for his part, mr trump says it will be easier to beat kamala harris than mr biden. our other main headlines. a student leader calls for a pause in the bangladeshjob quota protests which have left more than 150 people dead. and more than 20,000 people take to the streets of majorca in the latest protest against mass tourism. hello, i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. a growing number of senior democrat politicians and supporters of the party are backing kamala harris to be their candidate for the us presidency, after president biden withdrew

from the contest. there's been a reported surge in public donations to the democrats since biden dropped out, with grassroots supporters raising nearly $50 million for harris�*s campaign in less than 2a hours. ms harris said she was honoured to accept president biden�*s endorsement, describing his decision to withdraw as "a selfless and patriotic act". among those throwing their support behind her are politicians seen as likely contenders for the presidency themselves, including the governor of california, gavin newsom. but other leading democrats, including former president barack 0bama, and the party's leaders in the senate and house of representatives have yet to formally endorse her. so what happens next and how will donald trump and the republican party react? we'll be exploring all these issues over the next hour. but first tom bateman reflects on a dramatic 2a hours for the democratic party. breaking news, president biden

dropping out of the 2024 race, endorsing his vice president, kamala harris... despite the weeks of mounting pressure on him to step aside, joe biden had been holding firm. but he abruptly abandoned his campaign on a sunday afternoon... reaction tojoe biden dropping out of the race... ..as news channels went into overdrive. in a written statement, he said... the last time the president was seen in public, having caught covid, he was gingerly descending the steps of air force one. that was wednesday. since then, huddled with his closest aides at his delaware home, he had been reflecting for a couple of days, say sources, before finally making up his mind yesterday morning. mr biden�*s campaign was fatally damaged from this point,

almost a month ago, facing donald trump in a head—to—head debate. mr biden faltered, forgot things and couldn't finish sentences. dealing with everything we had to do with... look, if... we finally beat medicare. by now the attempts to revive his campaign were damage limitation. but that was too late — he'd already flunked the moment that really mattered. and then there were more mistakes, including this at a nato summit. now i want to hand it over to the president of ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. ladies and gentlemen, president putin. president putin? he has to beat president putin, president zelensky. in the end, it was a critical mass of democrats in congress and the threats of some donors that spelled the end of the road forjoe biden.

i was following his campaign for part of this last week and saw him up close as he tried but failed to regain momentum. let me ask you, are you all in? because i'm all in. in las vegas, back on the campaign trail last week, the 81—year—old started out energised. but the next day, he seemed to have slowed down. during a stop at a mexican restaurant, a pitch to hispanic voters, all the questions from us reporters were about the growing calls for him to quit the race. all talk at once. then, after 90 minutes held inside, the whole trip was abandoned. we were raced away in the motorcade as it was confirmed the president had covid. the candidate was going home, and it felt like a campaign in crisis. gunshots screaming and this race had already taken an extraordinary turn when donald trump survived

an assassination attempt. now officially the republican nominee, mr trump last night hit out at his former rival. he said... democrats have paid tribute to mr biden, hailing his decision to pull out as a selfless act to serve his country. former president bill clinton and his wife hillary, the former us secretary of state, said mr biden had... so what happens next? mr biden has backed his vice president, kamala harris, for the nomination. dozens of democrats in congress have endorsed her, but she doesn't become the candidate automatically. there has to be a process, and others may still throw their hat in the ring. welcome to the white house, everybody. one person who hasn't

explicitly backed ms harris — former president barack 0bama. other big names might also favour an open contest. withjoe biden out of the race, the democrats now find themselves in a situation unprecedented in modern american history — without a presidential candidate a little more than three months out from the election. let's go live now to delaware where president biden is recovering from covid and from where his letter was posted on social media, changing the race for the white house. 0ur correspondent ione wells is there. we think we know how that must go but come november it will be kamala harris versus donald trump but that is by no means a done deal, is it? that is right. even though we are seeing this momentum, lots of people coming out in support of kamala

harris as nominee, it isn't yet official and there are still questions about what the process might be. previously, there was lots of about holding a virtual roll call, a virtual vote for the democratic party in the first week of august to get that all done and dusted before their convention in chicago towards the end of august. if that goes ahead, and there was a majority for kamala harris, that is one way to prove her, if there is not a majority they decide not to have a boat, that is when they get into a more complicated situation of the convention of delegates free to vote for whoever they like, and then it becomes a lot more complicated at a time when the democrats are trying to show after weeks and weeks of disunity that they are a party that can be united again. that is what we have heard from a lot of the people coming out in support of kamala harris, saying that it is time for unity, and it is important notjust for the party back to the voters, because we know that part that do

not seem to be united don't tend to do well in the election so that will be on the minds of people right now, as they decide whether any other candidate should enter the race. what are the early signals from the republicans about how they will approach these changing circumstances?- approach these changing circumstances? , ., .,. circumstances? they have reacted re circumstances? they have reacted pretty angrily- _ circumstances? they have reacted pretty angrily. donald _ circumstances? they have reacted pretty angrily. donald trump - circumstances? they have reacted pretty angrily. donald trump hasl pretty angrily. donald trump has spoken about the crooked joe biden. speakerjohnson, the republican speaker johnson, the republican representative, speakerjohnson, the republican representative, is put out a fierce statement yesterday essentially accusing the democrats of being on the —— undemocratic in rejecting the millions of votes for president biden as a candidate, and they feel that, having campaigned for months now during the presidential campaign, they are suddenly faced with the reality of a new candidate, so it is unclear how they might respond, whether they will try to challenge it in some way, but certainly at the moment in their campaign messaging, they are putting a lot of effort into trying to divert their attacks towards kamala

harris, and i'm seeing lots of examples of republicans individually and in some of their advertising out messaging trying to link her directly to joe messaging trying to link her directly tojoe biden�*s record because of course she was his vice president. because of course she was his vice resident. . ~' , ., ., because of course she was his vice resident. ., ~ , ., ., ~ , despite the high profile endorsements — the route for kamala harris to the presidency is by no means assured — as there are a number of ways to nominate the democratic candidate. for more on this let's speak to dr thomas gift, director of the centre on us politics at university college london, joining us today from massachusetts. i will begin by asking you, this late in the election year, does the democratic party have any option but to get behind kamala harris, or will a contest where she emerges the eventual candidate be better for her ultimately as well as the party? thank you so much for having me, it is great to be with you. i think by

endorsing kamala harris, she has to be seen as the presumptive nominee. i think the reality is that they want to design a process where kamala harris emerges essentially uncontested and stronger than she is right now. what happens, some names of individuals who say that they might be considering throwing their hat in the ring, including joe manchin, the former democrat senator from west virginia, who might reregister, but the fact thatjoe biden waited so long to make his exit, it plays to the advantage of democrats simply because there will not be those long, drawn—out process where you see all of this infighting and it will be less likely that biden endorses her, specifically. so how does kamala harris have it from being a vice presidential nominee to

a presidential nominee, and also, more about that route to the convention, the democratic convention in chicago next month? all of the delegates joe convention in chicago next month? all of the delegatesjoe biden had accumulated all bd pledged, and can support whoever they want at the convention. if kamala harris is the only potential nominee who emerges, all of those votes will go to her. if someone else says they want to challenge, then there will be a vote at the end. for kamala harris per specifically, she needs to ensure that she has an image that is separate and apart from the biden administration. you spent the last 3.5 years being a surrogate spokesperson for the biden administration. she has to prove that she has an independent voice and independent priorities. it is not obvious to me that kamala harris is more electable thanjoe biden

against donald trump. if you look at the polling, it is fairly similar, but i do think that kamala harris, her numbers might be more malleable because americans having sort of seen as much of her, although some will have a relatively firm opinion. she needs to make good on the days and weeks ahead, to try to get a bounce, if you like, from these changing circumstances. 10096. if there is a debate _ changing circumstances. 10096. if there is a debate she _ changing circumstances. 10096. if there is a debate she will - changing circumstances. 10096. if there is a debate she will have i changing circumstances. 10096. if there is a debate she will have to j there is a debate she will have to do well at the debate, better than joe biden did, of course, and at the convention itself, she's going to give a speech saying that she is the nominee, that is an opportunity to craft her message. i also think who she nominates as a vice presidential running mate will be key. it is another opportunity to showcase what direction she was to take a party in, a more moderate one or one that is further to the left stop when potential name isjosh shapiro, the

governor of pennsylvania, which has lots of votes in the electoral college, which will help with the electoral map, and to divert attention from other swing states into pennsylvania.— attention from other swing states into pennsylvania. thomas, thank ou, aood into pennsylvania. thomas, thank you. good to _ into pennsylvania. thomas, thank you. good to get _ into pennsylvania. thomas, thank you, good to get your— into pennsylvania. thomas, thank you, good to get your thoughts i into pennsylvania. thomas, thank| you, good to get your thoughts on this continuing story today. we can show you some live shots of capitol hill in washington. dawn breaking, a very busy day ahead for all of those interested in politics, and just a reminder, as well, that you can look at the live page on the bbc news website for all of the latest developments on what is happening there.

later we will bejoined later we will be joined by a number of experts to talk about the big decisions being made in the us after joe biden announced he would be stepping down. we will be answering your questions live. so get in touch using the hashtag, #bbcyourquestions, or you can e—mail us. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

staying with reaction to the news from the us. benjamin netanyahu is on his way to washington for a scheduled official visit. he said that he would thankjoe biden for all of the support that he had given israel. the mac i'm leaving on a very important visit to the united states at a time when israel is fighting on several fronts, states at a time when israel is fighting on severalfronts, and there is great political uncertainty in washington. i

there is great political uncertainty in washington.— in washington. i will address for the fourth time _ in washington. i will address for the fourth time both _ in washington. i will address for the fourth time both houses - in washington. i will address for the fourth time both houses of. the fourth time both houses of congress as the prime minister of israel. i will seek to act on the bipartisan support that is important for us and i will reach out to friends on both sides of the aisle, and israel remains america's indispensable and strong ally in the middle east. i will be seen president biden whom i have known for over a0 years. this will be an opportunity to thank him for his influence in the war and in his long and distinguished career in public service as senator, vice president and president. there will be an opportunity to discuss how to advance in critical months ahead, the goals that are important for both of our countries, including the release of all our hostages, and confronting the terrorist attacks of

hamas and iran, and ensuring that all citizens can return safely to their homes in the north wind in the south. at this time of war and uncertainty it is important that israel's enemies know that america and israel stand together, today, tomorrow and always. thank you. with two wars raging, in the middle east and ukraine, the stakes are high for the us�*s international partners. for more on this, i'm joined now by james waterhouse in kyiv and barbara plett usher injerusalem. welcome to you both. barbara, we heard that clip from benjamin netanyahu. tell us more about the reaction in the region to this news from washington, and what it might mean for the future relationship, depending on who wins, and also, do people in the middle east see much difference between kamala harris a's position and that of president biden? iii

position and that of president biden? . . position and that of president biden? .. , position and that of president biden? , ., biden? if i can focus on the reaction — biden? if i can focus on the reaction in _ biden? if i can focus on the reaction in the _ biden? if i can focus on the reaction in the first - biden? if i can focus on the i reaction in the first instance, biden? if i can focus on the - reaction in the first instance, the israelis _ reaction in the first instance, the israelis have responded with appreciation and gratitude for mr biden, _ appreciation and gratitude for mr biden, because they see him as someone — biden, because they see him as someone who came through for them at a dark— someone who came through for them at a dark moment in their history, when he flew_ a dark moment in their history, when he flew to _ a dark moment in their history, when he flew to israel, just shortly after— he flew to israel, just shortly after the _ he flew to israel, just shortly after the october 7th attacks, and for his— after the october 7th attacks, and for his solidarity in fighting the war against hamas. we've had statements from former and current israeli _ statements from former and current israeli officials... we statements from former and current israeli officials. . .— israeli officials... we have problems _ israeli officials... we have problems with _ israeli officials... we have problems with the - israeli officials... we have problems with the sound i israeli officials... we have - problems with the sound connection to barbara, we will try to come back to barbara, we will try to come back to her, but let's go to james waterhouse in kyiv. beginning on that same point, reaction in kyiv, ukraine, to this news from washington.— ukraine, to this news from washinuton. , , .,, washington. president zelensky has described president _ washington. president zelensky has described president biden's - washington. president zelensky hasj described president biden's decision not to stand as a tough but strong

one, for the good of the country. he has also expressed his gratitude for what president biden has done. and i think if you look at what ukrainian commentators are saying online, there is that overarching theme of gratitude, but there are some criticisms, in the words of one former diplomat, is it that president biden never did enough of what we would have liked, but he did enough so that we were not defeated, and that we are still fighting so, that in his words is to his merit, but without president biden, in theory, ukraine would not have received the countless air defence systems, ammunition, artillery rounds, armoured vehicles, enabling it to melt this fight, and america through being ukraine's biggest ally provided political cover to other western allies, nato members, to do similar, although not to the extent

of what america has. so that is not to be dismissed, and in ukraine, it certainly isn't. this is a government that is used to political turbulence amongst its western allies. looking at the elections in europe, and what is going on in the us election. president zelensky said it will be hard work if there is a trump administration once more, because of the scepticism within the republican party in recent history over whether ukraine can win the war, but this is an administration used to dealing with that turbulence. officials in kyiv have been talking to people on donald trump's team and they will be looking for the right person to speak to on the democrat side as well, because they are planning ahead, bracing for more turbulence in the new year, but president zelensky acknowledges that little changes in ukraine, russia continues to mount offences across a vast front line, and the argument here is

that it front line, and the argument here is thatitis front line, and the argument here is that it is a problem for europe and the best overall, as russia continues to wage its invasion. lie continues to wage its invasion. us presidential elections, of course, always keenly watched around the world but especially so there. absolutely. it is the issue of the war in ukraine, and how the us best supports it, which will be a central issue in the upcoming election campaign, and president zelensky has to do two things which he has arguably done throughout the full—scale invasion. he has to focus on the fighting. has to make the right decisions, to delegate in the right decisions, to delegate in the right way to his generals, to make sure that ukraine continues fighting in the way that it does, in the hope that it when they can liberate directly to a significant level to force russia to make some kind of concession to stop the country at the moment is some way off of that, because of rush up as my continued dominance for some time, shall we say, but the second thing president zelensky needs to do is to carry out

a pr campaign to make the political arguments in terms of how well his military is doing, or how well they could do, in his eyes, and the longer term, could do, in his eyes, and the longerterm, because could do, in his eyes, and the longer term, because the best counter to western fatty and scepticism for president zelensky in the past has been military progress, —— to western fatigue. but they could still lose this war, and it could still lose this war, and it could pose questions for europe, for eastern european nato members for example, and that could create a problem for the us itself. he is always trying to create that sense of urgency, and these are high—stakes, this is a period of high—stakes, this is a period of high stakes politically, for kyiv and ukraine as it continues to be under attack. and ukraine as it continues to be under attack-— under attack. thank you, james waterhouse _ under attack. thank you, james waterhouse in _ under attack. thank you, james waterhouse in the _ under attack. thank you, james waterhouse in the ukrainian - under attack. thank you, james - waterhouse in the ukrainian capital and because of technical issues, we have not been able to reconnect with

barbara plett usher injerusalem. other news now... more than 20,000 people have taken part in a protest against mass tourism on the spanish island of majorca. around 18 million people visited majorca and the other balearic islands last year. this demonstration is the latest in a wave of anti—tourism protests across spain. our correspondent nick beake is monitoring events for us and sent us this update. the authorities in spain saying 20,000 people turned out for it and we were there, and certainly there was a real strength of feeling amongst the people who were walking the streets, saying that enough is enough, because basically they say that if you look at the figures, 18 million visitors to this island last year and the other balearic islands, three—quarters of those from abroad, and they say simply it's too much for the resources they have here, for the space available, and also crucially for the accommodation,

for the housing. and this is a real specific source of angerfor so many people we were speaking to yesterday. they say what's happening as a lot of the flats are being bought up and then rented out, particularly over the summer, to foreign visitors and so that prices out a lot of local people, they're unable to find anywhere to live. that's what one after, another desperate people were telling us yesterday. what's the solution to this? activists at the rally yesterday were calling for limits to the number of people arriving, so a reduction in the number of planes flying in, the number of cruise ships arriving on this island. we saw another really huge boat arrival little earlier today. no sign that the government here is willing to do that, and there are warnings that you don't want to jeopardise a sector of the economy that's really been performing extremely well and powering the whole national spanish economy.

there have been other protests on the mainland in spain, in barcelona, but also malaga, in the canary islands there have been demonstrations. and of course there has been a debate raging for years in tourist hotspots like this as to whether the visitors actually bring more problems than they do benefits. but it does feel like something has changed this summer in spain. a lot of people say it has reached an intolerable limit, the amount of people coming in, so that's why they say something needs to be done urgently, and that's why we can expect to see more protests in the week to come. nick beake. here in the uk, kensington palace has shared a photograph of prince george to celebrate his 11th birthday. posting on x, formerly known as twitter, the prince and princess of wales wished their son a very happy 11th birthday. the photo was taken by catherine, princess of wales. stay with us here on bbc news. 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 have 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, 1a 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 2a degrees. 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 have the thicker cloud, murky conditions, some patchy light rain coming in from the west. top temperatures once again up to about 2a 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 is drier, some showers in the north and west, potentially a little bit of rain to start in the south.

this is bbc news. the headlines: kamala harris says she intends to "earn and win" the democratic nomination, asjoe biden exits the us presidential race. the president and top democrats

on capitol hill are backing ms 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. a student leader calls for a pause in the bangladesh job quota protests, which have left more than 150 people dead. kitesurfing makes its debut at this week's paris olympics. we speak to one medal hopeful. hello. i'm annita mcveigh. returning to our top story now and endorsements from us democrats have flooded in for vice president kamala harris as she seeks to gain the party's presidential nomination. reaction has also been swift from the republican party but, as you might expect, slightly different in tone. the republican nominee for vice president, the ohio senatorjd vance, has immediately gone on the attack on social media, describing ms harris as a co—author of mr biden's "failures" on migration and inflation.