Global Headlines: Political Shifts and Natural Disasters Shape Today's News

A summary of current world news, including electoral advances of Germany’s AfD and France’s National Rally, Ukrainian troop movements near Belarus, Hurricane Beryl approaching the Caribbean, and New Delhi airport disruptions. Other updates cover Japan’s new fees for Mount Fuji climbers, Palestinian rocket attacks, Rishi Sunak's Conservative party stance, Nepal’s 'Buddha Boy' sentencing, and Catalan arrest warrants in Spain.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Analysis-Germany's far-right AfD closes ranks at party congress after scandals

As Marine Le Pen's National Rally was winning the first round of France's parliamentary election on Sunday, Germany's far-right AfD party was meeting to map its own route to electoral success. Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a real chance of winning elections being held in three of Germany's 16 federal states in September, came second in Germany in last month's European Parliament election, and party membership is at a record high.

French parties rush to build anti-far right front

France's political parties sought to build a united front aimed at blocking the path to government of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) on Monday, after it made historic gains to win the first round of a parliamentary election. The RN and its allies won Sunday's round with 33% of the vote, followed by a left-wing bloc with 28% and well ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's broad alliance of centrists, who scored just 22%, official results showed.

Kremlin says report that Ukraine is reinforcing Belarus border is a worry

The Kremlin said on Monday that a Belarusian military report that Ukraine had been moving more troops, weapons and military equipment into its northern Zhytomyr region, which borders Belarus, was a cause for concern. The Belarusian Defence Ministry alleged that Ukraine was building up its forces on Saturday.

'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Beryl hurtles towards Caribbean

Hurricane Beryl barrelled across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Caribbean's Windward Islands as an "extremely dangerous" storm on Monday, threatening to devastate communities with floods, storm surges and life-threatening high winds, officials said. Locals boarded up shops, stocked up on food and filled their cars with petrol as the storm approached. The prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, said he was expecting a natural disaster that could continue for days.

New Delhi's domestic airport terminal likely to be shut for a few weeks, sources say

New Delhi's main domestic terminal is likely to remain shut for a few weeks with debris still scattered outside the airport following last week's roof collapse, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. A portion of the roof, canopy and several beams at the domestic terminal 1 collapsed after heavy rain in the Indian capital on Friday, killing one person, crushing cars and disrupting flights ever since.

Japan imposes new fees on Mount Fuji climbers to limit tourists

Park rangers on Japan's sacred Mount Fuji officially started this year's climbing season about 90 minutes before sunrise on Monday, levying new trail fees and limiting hiker numbers to curb overcrowding. At 3 a.m., officials opened a newly installed gate at a station placed just over halfway up the 3,776-meter (12,388-ft) peak that is a symbol of Japan and a magnet for tourists, now swarming into the country at a record pace.

Palestinian militants fire rockets into Israel, tanks advance in Gaza

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday as fighting raged in Gaza and Israeli tanks advanced deeper in parts of the enclave, residents and officials said. The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed ally of Hamas, said its fighters fired rockets towards several Israeli communities near the fence with Gaza in response to "the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people".

UK's Sunak says only his Conservatives can form strong opposition to Labour

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will on Monday say only his Conservatives can counter a Labour-led government and that a vote for Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK would hamper any chance of his party forming a strong opposition. Appearing to all but concede defeat before Thursday's election, Sunak will appeal to those voters on the political right who are considering voting for Farage's party in protest at his Conservative government.

Nepal court sentences 'Buddha Boy' to 10 years in jail for sexual abuse

A Nepali court sentenced a man who thousands believed was a reincarnation of the Buddha to 10 years in jail on Monday for child sexual abuse, a court official said. As a teenager, Ram Bahadur Bamjon had drawn international attention when in 2005 tens of thousands of people turned up to see the "Buddha Boy" sitting cross-legged under a tree in a dense forest in southeastern Nepal for nearly 10 months.

Spain's top court upholds arrest warrants for Catalan separatists despite amnesty

Spain's Supreme Court on Monday upheld arrest warrants for Catalonia's former leader and others charged with embezzlement over the region's failed secession bid, as it ruled that a recent amnesty law does not apply to them. The decision, which can be appealed, could scupper the fragile Socialist-led coalition ruling Spain and have personal implications for ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who is living in France in self-imposed exile.

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