Global Turmoil: Unrest, Elections, and Clashes in Recent Headlines

A summary of significant world news includes a failed coup in Bolivia, heated political debates in France, a Biden vs. Trump debate, Ukrainian forces pushing out Russian troops, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, protests in Kenya, Iranian elections, climate change impacts on Saudi haj, EU leadership nominations, and Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Bolivia government had prior intelligence of coup planning, minister says

The Bolivian government had intelligence that a coup attempt could occur before the country's top military commander and his troops forced their way into the presidential palace this week, a senior government minister said on Thursday. The failed coup on Wednesday happened over just a few hours and provoked swift condemnations from world leaders, raising fears that democracy in the Andean nation remains at risk.

French party leaders hold heated last election debate

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Thursday accused his main challenger for the top job, Jordan Bardella, of tolerating racist speech in the ranks of his far-right camp amid a heated last television debate before the start of parliamentary elections. The debate between Attal, National Rally (RN) party chief Bardella and socialist leader Olivier Faure was the last direct confrontation of three radically opposed views on France's future before ballots open for the first voting round on Sunday.

Biden and Trump face off in early debate, with age, ability in focus

Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump take the stage on Thursday night for a debate that will offer voters a rare side-by-side look at the two oldest candidates ever to seek the U.S. presidency. Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, will be under pressure to display their command of issues and avoid verbal stumbles as they seek a breakout moment in a race that opinion polls show has been deadlocked for months.

Ukraine military says Russian troops pushed out of part of key eastern town

Ukraine's military said on Thursday its forces had forced Russian troops out of a district in the town of Chasiv Yar on the war's eastern front seen as Moscow's next target in its slow advance through the area. But a Russian report said Moscow's forces had destroyed a communications tower near the town and made further headway.

Israel's bombs flatten swaths of Lebanon village amid fears of wider war

Satellite images showing much of the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab in ruins after months of Israeli air strikes offer a glimpse of the scale of damage in one of Hezbollah's main bastions in south Lebanon. The images from private satellite operator Planet Labs PBC, taken on June 5 and analysed by Reuters, show at least 64 destroyed sites in Aita al-Shaab. Several of the sites contain more than one building.

Kenyan police fire on protesters in new clashes after president's tax climbdown

A climbdown by Kenya's president over plans to raise taxes brought no end to nationwide protests on Thursday, with at least two people reported killed in clashes near the capital Nairobi and others shot by police elsewhere. A day after President William Ruto abandoned a tax hike bill, demonstrators in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and other cities called for him to step down, although crowds were smaller than earlier in the week.

Iran holds presidential vote with limited choices

Iranians will vote for a new president on Friday following Ebrahim Raisi's death in a helicopter crash, choosing from a tightly controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader, at a time of growing public frustration. While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic's policies, the outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's 85-year-old supreme leader, in power for three-and-a-half decades.

Climate change boosted deadly Saudi haj heat by 2.5 C, scientists say

The heatwave in Saudi Arabia blamed for the deaths of 1,300 people on the haj pilgrimage this month was made worse by climate change, a team of European scientists said on Friday. Temperatures along the route from June 16 to 18 reached 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) at times and exceeded 51.8 C at Mecca's Great Mosque.

EU leaders pick von der Leyen for second term as Commission chief

European Union leaders agreed to nominate Ursula von der Leyen of Germany for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU's powerful executive body. At a summit in Brussels, the bloc's 27 national leaders also picked former Portuguese premier Antonio Costa as the future chair of their European Council meetings and selected Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the next EU foreign policy chief.

Israel storms Gaza City neighbourhood, orders Palestinians to go south

Israel stormed a neighbourhood in Gaza City on Thursday, ordering Palestinians to move south as tanks rolled in and bombing the southern city of Rafah in what it says are the final stages of an operation against Hamas militants there. Residents of the Shejaia neighbourhood in Gaza City said they were surprised by the sound of tanks approaching and firing in the early afternoon, with drones also attacking after overnight bombing of the city, which Israel had combed early in the war.

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