Latest news bulletin | July 22nd – Midday
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
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00:00Tributes come in from across Europe for Joe Biden, who says he's pulling out of the presidential race.
00:16Joe Biden has ended his campaign for a second term in the White House
00:20four months ahead of November's presidential elections.
00:23In a written statement, he said,
00:25serving as president had been the greatest honor of my life,
00:29but believed it was in the best interests of the party and the country to step down.
00:34Shortly after that announcement, he posted on X to endorse his vice president,
00:39Kamala Harris, to replace him at the top of the ticket.
00:42She responded with a post of her own,
00:44thanking Biden for his extraordinary leadership and saying it was her intention to win the nomination.
00:51She's the frontrunner among Democrats to replace Biden
00:55and the campaign fund has already been renamed Harris for president.
00:59Biden's endorsement was echoed by several Senate Democrats,
01:03including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Virginia's Mark Warner.
01:08But that doesn't mean she'll automatically run against Donald Trump in November's election.
01:13More than 4,000 delegates will meet to choose their presidential candidate
01:18at the party's national convention in Chicago in August.
01:23Shortly after the announcement, Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account
01:27that Biden had never been fit to serve as president.
01:31He called him crooked and slammed his record on immigration.
01:36Calls for 81-year-old Biden to drop out grew louder after a televised debate with Trump in June
01:42in which he appeared physically and cognitively exhausted.
01:46He struggled to rebut his opponent's often false claims,
01:50gave rambling answers and at times stared blankly into space.
01:54Biden's ally said he'd been suffering from a cold
01:57and Biden himself admitted he was tired after traveling.
02:01But in subsequent public appearances, he frequently appeared tired and confused.
02:08Thousands of people have demonstrated in Majorca
02:11against what they say are the negative impacts of overtourism.
02:15Organizers of the march say uncontrolled tourist numbers are causing a drop in wages,
02:20loss of quality of life and an increase in the price of housing.
02:37Last year, Majorca's airport authority, AENA,
02:40said departures and arrivals at Palma Airport for July alone were up 5.9%
02:45compared to the same month in 2022, with 4.3 million people passing through.
02:51That meant Palma was the third most popular summer destination in Spain
02:55behind Madrid and Barcelona.
02:58And in Barcelona earlier this month,
03:01around 3,000 people protested against the impact of overtourism.
03:05They were calling for action before a summer season
03:08that experts say will set new records in the city.
03:11Barcelona is Spain's most visited city,
03:14receiving 12 million people a year, many of whom arrive via cruise ship.
03:20But tourism is big business in Spain.
03:23The tourism lobby group, Excel Tour,
03:25said tourism accounted for 71% of real growth in the Spanish economy last year.
03:31But many locals say they're not reaping the benefits
03:34and want more action to better manage the number of arrivals.
03:43Tributes have been paid from across Europe to Joe Biden,
03:46who announced on Sunday he was pulling out of the presidential race.
03:50Biden said it had been the greatest honor of his life to serve as president,
03:55adding that he was endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris,
03:58to replace him at the top of the ticket.
04:01He said he would speak to the nation later this week in more detail about his decision.
04:09From Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Biden
04:12for his unwavering support in the two years since the Russian invasion.
04:17We will always be thankful for President Biden's leadership, he said,
04:21adding we respect today's tough but strong decision.
04:26Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk praised Biden for his difficult decisions,
04:31which he said made Poland, America and the world safer.
04:35He also said the decision to drop out of the presidential race
04:39was probably the most difficult decision Biden had had to make.
04:44UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said,
04:47I respect President Biden's decision and I look forward to us working together
04:51during the remainder of his presidency.
04:54Starmer added that he knew that Biden had made his decision
04:57based on what he believes is best for the American people.
05:02Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz referred to Biden as my friend,
05:06adding thanks to him transatlantic cooperation is close,
05:10NATO is strong and the USA is a good and reliable partner for us.
05:15His decision not to run again deserves recognition.
05:20All my admiration and recognition for the brave and dignified decision of the president
05:25began Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
05:28A great gesture from a great president who has always fought for democracy and freedom, he said.
05:39Police in Vienna say they have detained more than 50 people
05:42after they clashed with protesters trying to disrupt an anti-immigration march.
05:47Right-wing groups were calling for re-migration,
05:50a term used to advocate for the mass return of migrants to their countries of origin.
05:55Left-leaning political parties called for protests against the demonstration
05:59with hundreds of police deployed to keep the two groups apart.
06:03But clashes erupted with some protesters throwing stones and bottles,
06:07injuring three police officers.
06:11Officials in North Macedonia say around 30 wildfires are still active in the south of the country.
06:19The most critical areas are near the Serta mountain and around the remote region of Jasen.
06:25Soldiers have joined firefighting efforts near the Krivolac military base
06:29where NATO training exercises are conducted.
06:33North Macedonia declared a state of emergency almost two weeks ago
06:37and fire crews from Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia have been sent to help.
06:46A Lebanese photojournalist who was wounded in an Israeli strike
06:50has carried the Olympic torch in Paris to honour press workers wounded and killed in the field.
06:56Christina Assi, who works for the AFP, was one of six journalists
07:00struck by Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon last year.
07:04The Israeli military said the incident was under review,
07:07maintaining that it didn't target journalists.
07:10The torch relay started in May and saw around 10,000 people carry the flame across France.
07:20U.S. President Joe Biden is out of the 2024 presidential election as the Democratic nominee.
07:27Biden has instead endorsed his vice, Kamala Harris,
07:32to replace him.
07:34The announcement on Sunday by President Biden came amid mounting pressure from his fellow Democrats
07:39after a disastrous debate performance with more than 30 Congress members publicly pushing for his exit.
07:46In a post on X, the 81-year-old said he will remain in his role as president
07:51until his term ends in January 2025.
07:54The Israeli military has struck Houthi targets in western Yemen
07:58in response to a drone attack claimed by the rebel group in Tel Aviv on Friday.
08:03The IDF said several military targets were hit in the western port city of Hodeidah.
08:08The Houthi-run government in the capital Sana'a said
08:11oil storage facilities had been hit as well as a power plant.
08:15A spokesperson for the Houthis slammed what he called a terrorist attack.
08:21A spokesperson for the Houthis slammed what he called blatant aggression by Israel
08:26and said there would be a response from the Yemeni armed forces.
08:30Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hodeidah was not an innocent port,
08:35adding that it's the main entry point into Yemen for weapons from the Houthis' main backer, Iran.
08:41Saturday's attack comes after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone strike on Tel Aviv
08:46on Friday morning that killed one person and injured 10 others.
08:51The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles towards Israel
08:55throughout the nine-month war against Hamas,
08:57claiming to be doing so in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
09:05Bangladesh has extended its nationwide curfew
09:09as a top court rules on a civil service hiring quota which has sparked violent protests.
09:16An internet blackout will remain in force
09:19and people will only be allowed out between 3 and 5pm to run essential errands.
09:25National media reports at least 100 people have died in the protests so far,
09:31as police clash with demonstrators on the streets and at university campuses this week.
09:38The demonstrations are largely made up of students
09:41who are protesting against the quota system which reserves up to 30% of government jobs
09:46for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence.
09:55Critics argue the quota system is discriminatory
09:58and benefits supporters of Sheikh Hasina,
10:01whose Awami League party led the independence movement.
10:05On Sunday, the Supreme Court ordered 93% of government jobs
10:09to be allocated on a merit-based system.
10:16Preparations are underway in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics,
10:21with the head of this year's Games stressing that perfect security is his team's absolute priority.
10:27The security operation involves high-tech equipment such as AI drones and sonars,
10:33the deployment of combat divers, intervention groups on board boats,
10:37patrols along the Seine and military dogs.
10:42A metal-fenced security cordon has also been erected around the river Seine.
10:47And that's why there is an unprecedented system of security in our country
10:53and in Paris.
10:55There will be fantastic zones where there will be a strong ambition in terms of celebration
11:00to make sure that it will be very festive.
11:03But the Olympic Games are not just about celebration and sport.
11:07They are also an opportunity to promote peace, as highlighted by Pope Francis.
11:12And that athletes, with their sporting testimonies,
11:16are messengers of peace and worthy martyrs.
11:20The Olympic torch returned to Paris on Saturday.