Biden steps aside, Mallorca protests, and intense Ukrainian battles

It happened while you were sleeping. Here is what the world agencies reported from Sunday night to Monday.

• Joe Biden announced on Sunday evening Eastern Time that he is withdrawing from the race for the US presidency. "Although I intended to run for re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country that I step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," he wrote in a statement on platform X. Biden took 48 hours to come to this decision, analyzing data and polls that showed his victory was largely unattainable - two sources cited by Reuters reported. He struggled with making this decision, but a senior White House official said once he did, he began to move quickly.

• Several thousand residents of Mallorca protested on Sunday in Palma de Mallorca, the main city of this Balearic island, against the mass influx of tourists. The demonstration involved various social organizations and movements, including urban and environmental activists and numerous families. Demonstrators told the media that mass tourism not only causes traffic chaos on Mallorca but also leads to the destruction of local nature and a drastic increase in the cost of living.

• Finland's President Alexander Stubb, known for his love of endurance sports, swam with the current of the Oulanka River in the national park located on the Russian border for 15 miles. His wife Suzanne Innes-Stubb covered a shorter, 7-mile section.

• In the past 24 hours, the Russians attacked Ukrainian territory twice using missiles and carried out 52 airstrikes using 69 guided cluster bombs and 713 kamikaze drones. Intense battles took place, especially in the Pokrovsk direction. The enemy was also active in the Kharkiv and Kupiansk directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported Sunday evening.