WORLD BRIEFING: July 13, 2024

President Joe Biden is on a public and private blitz to shake off concerns about his cognitive capacities. But with public doubts about his fitness to serve unabating, Biden’s every move is now under a withering microscope as any potential stumble risks becoming magnified and delivering another blow to his candidacy.To wit: As he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit event Thursday, Biden flubbed and called him “President Putin,” prompting audible gasps from the audience. He corrected himself, saying, “I’m so focused on beating Putin” before ceding the lectern. Shortly after, at a news conference, Biden errantly referred to “Vice President Trump” — a gaffe that overshadowed what his aides felt was otherwise a commanding performance. And a significantly hyped interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos a week earlier was meant to show Biden could handle scrutinizing questions from the media but only flared more concerns from Democrats about whether he could continue to serve as the party’s nominee.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his centrist coalition government suffered a bitter defeat on Friday in parliament. A slim majority rejected the bill that would have eased the strict anti-abortion law: 218 lawmakers voted against decriminalising performing or assisting an abortion, 215 voted for it and two abstained. Tusk and his liberal Civic Coalition parliamentary caucus supported the bill. It means that those found guilty of aiding an abortion will continue to face up to three years in prison. The liberalisation was a key element in Tusk’s programme of reversing various policies of the previous right-wing government that have drawn massive protests - Euronews

A New Mexico judge has dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin for a fatal shooting of Ukrainian-born Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust. The trial collapsed three days into Baldwin's trial in Santa Fe, at a court just miles from where Hutchins, a cinematographer, was shot with a revolver that Mr Baldwin was using in rehearsals. It is the second time the case against the actor has been dismissed since the October 2021 shooting. He will not be tried again. His lawyers alleged police and prosecutors hid evidence - a batch of bullets - that could have been connected to the shooting - BBC

At 28 months and counting since Russia’s all-out invasion, there’s no end in sight to Europe’s largest land war since World War II. The human toll continues to mount. Total casualties -- dead and wounded -- now exceed 500,000, according to Western estimates, but are likely far higher. Britain’s top military officer said Russia alone had suffered that many casualties as of last month, and Russian news organizations, using probate data, have estimated as many as 140,000 Russian soldiers have died since February 2022. Ukraine has not disclosed its casualty figures, although President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in February that 31,000 soldiers had been killed in the previous two years -- a figure seen as a gross undercount. “Ukraine is in a difficult position now, manpower-wise, and they are going to struggle until mobilization starts delivering significant new manpower to the front,” said Konrad Muzyka, a Polish military analyst who recently returned from a trip to some of the frontline positions. “The biggest question is when these mobilized guys start entering the front line.” - RFE/RL

Ukrainians have been told to brace themselves for longer power outages - which are often accompanied by Internet and data outages. Starting yesterday, outages are to hit seven hours in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk. However, in Kyiv Oblast, according to some residents, outages of up to 19 hours are being reported. In the capital, some sources say they have up to 17 hours without power. Residents of Odesa are to have no power for most of Saturday. The outages, caused mostly by Russian strikes on critical infrastructure - including wind and solar farms - are hitting small business and remote workers especially hard. Ironically, because Ukraine is a highly digitalized economy, when power and data outages hit, transactions are difficult to process.

A wave of protest against the negative impact of mass tourism is sweeping over Spain’s most popular holiday hotspots. Heard in Majorca, the biggest of the Balearic Islands: “Go home!", cries out a man in swimming togs, frantically waving at a group of bewildered tourists trying to access the Caló des Moro, one of Majorca’s most famous and picturesque beaches. He is one of the dozens of residents who had come early that Sunday to occupy the site, in protest againsst the "massification" of tourism, which they say has "devastating effects" on their island, and their lives. “We have cruises [cruise ships] every day with thousands of people. We have a flight every minute! It’s cars, it’s pollution. Beaches, restaurants are full of the streets are full of people! We’re fed up!” exclaims Joana Maria Estrany Vallespir, from “SOS Residents”, a protest collective. "In one day, up to one million people come here! It’s unbearable!” storms Sara, a young protester. “They’re erasing our identity, they’re pushing us out, because they bought everything! - Euronews