joe biden and top democrats on capitol hill are backing harris to beat donald trump in november's election. for his part, mr trump says it will be easier to beat kamala harris than mr biden. bangladesh remains tense, with some students vowing to continue protests a day after the supreme court scrapped most of the governmentjob quotas they were demonstrating against. and kitesurfing makes its debut at this week's paris olympics. we speak to one medal hopeful. hello, i'm nicky schiller. more now on our top story. a growing number of senior democrats are throwing their support behind kamala harris, after president biden confirmed he would not be contesting the election this november. he'd come under increasing pressure from within his own democratic party, after a stumbling performance in the presidential debate, and a series of high—profile verbal

mistakes. our north america correspondent david willis looked at the way events spiralled, leading to mr biden�*s withdrawal. this would not have been how joe biden would have wanted his more than 50 years in public life to have come to an end. he'd faced growing calls to withdraw from the presidential race. yet the decision, when it came, nonetheless caught many people by surprise. joe biden was at his delaware beach house, where he's been recuperating from the effects of covid, and reports here suggest that on saturday evening, he called a meeting of his senior advisers, and they worked together late into the night to draft that statement, announcing that letter announcing that he was withdrawing as his party's presidential candidate. now, it wasn't until sunday, those reports suggest,

that mr biden informed vice president kamala harris of his decision, after a meeting with members of his family. a lot of white house aides were also kept in the dark, apparently, until the very last minute. now, in that letter, joe biden says that he is withdrawing as his party's nominee for the sake of his party and the country, but that he will continue to serve out the remainder of his term in the white house. now, joe biden, of course, originally saw himself as a one—term president, but set his sights on a second term after he came to the belief that he was the only person in the party who could possibly beat donald trump. well, now he has endorsed his vice president, kamala harris, in the hope that she can do that very same thing. and much now depends on whether anybody in the party comes forward to challenge kamala harris. democrats are hoping that her ascension will energise the party and bring more

of their supporters to the polls, and many of them just want a break from the last few weeks, which have seen some very ugly headlines as far asjoe biden is concerned. well, kamala harris is due to attend an event in the building behind me, the white house, later today. she's due to takejoe biden�*s place at a prearranged event involving some local sporting teams. david willis reporting. we think kamala harris _ david willis reporting. we think kamala harris will _ david willis reporting. we think kamala harris will attend - david willis reporting. we think kamala harris will attend that l david willis reporting. we think - kamala harris will attend that event in the morning at about 11:30am. she will talk to athletic association championship teams. herfirst will talk to athletic association championship teams. her first public appearance since yesterday's news appearance since yesterday�*s news that appearance since yesterday's news thatjoe biden is withdrawing from the presidential race. world leaders have been paying tribute to president biden, since that news emerged

of his decision to drop out of the presidential race. here in the uk, the prime minister sir keir starmer said he respected joe biden�*s decision, describing his career as "remarkable". he added that mr biden will have made his decision based on what he believes is best for the american people. the german chancellor, olaf scholz, described president biden as "my friend", and said he's achieved a lot for his country, for europe, for the world. he went on to say his decision not to run again deserves respect. president zelensky said ukraine is grateful to president biden for his unwavering support for ukraine's fight for freedom, and says, "we will always be grateful" for his leadership. and the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, described president biden as a "great man" and said everything he does is guided by his love for his country. he went on to say that as president, he is a partner to canadians and a true friend. let's speak to former britsh ambassador to the united states kim darroch.

thank you forjoining us. lots of praise for president biden in public. how worried will world leaders be about the uncertainty? well, there is certainly a lot of concern around europe about the prospect of a second trump presidency because of some of the things that trump has said. like stopping military aid to ukraine, leaving the paris climate change deal, his public disdain for nato. but people can read opinion polls over here as well as they can in the us and it is clear that following that genuinely disastrous debate performance three weeks ago, that biden was slipping in the polls, trump was getting further ahead and that his prospects, his path to a victory in november was increasingly narrowed, not nonexistent. so i think around europe, people will be thinking that that had to happen. now the democrats need to get their

act together quickly and find a viable candidate to stand against trump and campaign through the autumn. in trump and campaign through the autumn. , ., , ., trump and campaign through the autumn. ,, , . . , autumn. in your view, is that viable candidate kamala _ autumn. in your view, is that viable candidate kamala harris? _ autumn. in your view, is that viable candidate kamala harris? look, - autumn. in your view, is that viable candidate kamala harris? look, it. candidate kamala harris? look, it could be, candidate kamala harris? look, it could be. but— candidate kamala harris? look, it could be, but i _ candidate kamala harris? look, it could be, but i personally- candidate kamala harris? look, it could be, but i personally think i candidate kamala harris? look, it. could be, but i personally think and i think there are other observers who agree, they would be better having a competition of some sort truncated, accelerated, finishing at the democrat convention in mid—august than as it were a coronation. she may be the best candidate, but she would be better placed to fight for the presidency if she had won that competition rather than if she just simply was imposed upon the party. so she may be the best. there are other talented politicians around. and i

think it is significant that the four biggest names in the democrat party, obama, pelosi, chuck schumer the leader of the senate and jefferies, the leaders of the democrats in the house, none of them have yet endorsed kamala harris. so maybe there is some pressure there should be an open competition. it maybe there is some pressure there should be an open competition. iii it should be an open competition. if it is kamala harris, would her foreign is kamala harris, would herforeign policy be much different from president biden? i policy be much different from president biden?— policy be much different from president biden? ~ ., , president biden? i think it would be a continuation _ president biden? i think it would be a continuation of _ president biden? i think it would be a continuation of president - president biden? i think it would be a continuation of president biden'sl a continuation of president biden's and i think that would mean america would stay in the international climate change agreement, america would continue to give a lot of cometh —— the majority of aid to ukraine. continue to be tough and challenging to china and continue to be strong supporters of nato. so i don't see big divergences there. do you think there would be a change with the middle east, because there

are some commentators who say she has a slightly different view on the israel—gaza war than president biden? israel-gaza war than president biden? ~ , ., ., biden? well, we will see on that. that is difficult _ biden? well, we will see on that. that is difficult to _ biden? well, we will see on that. that is difficult to predict. - biden? well, we will see on that. that is difficult to predict. but - biden? well, we will see on that. that is difficult to predict. but i l that is difficult to predict. but i can't see her taking a fundamentally different line than that the israeli ground offensive in gaza needs to end as soon as possible and that thereafter, there needs to be a process both to rebuild gaza and to try and find a permanent solution in that region, which could only come i think through a process of trying to reach two—state solution. so i cannot see a big change there, but may be some nuances. and cannot see a big change there, but may be some nuances.— cannot see a big change there, but may be some nuances. and you think if there was — may be some nuances. and you think if there was another _ may be some nuances. and you think if there was another candidate, - if there was another candidate, there might be an open competition and it might not be hurt we are looking at, whoever it is that takes

on donald trump is likely to carry on donald trump is likely to carry on with what president biden's path has been? i on with what president biden's path has been? ~' on with what president biden's path has been? ~ ,., , ., ., has been? i think so. first of all, of course. _ has been? i think so. first of all, of course. you — has been? i think so. first of all, of course, you need _ has been? i think so. first of all, of course, you need another- of course, you need another candidate and no—one has declared yet. so whatever i think about the competition being preferable, it may end up as a coronation. but really, whoever comes through on the democrat side, there may be some minor differences of emphasis, but i think foreign policy, you will see largely continuity. if it is trump, you will see some very big challenges for europe. it you will see some very big challenges for europe. if we focus on donald trump, _ challenges for europe. if we focus on donald trump, how— challenges for europe. if we focus on donald trump, how do - challenges for europe. if we focus on donald trump, how do you - challenges for europe. if we focus i on donald trump, how do you think the fact it is no longer going to be president biden facing him changes his campaign? i president biden facing him changes his campaign?— his campaign? i think two things. one, i his campaign? i think two things. one. i think _ his campaign? i think two things. one, i think biden _ his campaign? i think two things. one, i think biden on _ his campaign? i think two things. one, i think biden on the - his campaign? i think two things. one, i think biden on the back i his campaign? i think two things. one, i think biden on the back of| one, i think biden on the back of that debate performance was absolutely their preferred candidate throughout the autumn. because it looked like he lacked the mental

sharpness and the physical stamina and robustness to campaign effectively against trump. so now they are dealing with an unknown. who is it going to be and how will they campaign and perform? they will be preparing their attack lines, especially on kamala harris, since so many people have come out in support of her already. but also come against the other candidates. i wonder whether, to be honest, trump will want to do that second debate scheduled for september if he is against someone who is a much, much better debater certainly thenjoe biden proved the first time round. and otherwise, they willjust have to look for weaknesses in the records of potential democrat candidates that can be exploited. but trump basically always campaigns on his greatest hits and rather

vague promises about how everything will be better, unimaginably better in the future. so in terms of his own pitch, i don't think it's going to change very much. you own pitch, i don't think it's going to change very much.— own pitch, i don't think it's going to change very much. you very much for our to change very much. you very much for your time. _ to change very much. you very much foryourtime. i— to change very much. you very much for your time, i appreciate _ to change very much. you very much for your time, i appreciate it. -- - for your time, iappreciate it. —— thank you very much. kim darroch. the us will be waking up in the next few hours, so expect a lot more reaction to bothjoe biden's exit from the presidential race and whether kamala harris will get the democratic nomination to face donald trump in november. we have our live page up and running throughout the day. it's got all the latest updates from our team of correspondents. you can find it on the bbc news website and the bbc news app. bangladesh remains tense, with some students having vowed to continue protests a day after the supreme court scrapped most of the governmentjob quotas they were demonstrating against. they want the government to implement the court order before they call off their demonstrations. more than 150 people have been killed there,

in a week of violence. the quota scheme meant a third ofjobs are reserved for relatives of veterans from the country's war for independence from pakistan in 1971. a warning that this report from our south asia correspondent, yogita limaye, contains distressing images. troops on the streets, a strict curfew, a near—blackout of communication. bangladesh is using all its might to control public anger. over the past week, students marched on the streets against quotas in governmentjobs forfamilies of veterans of bangladesh's war for independence, which some say benefit those close to the ruling party. the police and paramilitary are accused of cracking down on the protests. in this video — verified by the bbc —

a young man, injured but alive, left on the streets by security forces. he died later, one of more than 150 killed. outside a dhaka hospital, shahida begum — the aunt of 16—year—old imam hussain, who succumbed to gunshot injuries. "my nephew, was an innocent child. why did they kill him in such a brutal way?", she cried. hundreds have been injured, in what many describe as the worst violence they've seen. translation: three of my friends are dead. see? there are blood stains on my hand. why are my hands coloured with the blood of my brothers? bangladesh's government has denied that it used violence against unarmed students. it alleges the protests are politically motivated. prime minister sheikh hasina last spoke out on wednesday. she promised action against those

who've committed murder. in nearly 15 consecutive years in power, this is one of the most serious challenges she's faced. yogita limaye, bbc news, dhaka. let's speak to kamal ahmed, an independent british—bangladeshi journalist. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. first, were you surprised by the levels of demonstrations and, indeed, the violence there over the last week? of course we were surprised because it comes only within six months of an election, which election was always disputed. nobody, especially the international community, thought the election was free and fair. but anyway, the new government, they took power in some sort of stability was there. and there is such a big discontent and demonstration protest. it was really unexpected. just

demonstration protest. it was really unexoected-— unexpected. just explain what the students were _ unexpected. just explain what the students were angered _ unexpected. just explain what the students were angered about - unexpected. just explain what the students were angered about and| students were angered about and whether the supreme court decision yesterday will make any difference. it is too early to say whether the supreme court position will make any decision. some of the protesting students have rejected this and said they also want accountability for this brutal, they wantjustice for those killings, indiscriminate killings. the number has gone up to 175, 174. so it is still unclear what is going to happen. but on the other hand, the government has accepted that this high proportion, or high percentage of government jobs and quota for veterans families were not fair. there unfairness has been admitted now, established. so

it has to be seen how it has been accepted. it has to be seen how it has been acce ted. , . it has to be seen how it has been acceted. , ., ., accepted. yes, and some of the students are — accepted. yes, and some of the students are saying _ accepted. yes, and some of the students are saying they - accepted. yes, and some of the students are saying they are - accepted. yes, and some of the | students are saying they are not going to stop protesting until it has actually been implemented. this is quite a tough thing for the prime minister, isn't it, at the moment? it is. and remember, this movement, although it is started by the students as a quota movement, it no longer remained as a quota movement. all sorts of discounted people angry people they joined all sorts of discounted people angry people theyjoined this movement because of high inflation, corruption, lack of accountability. as i said before, the elections were rigged, so disenfranchisement is another easement. so there are lots of aggrieved people. they combined their force and theyjoined this movement. so it has to be seen how others are reacting. and we don't know because the government has imposed an internal communication shutdown, we cannot speak to the people on the ground in very limited

information is coming out from the ground. even yesterday, there was trouble and 12 more people were killed yesterday. kamal ahmed. independent british bangladeshi journalist, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

you're watching bbc news. here on the bbc, we've followed closely the post office horizon it scandal, which has been described as the biggest miscarriage ofjustice in uk history. one of the wrongly prosecuted sub—postmasters we've spoken to is gail ward. she was accused of fraud and threatened with prison, but now — after two decades of humiliation, financial ruin and heartbreak — she's finally received compensation from the government. our reporter, fiona lamdin, caught up with her. this is where it happened, exactly 17 years ago today, on january the 11th, 2007.

that's when the auditors arrived. ifirst met gail ward outside her former post office at the start of this year. six months on, things are looking very different. knocking hi, come on in. gail has received compensation. it's a weight lifted off your shoulders when you're not worrying, week in, week out. what bill's going to drop on the doorstep? gail had run a post office for eight years, but faulty software meant she had shortfalls every week. despite putting in £20,000 of her own money to balance the books, she was charged with theft and false accounting. the solicitor phoned and saying, you know, was i ready for court the following week? she said, "and don't forget to bring a bag with you with some personal items in it." and i said, "why?" she said, "well, just in case you're not coming home." you had a 13—year—old son?

he went to school that morning not knowing if both his parents would be there when he came home. she was spared prison, but given community service. in 2021, she had her conviction overturned. but it wasn't until this april she finally received compensation. when our solicitor phoned and she said, you know, "it might be an idea if you sit down." and kerry was saying, "what's the matter? what's wrong?" i said, ijust started crying and said, "it's all over, it's finished." gailward, gail ward, one of the post office victims, talking to our reporter. you can get more on that on the bbc news website or app. this is bbc news. the future of the belfast—based shipbuilder harland & wolff is in doubt, after the company confirmed it would not receive a government—backed loan guarantee.

the chief executive stepped back from his role on friday, leaving the company to continue working to secure the financing that it needs. the uk business secretary is expected to present a ministerial statement later today. here's our business reporter, david waddell. belfast�*s most famous export, the rms titanic. she was, at the time of her ill—fated maiden voyage in 1912, the biggest, most luxurious ship in the world and built by one of the world's most important shipyards. harland & wolff was the engine room of ulster�*s economy. this shipyard launched 1,600 ships between the middle of the 19th century and the present day. despite its rich history, this company's sailing through choppy waters. until last year, it hadn't built a new ship in over 20 yea rs. its focus instead, maintenance and refits. the company was bought out of administration in 2019. its holding company has since acquired three other british shipyards. two years ago, it won a contract to build three fleet solid support ships in belfast for

the royal fleet auxiliary, but the cost of meeting that contract is mounting. it's been seeking £200 million of new borrowing, partly to invest, and also refinance a high—interest £90 million loan. but the government's concluded it would be irresponsible to provide a loan guarantee to a heavily loss—making firm. it's unclear what happens now. last week, the northern ireland secretary, hilary benn, said the government is committed to shipbuilding there, but there's a sense this shipbuilder is struggling to stay afloat. the paris olympics gets under way later this week, with several sports due to make their debuts at the games. among them is kitesurfing, and one of the competitors hoping for a golden debut is team gb�*s connor bainbridge. andy moon has been to meet him. i love kitesurfing. i mean, ijustjust walked out of a meeting about ten minutes ago with my physiologist telling me off for doing too much kitesurfing. but i love this sport, i mean, it isjust incredible. and i think that having it on that world stage for the first time in the olympics, it is a showcase.

it does look phenomenal as a sport. and so, hopefully, it will, you know, boost our sport, get more participation into it. but also, we're hoping it's going to be a spectacle down in marseille. getting ready to show off his sport to the world. conor bainbridge has always been eyeing the 2024 olympics. part of the sailing team were the first to be announced by team gb, but connor wasn't amongst them after initially failing to qualify. looking back now, i'll agree with my coach, who said this is only going to be a good thing in the long run, but at the time, it was hard. i think going from a string of such incredible results last year of i hadn't stepped off the podium in almost two years and so then to come into the big ones and really kind of fall short was... ..it was pretty heartbreaking. instead, connor had to wait until the ominously named, �*last chance regatta' to secure a spot at the games. i think there was a lot of pressure.

i think what i shifted quite heavily from last year is i allowed there to be a lot of external pressure from the team and from my peers, and this year, i really focussed on the fact that, well, it's me, if, you know, if i qualify, i'm going to the games and therefore, that pressure is on me and that responsibility is on me. connor unfortunately missed the recent world championships, after a training accident led to him requiring minor surgery. it could have been a lot worse. um, and as my doctor kind of said when i got back, we were three centimetres either way from, yeah, possibly taking me out of the olympics. so, yeah, we're all back, thankfully, just missed the world championships. now fully fit, connor is clear what his aim is. i would be disappointed not to walk away with a medal, and i think, you know, how disappointed i was at the test event last year walking away with second. um, yeah, i'm hoping it's going to be a gold and that's what we're working towards, and that's what we've pushed towards for the whole winter. and when i sat down and we started working with my coach for the first time, you know, the first question was, "what are you aiming for?" and the goal was gold and so that is what we're going for.

connor bainbridge is hoping to soar above the water and the competition next month. ican take i can take —— i can take you to live pictures from paris, athletes are still arriving at the athletes' village. this is the eiffel tower. my village. this is the eiffel tower. my colleague will be live in paris for the olympics. you can see some of the delegation arriving fair at the athletes' village just ahead of the athletes' village just ahead of the opening ceremony at the end of this week. they will be checking in. i've already seen quite a lot of the athletes posting videos of them jumping up and down on their ego friendly beds. there were some reports they were made so you couldn't have sex on them, but the athletes posting that is not the case. our reporter will be there later in the week. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. as we go through this week the weather is fairly settled. there will be showers at times, rain

today and on thursday, but a lot of dry weather as well, with temperatures close to where we would expect them to be at this stage injuly. something about today, though, is the pollen level is moderate or high across many parts of the country and we're still talking grass and nettle, although starting to subside in the south—east in terms of the grass pollen. we also have various weather fronts moving across us, they've been introducing a fair bit of cloud through the course of the morning and some showers moving from the west to the east. but the cloud breaking up, with more sunny spells developing. any showers in the south rattling through on a brisk wind. further north, they will be slow moving and here, too, you might get the odd heavy one and the odd rumble of thunder. temperatures, 14 in the north to a pleasant 25 degrees as we push further south. by the end of the afternoon, the cloud will be building across northern ireland and south—west england, introducing some patchy rain, which will cross parts of england and wales through the course of the night. a lot of the showers further north easing, and under clear skies in rural areas, temperatures could slide away to about 5 degrees. but in towns and cities,

9—16 will be more like it. tuesday night into wednesday, we've got this ridge of high pressure across us. you can see weather fronts waiting in the wings, so we say goodbye to the dregs of the weather front in the south—east and then a lot of dry weather. yes, there will be the odd isolated shower and breezy down this north sea coastline, which will take the edge off the temperatures here. but top temperatures, 15 to about 24 degrees. so tuesday into wednesday, this high pressure squeezed further east, and then these weather fronts do come in from the west. so on wednesday itself, there will be a lot of dry weather, variable amounts of cloud here and there, thick enough for the odd spot of light rain. but its later in the day we do have the thicker cloud, murky conditions, some patchy light rain coming in from the west. top temperatures once again up to about 24 degrees. wednesday into thursday, the fronts continue to come in from the west and push eastwards, so you can see a lot of us are going to have a cloudy day,

and there will also be some rain or some showers around. but as we head on into friday, it's drier, some showers in the north and west, potentially a little bit of rain to start in the south.

just live from london. this is bbc news. kamala harris says she intends to "earn and win" the democratic nomination asjoe biden exits the us presidential race. joe biden and top democrats on capitol hill are backing harris to beat donald trump in november's election.

for his part, mr trump says it will be easier to beat kamala harris than mr biden. our other main headlines... "an absolutely tragic incident". police appeal for information after four adults and two children die in a collision between a car and a motorcycle in west yorkshire. more than 20,000 people on the spanish island of mallorca have taken part in a protest against mass tourism. hello, i'm nicky schiller. we start in the united states with reaction tojoe biden's decision to quit november's presidential race. he is backing his vice president kamala harris to now take on donald trump in the election. many top democrats have followed his lead and have also thrown their support behind her. kamala harris says she intends to "earn and win" the nomination. mr biden withdrew on sunday saying

he'd taken the decision in the best interests of his party and the country.