World News Briefs: Conflict Zones, Political Shifts, and Natural Disasters

This summary covers global events including Russian attacks on a Ukrainian air base, Venezuelan migration tied to elections, Hungary's ceasefire proposal to Ukraine, French electoral dilemmas, Iranian voter apathy, Gaza conflict, Hurricane Beryl's threat, Kenyan protests, an Indian stampede tragedy, and maritime disputes between the Philippines and China.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukrainian air base under frequent fire as Russia aims at F-16 arrivals

Explosions reverberated across the pre-dawn sky as Ukrainian air defences fended off a Russian attack on this small city in western Ukraine, home to an important air base and a frequent target of Moscow's strikes. Hours after the assault, the tidy streets of Starokostiantyniv had returned to a semblance of normality.

To migrate or not? Some Venezuelans are pinning that decision on July's election

Daniel Briseno lives in a poor part of Maracaibo, Venezuela's once-rich oil city, where he checks almost daily to see if a letter confirming he has permission to move to the United States has finally arrived in the mail. Briseno, who wants to move to the U.S. with his elderly mother, is fed up of dealing with the challenges of Maracaibo, which has suffered from acute shortages of basic services such as electricity and water for a decade.

Hungary's Orban, in Kyiv, proposes ceasefire to speed up peace talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday to consider a ceasefire to accelerate an end to the war with Russia and also said he wanted a big cooperation agreement with Kyiv. Orban, who is an outspoken critic of Western military aid to Ukraine and has the warmest relations of any EU leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin, held talks with Zelenskiy during his first trip to Kyiv in more than a decade.

France's moderate voters face extreme choices in run-off vote

Denise Rollet says she faces no good options in France's run-off legislative vote in the coming days. The 80-year-old former teacher from Crepy-en-Valois, a small, middle-class town northeast of Paris, must now pick a candidate from two parties she would never vote for: Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN), or and a Socialist standing as part of a hastily assembled leftist alliance.

Iran presidential contenders face hurdle of voter apathy

The zealous anti-Westerner and the low-key moderate hoping to become Iran's next president could struggle to mobilise millions of supporters in Friday's run-off election amid voter apathy about a tightly-controlled contest. Over 60% of voters abstained from the June 28 ballot for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, a historic low turnout which critics of the government see as a vote of no confidence in the Islamic Republic.

Thousands flee their homes as Israeli forces bomb southern Gaza

Israeli forces bombarded several areas of the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday and thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in what could be part of a final push of Israel's intensive military operations in nine months of war. Eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded, health officials said. Israel's military said that two soldiers had been killed in battle a day earlier.

Hurricane Beryl strengthens on way to Jamaica, threatens catastrophe

Hurricane Beryl strengthened on Monday into a "potentially catastrophic" category 5 storm as it moved across the eastern Caribbean, putting Jamaica near its path after downing power lines and flooding streets elsewhere. Beryl brings an unusually fierce and early start to this year's Atlantic hurricane season, with scientists saying climate change probably contributed to the rapid pace of its formation as global warming has boosted North Atlantic temperatures.

Tear gas, stones and flames as Kenya protesters say 'Ruto must go!'

Riot police fired tear gas grenades and charged at stone-throwing protesters in downtown Nairobi and across Kenya on Tuesday in the most widespread unrest since at least two dozen protesters died in clashes a week ago. The nationwide demonstrations signalled that President William Ruto had failed to appease a spontaneous youth protest movement, despite having abandoned plans for tax rises that triggered the unrest last week.

About 60 people feared dead in stampede at religious event in north India

About 60 people were feared dead in a stampede at a religious event in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, authorities said. The stampede happened in a village in Hathras district, about 200 km (125 miles) southeast of national capital New Delhi.

Philippines says to be 'relentless' in protecting interests in South China Sea

The Philippines and China agreed on Tuesday of the need to "restore trust" and "rebuild confidence" to better manage maritime disputes, even as Manila told its neighbour it will be "relentless" in protecting its interests in the South China Sea.

The Philippine foreign ministry said it had "frank and constructive" discussions with China on the South China Sea during the ninth round of talks under their Bilateral Consultation Mechanism, hosted by Manila.

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