dominated ruling elite whose most powerful parties have armed wings is expected to sweep the vote, with the movement led by populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who opposes all foreign interference and whose main rivals are Iran-allied Shi’ite groups, seen emerging as parliament’s biggest faction.

Britain and Ireland argue on Twitter over Brexit deal

Britain and Ireland traded barbs on Twitter on Sunday after British Brexit negotiator David Frost restated his view that the EU must agree “significant change” to the Northern Ireland protocol that governs trade and border rules in the province. The protocol was part of the Brexit settlement Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated with the EU, but London has repeatedly said it must be rewritten less than a year after taking force due to the barriers businesses face when importing British goods into Northern Ireland.

China denounces Taiwan president’s speech

China’s government on Sunday denounced Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s National Day speech, saying it incited confrontation and distorted facts. The seeking of Taiwan independence closes the door to dialogue, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said.

Czech President Zeman in intensive care at key post-election time

Czech President Milos Zeman was receiving treatment in an intensive care unit on Sunday, creating uncertainty at a time when he is due to lead political talks about forming a new government after a parliamentary election.

Director Miroslav Zavoral of the Central Military Hospital in Prague said Zeman, 77, was admitted due to complications related to an undisclosed chronic condition.

Merkel vows German commitment to Israel in farewell visit

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged on Sunday that her country would preserve its post-Holocaust commitment to Israel, which hailed her as a “moral compass” for Europeans at times divided over its Middle East conflicts. Merkel, making her eighth and final visit to Israel as she concludes her 16-year term, met Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and was scheduled to tour the Yad Vashem memorial to the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World World Two.

Lava blocks the size of buildings falling from La Palma volcano

Blocks of molten lava as large as three-storey buildings rolled down a hillside on the Spanish island of La Palma while a series of tremors shook the ground on Sunday three weeks after the volcanic eruption. There were 21 seismic movements on Sunday, with the largest measuring 3.8, the Spanish National Geological Institute (ING) said, shaking the ground in the villages of Mazo, Fuencaliente and El Paso.

Taiwan won’t be forced to bow to China, president says

Taiwan will keep bolstering its defences to ensure nobody can force them to accept the path China has laid down that offers neither freedom nor democracy, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Sunday, in a riposte to Beijing that its government denounced. Claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan has come under growing military and political pressure to accept Beijing’s rule, including repeated Chinese air force missions in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, to international concern.

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