DW

In his first television interview after a disappointing performance during a debate against Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden said he was ill and felt “terrible” during the debate.

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024.

Biden has once again stressed he still intends to run during a campaign rally in WisconsinImage: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo/picture alliance

US President Joe Biden called on Friday his debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27 “a bad episode,” as the president continued attempts to reassure skeptical Democrats following the critical debate.

In his first TV interview since the debate, Biden suggested it was a one-time occurrence because he was exhausted due to a heavy cold and lingering jetlag.

What did Biden say about the debate?

Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he had a “bad night” the evening of the debate, according to a clip released ahead of the interview. He added that there was “no indication of any serious condition.”

He took full responsibility for his poor debate performance, saying his much criticized showing was “nobody’s fault but mine.”

“I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing,” Biden said.

“I was sick, I was feeling terrible,” he added. “We were trying to figure out what’s wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold.”

Israel war on Gaza live: 27 killed in wave of Israeli attacks on enclave

Al Jazeera

Urban combat in Shujayea ‘presenting challenges’ for Israeli forces: Monitors

Hamas battle tactics and “dense urban terrain” in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City is challenging Israeli forces who have spent a week undertaking a ground incursion in the area, war monitors report.

US-based defence think tanks the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) said that Israeli troops have been forced to “clear” the same buildings multiple times of Palestinian fighters in Shujayea.

Fourth human case of bird flu connected to dairy cattle outbreak identified in the US

CNN

Colorado health officials have identified the state’s first human case of avian flu in in connection to an ongoing dairy cattle outbreak.

Colorado health officials have identified the state’s first human case of avian flu in in connection to an ongoing dairy cattle outbreak. 

A fourth person in the United States has tested positive for H5 bird flu in connection to an ongoing outbreak among dairy cattle across the country.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Wednesday that it has identified the state’s first human case of H5 avian influenza associated with the multistate outbreak of the virus in dairy cattle. This case is the fourth identified nationally in connection to the outbreak; two other human cases have been reported in Michigan and one in Texas.

Heavy rain disrupts daily life in U’khand, Himachal; Assam flood situation remains grim

PTI

Heavy rain disrupted daily life in vast swathes of north India, including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, on Friday while the flood situation in Assam remained grim with major rivers flowing above the danger mark and nearly 24 lakh people affected.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited several flood-hit areas in Dibrugarh, one of the 30 affected districts in the state, which is reeling from the worst deluge in recent years. In Uttarakhand, which has received heavy rain over the past few days, a five-year-old drowned in a rainwater-filled pit in Dehradun and a teenager in a Haridwar rivulet.

Daily life was disrupted in the hill state as the rain triggered numerous landslides, blocking key roads, including the national highway leading to Badrinath. Heavy rain also lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh, leading to the closure of 64 roads. The regional Met office warned of moderate flash flood risk in few areas of Kangra, Kullu, Kinnaur, Mandi, Sirmaur and Shimla districts in the next 24 hours.