World News Summary: At least 18 killed in Iraq protests overnight, government issues new promises

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. At least 18 killed in Iraq protests overnight, government issues new promises

At least 18 people were killed in clashes between anti-government protesters and police in Baghdad overnight, according to police and medical sources, as the cabinet tried to appease public anger over corruption and unemployment with a new reform plan. The scale of the protests, in which nearly 100 people have died since Tuesday, has taken the authorities by surprise. Two years after the defeat of the Islamic State, security is better than it has been in years, but corruption is rampant, wrecked infrastructure has not been rebuilt and jobs remain scarce. France's Macron urges Johnson to discuss Brexit proposals with EU

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Boris Johnson to engage in discussions swiftly with the EU's chief negotiator, during a Sunday telephone call in which the British prime minister outlined his latest Brexit proposals, an Elysee official said. "Boris Johnson presented his latest proposals," the official said. "The President told him that the negotiations should continue swiftly with Michel Barnier's team in the coming days, in order to evaluate at the end of the week whether a deal is possible that respects European Union principles." Petrol bombs and tear gas rock Hong Kong, scores arrested for defying mask ban

Hong Kong police and protesters clashed on Sunday as tens of thousands marched through the central city wearing face masks in defiance of colonial-era emergency powers which threaten them with a year in prison for hiding their faces. Police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters in several locations, while some protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs at police, as night began to fall. Five murdered in the Austrian ski town of Kitzbuehel: police

Austrian police are investigating the suspected murder of five people in the ski town of Kitzbuehel, police said on Sunday. The murders had occurred overnight, a spokesman for the regional Tirol police said. UK could move on 'mechanism' of Northern Ireland consent

Britain is open to some flexibility on the mechanism that would allow lawmakers in Northern Ireland to decide whether the British province remains in regulatory alignment with the European Union, as set out in London's latest Brexit proposals, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said on Sunday. "The key issue is the principle of consent, that's why the backstop was rejected three times, that was the concern in terms of both sides in Northern Ireland not approving of the backstop," Barclay told the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday. North Korea sees no way for U.S. to have alternative plans in two weeks

North Korea said on Sunday that there was no way United States would bring alternative plans for their stalled nuclear talks within two weeks after negotiations in Sweden between the two countries broke down at the weekend. The United States and North Korea were holding working-level talks in Sweden but these were broken off on Saturday. The U.S. State Department said it had accepted Sweden's invitation to return for more discussions with Pyongyang in two weeks. EU divisions over Russia mount as France, Germany seek peace in Ukraine

French and German attempts to end the conflict in east Ukraine risk increasing tensions that were already rising in the European Union over how to handle Russia and which could complicate peace efforts. Progress at talks between Russian and Ukrainian envoys have raised hopes of convening the first international summit in three years on ending the fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces. Turkey summons U.S. diplomat after Embassy likes to tweet about ill nationalist party leader

Turkey summoned a top U.S. diplomat to its foreign ministry on Sunday, a day after the U.S. Embassy's Twitter account liked a tweet regarding Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the nationalist party who has recently fallen ill. The tweet said Turkey should be ready for a political realm without Bahceli, who has had health issues in recent weeks, which lead to speculation regarding the seriousness of his condition. Pope urges conservatives to be open to changes in Church

Pope Francis appealed to conservatives on Sunday not to be bound by the status quo as he opened an assembly of bishops to discuss the future of the Roman Catholic Church in the Amazon, including the possibility of introducing married priests. At a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica opening the synod, Francis also denounced past and present forms of colonialism and said some of the fires that devastated forests in Brazil in recent months were set by special interest groups. Tunisia elects lawmakers to tackle the economy, disappointment after the uprising

Tunisians voted for a new parliament on Sunday but quiet polling stations gave an indication of the economic disillusionment that has emerged since the 2011 revolution and brought political newcomers to challenge established parties. By 11:30 a.m., turnout across the country was only 6.85%, the electoral commission said, compared to 7.3% at the same stage of last month's first-round presidential election, in which only 45% of registered voters cast ballots.

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