Morning Briefing: July 22, 2024

By Alperen Aktas

ANKARA (AA) - Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start Monday with, including US President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, his opponent Donald Trump's remarks that he will "remedy the damage" and Türkiye slamming Israeli Foreign Minister Katz's "dirty propaganda" against Turkish President Erdogan.

TOP STORIES

• Biden withdraws from US presidential race

US President Joe Biden withdrew from the race for the White House.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement posted on X.

The US presidential election will be held on Nov. 5.

• Trump says he will 'remedy the damage' as Biden withdraws from presidential race

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he will "remedy the damage" he attributed to President Joe Biden shortly after Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race.

"Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President and is certainly not fit to serve -- And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement," said the former president on his platform, Truth Social.

Trump claimed that people around Biden including his doctor and the media knew that Biden was not capable of being president.

• Türkiye slams Israeli foreign minister’s 'lies, slander, disrespect'

Türkiye slammed Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s “dirty propaganda” against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“The Israeli Foreign Minister is trying to hide Israel’s crime against the Palestinians behind a series of lies, slander and disrespect,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

"Israel's dirty propaganda targeting Türkiye and President Erdogan and psychological operation attempts will not bear fruit," the ministry said.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Israeli army demolished two commercial establishments and excavated land belonging to Palestinians in Beit Hanina in occupied East Jerusalem.
• Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said a hostage swap deal with Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip could be reached within two weeks.
• A Palestinian baby was saved from his mother’s womb by doctors after she died of injuries sustained in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
• Pakistan lodged a strong protest with German authorities for their “failure” to protect its consular mission in Frankfurt from an attack.
• Yemen’s Houthis said that Israeli attacks would not deter the group from continuing their military escalation in support of the war-torn Gaza Strip.
• An academic from the University of Copenhagen has warned that the recently found polio virus in Gaza has the potential to spread across the Middle East.
• China and the Philippines have reached a “provisional agreement” for rotation and resupply missions to a beached naval ship in the South China Sea, Manila’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
• Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
• A 14-year-old boy from the southern Indian state of Kerala died of Nipah infection, officials said.
• Russia said it prevented a pair of US strategic bombers from crossing its border.
• Saudi Arabia said it is following with “great concern” the military escalation in Yemen following Israeli airstrikes on Al Hudaydah Port.
• Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for the "complete destruction" of the port of Al Hudaydah in western Yemen.
• United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern over the potential for a further escalation in the Middle East following Israeli raids on the port of Al Hudaydah in western Yemen.
• The Israeli army killed 64 more Palestinians in attacks in the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll to 38,983 since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.
• Bangladesh's Supreme Court directed the government to reduce a quota in public-sector jobs to 7%, a major cut from the previous 56%, according to an Anadolu correspondent in Dhaka.
• Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they carried out strikes targeting southern Israel and a US ship in the Red Sea.
• Another Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli attack on the central Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll to 162 since Oct. 7, 2023.
• At least eight bodies were retrieved after rain-triggered flash floods in southwestern China's Sichuan province left over 30 missing.

SPORTS

• Tadej Pogacar wins Tour de France 2024

Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates won the 111th Tour de France.

The 25-year-old from Slovenia clinched the 2024 title with a total time of 83 hours, 38 minutes and 56 seconds in the general ranking in the annual road bicycle race held over 23 days.

Pogacar, who previously won the 2020 and 2021 editions, completed the Tour with a margin of win of six minutes and 17 seconds ahead of second-place Jonas Vingegaard and third-place Remco Evenepoel.

• McLaren driver Oscar Piastri wins Hungarian GP for first F1 victory

McLaren's Oscar Piastri claimed his first Formula 1 victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Piastri, 23, came first in Hungaroring, Budapest, finishing the 70-lap race in an hour, 38 minutes and 01.989 seconds.

His teammate Lando Norris was 2.141 seconds behind the leader and Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes finished the 13th round 14.880 seconds behind Piastri.