and deadly airstrikes hit southern gaza — as the israeli prime minister travels to washington for high—level meetings. hello, i'm tadhg enright. we start in the us where kamala harris says she's secured the support of enough delegates to be confirmed as the democratic nominee for president. it comes less than 48 hours afterjoe biden ended his bid for re—election and endorsed her. earlier, harris made herfirst pitch for the presidency. speaking to supporters at the democratic party headquarters in delaware, she promised more gun control and protection

for reproductive rights. the vice president insisted she could win the election — but said there was a lot of hard work to do before voters go to the polls in november. harris also thanked president biden who called into the event. it is my great honour to have joe's endorsement in this race. cheering and applause. you joe's endorsement in this race. cheering and applause. you sure do. and it cheering and applause. you sure d0- and it is _ cheering and applause. you sure d0- and it is my — cheering and applause. you sure do. and it is my intention _ cheering and applause. you sure do. and it is my intention to - do. and it is my intention to no out do. and it is my intention to go out and _ do. and it is my intention to go out and earn _ do. and it is my intention to go out and earn this - do. and it is my intention to - go out and earn this nomination and to win. go out and earn this nomination and to win-— and to win. cheering and applause- _ in the speech, kamala harris also accused donald trump of wanting to take america backwards with extreme policies. and she likened him to the people she dealt with when she was a district attorney and attorney general. predators who abused women, fraudsters ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain.

so hear me when i say, i know donald trump's type. cheering and applause and in this campaign, i will proudly i will proudly put my record against _ i will proudly put my record against his. the white house says joe biden will return to the white house later today after isolating with covid. he called into the campaign event with kamala harris in wilmington and spoke to campaign staff. let's hear some of what he had to say. i know yesterday's news was surprising and hard for you to hear but it was the right thing to do. i know it is hard because you poured your heart and soul into me to help us win this thing, help me get this nomination. help me win the nomination. help me win the nomination and then go on to win the presidency, but, you know, you are an amazing team but we've got a great, great, i think we made the right

decision.— think we made the right decision. , ., �* decision. joe biden there, speaking _ decision. joe biden there, speaking at _ decision. joe biden there, speaking at kamala - decision. joe biden there, i speaking at kamala harris's campaign event. so, how soon could kamala harris be confirmed as the democratic nominee for president? the bbc�*s us partner cbs news estimates she has received the endorsement of a majority of democratic delegates — with delegations from at least 27 states backing her. seniorfigures in the party are also throwing their support behind harris — including the former speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, who described her as brilliantly astute — and says she has full confidence she'll lead the democrats to victory in november's election. the chair of the democratic national convention says the party will deliver a presidential nominee by the 7th of august. but kamala harris could be confirmed as the nominee in a virtual roll call

at the start of august — that allows delegates to choose who's on the ticket before their main convention. a short time after kamala harris made her campaign speech — the republican vice presidential nomineejd vance addressed supporters in ohio — and attacked the record of the current vice president. so the democrats here who are watching, please make some way to make kamala vice president. i was promised a debate with kamala harris and that is what i am planning. kamala harris and that is what i am planning-— i am planning. cheering and applause — i am planning. cheering and applause. now, _ i am planning. cheering and applause. now, history - i am planning. cheering and applause. now, history will. applause. now, history will remember— applause. now, history will rememberjoe _ applause. now, history will rememberjoe biden - applause. now, history will rememberjoe biden as - applause. now, history will rememberjoe biden as not i applause. now, history will. rememberjoe biden as notjust rememberjoe biden as notjust a quitter, which years, but one of the worst presidents of the united states of america, but, my friends, kamala harris isi million times worse and everybody knows it. cheering and applause. _ the us presidential election will be decided in only a handful of states that can be won by either the democrats or the republicans. these six states: georgia, michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, nevada and arizona — are likely to decide who will take the white house. so just what do voters there

think of president biden's decision to stand down, and what do they make of kamala harris as a possible future leader of the country? our correspondent emma vardy has gone to arizona to find out. this estate is really on a knife edge. it was won by donald trump in 2016 and one by joe biden at the last election so has been touted heavily by both sides in the race to the white house and arizona is on the border with mexico and illegal immigration over that border has been one of the most contentious issues in this whole election so what the voters are discussing here over their coffee and pancakes really matters. after months of hearing candidates singing the same old tunes, suddenly the records changing. a lot of people thought he'd pull out sooner than he did. i think it's best for america that he did pull out. it seems like trump's

substantially ahead, especially in battleground states. could a different democratic candidate change things now? anything's possible. but in a deeply divided america, many people's views are already firmly fixed. i still think trump's going to win. i truly think that trump is a better choice, just with the economy and how things are run. what do people make of kamala harris when it comes to the border? well, she hasn't done anything. and criminals are coming across the border and we need to close it. while there is relief among many democrat voters over biden stepping down, there isn't agreement about kamala harris automatically replacing him. my personal opinion, what has she done? what experience has she had, politically? should there be more of a contest for who should take on trump? yes, i think so, yes. for the democratic party. but it has invigorated a campaign in which a rematch betweenjoe biden and donald trump had been widely unpopular. both sides, in my opinion, i thought werejust, like, "i don't really

care for her." i think it would be nice to have a woman in office and, um, especially since she's a woman of colour. the choice being served up for americans is now looking very different. but as to whether kamala harris could do any better against donald trump thanjoe biden would have, polls haven't suggested there's much in it. but with millions now expected to pour in to campaign funds, and voters are going to be seeing a lot more of her, that could change. though, for now, at least, many trump supporters don't see her as a threat. who do you think is going to win? trump. why's that? just because he's better at uniting everyone. trump was really attacking biden's age. could a new candidate make life any more difficult? after the last four weeks, no. i don't think there's any stopping him. you know, taking a bullet in the side of the head, everything else, and getting up and going play golf the next morning. i mean, what else do you ask for? if events weren't incredible enough,

nowjoe biden dropping out is another historic twist for this race in which there is still time for more surprises to come. emma vardy, bbc news, arizona. joining me now to discuss the state of the race is former us labour secretary and professor at university of california, berkeley — robert reich. thank you very much forjoining us, robert. the new shape of this race seems all but locked in now. what did you make of kamala harris's pitch to voters ? i think she is had an extraordinary first 48 hours, not only in terms of her pitch to voters but also an amazing beginning in terms of bringing in donations to her campaign. and almost a pitch perfect delivery to the campaign, to campaign workers, to the public. i think she is off to an extraordinarily good start.

she's gone in hard on trump. as you might expect, i suppose. echoing a campaign video that was released very quickly after she secured president biden's nomination. she said he was like the sexual predators and the fraudsters that she used to prosecute. if you were advising her, is that what you'd have recommended she do? is that a way to win over trump voters? i is that a way to win over trump voters? ., �* ~' , is that a way to win over trump voters? ., �* ~ , , voters? i don't think she is necessarily _ voters? i don't think she is necessarily going - voters? i don't think she is necessarily going to - voters? i don't think she is necessarily going to win i voters? i don't think she is l necessarily going to win over hard—core trump voters was i think she will win over a lot of moderates, a lot of independence, there are more independent than there are democrats or republicans and i think will win over many people who are inswing states right now, not absolutely sure of what they are going to do. this election is going to be extraordinarily close. it is not going to be easy for kamala harris. but, by the same token,

what better a foilfor harris. but, by the same token, what better a foil for donald trump and now the oldest person ever seeking the presidency, certainly now seeking the presidency, and also somebody who seems a little bit incoherent, unhinged, has a history of denying the outcome of the 2020 election and all campaigning, creating and unleashing his supporters on the united states capital in an effort to attempt to stage a coup against the united states was up i mean, if he wants somebody who is going to be perhaps the best person against him, a much younger woman of colour who has a background in enforcing the law.— enforcing the law. robert, clearly you _ enforcing the law. robert, clearly you are _ enforcing the law. robert, clearly you are not - enforcing the law. robert, clearly you are not an - clearly you are not an independent observer in all this, i know you have skin in

the game. the democrats run through your blood. but help us get inside the mind of one of the independent voters in the us because of course the contrast between these two candidates is incredibly stark and one would wonder how you could possibly flip between trump or harris. surely you are either simply one of the other. —— make one the other. i want to emphasise that america is deeply polarised, probably more than at any time in my lifetime, but there is a group in the middle who have not committed themselves or not absolutely sure which way they will go, have some severe doubts about donald trump. even a lot of republicans are known as never trumpers, that is they never have subscribed to donald trump's brand of a right wing republicanism and authoritarian republicanism. i don't think it is completely fair to assume

that america, people on the left eye just the equivalent of people on the right. i think there is a fundamental difference between these two parties right now into these two candidates stop on the one hand you have donald trump who has rejected, quite blatantly, the rule of law and the principles of democracy is not the principles democracy is based on. and on the other hand you have kamala harris who not only was vice president to joe only was vice president tojoe biden but also has built into her entire career on enforcing the law and making sure democracy works, that nobody is above the law so we have a fundamental contrast that is a contrast it seems to me you could not have a sharp contrast between two different visions for the future of the united states. ., , .

states. 0k, robert reich, former us _ states. 0k, robert reich, former us labour - states. 0k, robert reich, i former us labour secretary, thank you very much forjoining us and sharing your thoughts at this fascinating moment in the us presidential race. let's speak to our correspondent in washington — david willis. has kamala harris effectively got the nomination in the bag now? these pledges of support that have clearly gone above the line for kamala harris. well, it is pretty — line for kamala harris. well, it is pretty much _ line for kamala harris. well, it is pretty much in - line for kamala harris. well, it is pretty much in the - line for kamala harris. well, it is pretty much in the bag | it is pretty much in the bag think it is fair to say. events are moving very rapidly as far as kamala harris and her candidacy for the democratic nomination is concerned. the associated press reporting that she had gone past the 2000, the simple majority of democratic delegates that she needs in order to secure her party's nomination and that's just a day after her —— after she started her campaign and those

telegraph —— delegates actually have to vote for kamala harris and that would be in a couple of weeks time. that would mean the result stays as it appears to be that she will go into the party, the democratic party's national convention in chicago in august and as their presidential nominee. so very rapid movement on things and that follows the endorsement of a very powerful figure today on the democratic party, nancy pelosi, the former speaker of the house. she weighed in behind kamala harris is indeed have several other key members of the party, among them a bill —— hill and of the party, among them a bill —— hilland hillary of the party, among them a bill —— hill and hillary clinton. of the party, among them a bill —— hilland hillary clinton. if you couple that with the fact

that she has achieved amazing fundraising in the space of just 24 hours, the coffers were swelled to the tune of $81 million, we are told. that is a record within that timeframe. it does seem that she has been anointed by the party's leadership. president biden has given her his endorsement but is there still a prospect that you could have a trouble maker event putting their hand up and trying to muddy the waters? it is interesting that many of the potential rivals to kamala harris have come out and endorsed her and done so quite early in the whole process, among them because people like the california governor kevin newsome and josh shapiro —— gavin newsom. these other sort

of people that are now perhaps in the race for vice president. josh shapiro, representing very swing state, pennsylvania was not very much in the frame, potentially roy cooper, another governor also. and mark kelly, the senator from arizona, former astronaut. these are the sort of people that are lining up sort of people that are lining up now but the talk of them is the contenders for the vice residents will slot, not as —— presidential slot, residents will slot, not as —— presidentialslot, not residents will slot, not as —— presidential slot, not as rivals to kamala harris and it seems now she is a shoe in as the democratic contender. make it very much- — the democratic contender. make it very much- -- _ the democratic contender. make it very much. -- thank— the democratic contender. make it very much. -- thank you - the democratic contender. make it very much. -- thank you veryl it very much. —— thank you very much. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

israeli strikes in southern gaza have killed

at least 70 people with more than 200 injured, according to the hamas—run health ministry. israel says the area was being used as a base for attacks by militants and issued orders to civilians to evacuate ahead of what it has called a "forceful operation. separately, a planned meeting between israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu and us presidentjoe biden — which was due to take place later today — has been delayed until thursday. with me is said shehata — a reporter with bbc arabic. israel says it told people to evacuate but many accounts say they didn't hear in time. reports coming from inside khan younis endows the whether israeli assault occurred and killed at least 70 people, there is no time. the time was

not like much. in addition to that the israeli army said it likely is that it would be communicated that would be the population stop phone calls, sns and other things that some people couldn't hear it. because of the situation with the war. in addition to that, according to, more than 400,000 people are affected by the evacuation orders and according to the head of unrwa evacuation out of means, more suffering for people who already move from place to place. in addition, the israeli armyjust to find that and said because of intelligence that hamas are attempting to regroup in this area in addition to rockets coming, fired from this area. so the israeli reasons for doing that but the result is the people killed is more than

38,000 so the problem there because of the killing on almost on a daily basis. indeed, and on the diplomatic front, benjamin netanyahu was supposed to be meeting withjoe biden today. that has been delayed until thursday no doubt because ofjoe biden's illness but also of course because of the political developments in washington. anyone who follows the situation closely knows that israel and the us are allies but netanyahu and biden are not friends. what do we think could come out of anything of this meeting considering that the new political reality in washington? political reality in washinrton? �* ., , washington? before this meeting. _ washington? before this meeting, mr _ washington? before this meeting, mr biden - washington? before this meeting, mr biden has l washington? before this - meeting, mr biden has pledged that he will continue working in order to end the war in gaza, in order to reach the piste in the middle east, in order to release all the hostages —— piece in the middle east. mr netanyahu will try to convince the critics and doubters, especially from congress, before his speech, during his speech, that iran is

a big danger not only for israel but for the world. civilisation in the area especially after the houthis attack inside tel aviv which killed one israeli and injured others, in addition to the hezbollah rockets which hit some areas in israel recently. so i think mr netanyahu will try to convince the congress that his case to defeat hamas is only, it can in order to move forward. is this before the negotiation were resume on thursday between the different teams in order to reach a deal very soon. teams in order to reach a deal very soon-— very soon. said shehata from bbc arabic, _ very soon. said shehata from bbc arabic, we _ very soon. said shehata from bbc arabic, we will— very soon. said shehata from bbc arabic, we will have - very soon. said shehata from bbc arabic, we will have to i bbc arabic, we will have to leave it there. thank you for that. more than 150 people have been killed in bangladesh, following days of violence. now the prime minister, sheikh hasina, says a nationwide curfew imposed on friday night will be lifted as soon as the security situation gets better. ms hasina blamed the opposition

for the outbreaks of violence during protests against quotas in governmentjobs. all businesses and offices have been closed since saturday, when the curfew took hold. 0ur south asia correspondent, yogita limaye, reports. i should warn you, there are distressing images coming up. a third day of troops on the streets. a strict curfew, a near blackout of communication. bangladesh's government is using all its might to control public anger. over the past week, students marched on the streets against quotas in public sectorjobs forfamilies of veterans of the 1971 warfor independence, accusing the government of nepotism. shooting but the protests became about more than just that issue, after a violent crackdown by the police

and paramilitary. in this video — verified by the bbc — a young man, injured but alive, left on the streets by security forces. he died later. 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. nahid islam, one of the protest leaders, told the bbc�*s bengali service that he was tortured by the police. translation: i was blindfolded and taken from my home. - i was interrogated and then beaten badly with iron rods. at one point, ifainted. hundreds have been injured in what many describe as the worst violence

they have seen. translation: three | of my friends are dead. see, there are bloodstains on my hand. why are my hands coloured with the blood of my brothers? bangladesh's government has denied it cracked down on unarmed students. yesterday, most of the quotas were scrapped by the supreme court. for now, students have suspended their protests, but they want this curfew to end and justice for those who have been killed. yogita limaye, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news now. brazilian president lula da silva says he is frightened by warnings from his fellow leftist leader — venezuela's president nicolas maduro, of a possible post—election bloodbath. speaking to reporters in brasilia, mr lula said mr maduro must learn that if you win, you stay in power, but if you lose, you go. researchers have found that

chimpanzees in the wild take it in turns to speak, much like humans do. by analysing thousands of hand gestures made by different groups of chimps in east africa, the study showed they had rapid back—and—forth exchanges. that is it from me. bbc news business today will be coming up business today will be coming up but one little bit of extra news today, the city of birmingham will be hosting the invictus games in 2027 after seeing off competition from washington, dc. the invictus games is a sporting competition for injured servicemen and women, which was created by the duke of sussex, prince harry. he congratulated birmingham on its successful bid, saying the city's strong ties to the armed forces made it a good fit for the competition. hello. for those who saw not a huge amount of sunshine on monday, there's certainly a greater chance over the next couple of days.

tuesday and wednesday, looking sunnier by and large, a lot of dry weather around, a few isolated showers. some of the dampest conditions will actually be around first thing on tuesday. through the night, into tuesday morning, this is the weather system which will be bringing outbreaks of rain or drizzle across england and wales. it does mean a lot of cloud. it also means a very warm and humid start to the day. temperatures at around 14 to 17 degrees for some across the south, but it's here where the cloud will be its thickest, some rain or drizzle, bit like we saw on monday. the odd heavy burst, south midlands, south—east, but it's clearing away a good deal quicker than on monday, and sunshine further north and west will develop a bit more widely as we go through the day.

a few isolated showers possible, a bit of a breeze down the eastern coasts, but it's around some of the coastal seas, some of the sunniest conditions during the afternoon, especially to the north and the west. and temperatures of 19 to 24 degrees are bang—on average for this stage in the year. now, as we go into tuesday evening and overnight, we start with some clear skies. varying amounts of cloud, though, or pushing in from the west, stopping it from getting too and that humidity will last into wednesday night, but by thursday, weather systems starting to push their way in off the atlantic will bring a lot more cloud generally speaking, so it's almost as if we're back to monday. lots of cloud to begin with. there will be outbreaks of rain around. some of the heaviest could be across southern counties through the day, spreading their way eastwards. some of the brightest conditions, probably across the north—east of scotland and then later into the west of ireland. temperatures down on what we've seen through recent days. thursday night and into friday, though, that rain gradually clears, lingering longest towards the south—east and the channel islands. could be there first thing friday morning. it will shift out of the way. good, long, sunny spells for many on friday, a scattering of showers. showers most likely, though, across the north and the west of the country. and temperatures very pleasant

in the sunshine too. we'll see one or two showers around on saturday, but overall through the weekend, it's turning drier and warmerfor most.

india unveils its first budget since narendra modi was returned to power later today. but will the ruling party's plans be watered down by its coalition partners?

the boss of airbus tells the bbc of the problems that most businesses would dream of. having more buyers than he can hope to sell to. shares in crowdstrike tumble in monday's trading as many customers continue to suffer from last week's it meltdown. and festival time. how music tourism is delivering a significant boost to the uk's economy. live from london, this is business today. i'm tadhg enright. in a few hours from now, india's finance minister will begin presenting a budget that will set the tone for the government's third term in office. it will be the first full budget of prime minister narendra modi's third term, but one in which his personal mandate is weaker because he's had to rely on other parties to form his new government. so what does today's budget mean for the fifth largest economy in the world?

let's go live to delhi where my colleague archana shukla joins