Global Headlines: Climate Chaos, Political Turmoil, and Social Challenges

From Delhi's airport roof collapse due to heavy rain to French far-right's lead in polls and Biden's shaky debate, the world witnesses diverse challenges. Iranians vote for a new president, while South Korea grapples with same-sex couple issues. Israel's incursion into Gaza, UK climate activist arrests, and U.N.'s aid chief focus are also covered.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Roof collapse at Delhi airport kills one, as heavy rain disrupts Indian capital

Heavy rainfall and winds brought down a roof at the main airport in New Delhi on Friday, killing one person and disrupting flights from a domestic terminal, while flooded streets and traffic snarls threw daily life out of gear in India's capital. The airport area received about 148.5 millimetres of rain over three hours in the early morning, more than the average for all of June, according to India's weather office. Experts blame climate change for extreme heat followed by heavy rain.

French far-right extends poll lead as campaign ends

France's far-right National Rally (RN) extended its lead in a poll published on the last day of campaigning before Sunday's first round of parliamentary elections, with another survey showing it in sight of a slim majority. Marine Le Pen's anti-immigrant, eurosceptic party has led polling since President Emmanuel Macron called a surprise snap election this month that has plunged France into uncertainty and unnerved European neighbours and financial markets.

Biden's shaky debate has overseas allies bracing for Trump return

While the first U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 race dwelled little on foreign policy, a shaky performance by President Joe Biden will have America's allies steeling for the return of Donald Trump, analysts say. Biden's supporters had hoped the debate would erase worries that he was too old to serve, but several lawmakers, analysts and investors said the event had given Trump a boost.

Iranians vote in presidential election with limited choices

Iranians voted on Friday for a new president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi 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 and Western pressure. The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to war between Israel and Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear programme.

As South Korea's population shrinks, same-sex couples say they can help

South Koreans Kim Eun-ha and Park Cho-hyeon would like to get married and have children, a plan that fits in with government ambitions to boost the world's lowest fertility rate.

The catch is that same-sex unions remain illegal in South Korea, and doctors refuse to perform artificial insemination on women without a male partner, citing ethical guidelines.

Israeli forces push deeper into southern and northern Gaza

Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday, and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people. Residents and Hamas media said tanks advanced further west into the Shakoush ‮neighbo‬u‮rhood‬ of Rafah, forcing thousands of displaced people there to leave their tent camps and head northward to the nearby Khan Younis.

UK police arrest 27 activists over alleged plans to disrupt airports

British police said on Friday they had arrested 27 climate activists accused of planning to disrupt airports over the upcoming summer holidays. The suspects, part of the Just Stop Oil protest group which has staged numerous high-profile actions, were arrested in raids across the country under a law which makes it illegal to plot to disrupt national infrastructure.

UN aid chief succession in focus amid exploding humanitarian crises

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has yet to name a permanent replacement for the global body's aid chief who departs for health reasons on Friday, drawing criticism at a time of record global needs. Martin Griffiths, a British former diplomat who helped broker the Black Sea Grains deal between Ukraine and Russia and led a chorus of concern over the Gaza war, has said the plan is to appoint his deputy Joyce Msuya from Tanzania as acting chief.

Poland's Tusk says EU leaders criticised next NATO boss Rutte

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who will be NATO's next secretary-general, was criticised by other European Union leaders at a summit for his opposition to joint EU funding of defence projects, Poland's prime minister said on Friday. Defence was high on the agenda at a European Union summit in Brussels that started on Thursday, with war raging in Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in attendance.

Kenya protests expose jet-setting Ruto's neglect of discontent at home

In the two years since he was elected, Kenya's President William Ruto has wowed global climate activists under the Eiffel Tower, brushed shoulders with global tech titans in Silicon Valley and was toasted as a global peacekeeper at the White House. As he notched up dozens of foreign trips, however, citizens back home endured gruelling economic hardship.

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