The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics is underway, with a flotilla of boats taking the athletes down the River Seine as an accordionist plays Piaf on a bridge. The rain has for now abated, sparing the hundreds of thousands of spectators gathered on the quays and bridges. Meanwhile, the French intelligence services are hunting those who disrupted the Olympic festivities by sabotaging the high-speed rail lines into Paris -- also affecting locals setting off for the summer holidays.

Hospital staff in Bangladesh say plain-clothes police have taken away three leaders of the recent student protests. They were being treated in Dhaka for injuries allegedly sustained in custody.

And we will hear about the nationwide women only student organization in America, that Kamala Harris hopes will help her win the presidency.

(Photo: A torchbearer runs atop the Musee d'Orsay during the opening ceremony. Credit: REUTERS/Peter Cziborra)

The French rail network has been disrupted by a series of acts of sabotage, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers - just hours before the Olympic opening ceremony gets under way in Paris. Also on the programme, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Ethiopia's troubled Tigray region; and, a crisis for Japanese deer as tourists behave inappropriately.

(Photo: A SNCF railway worker carries cable wires at the site where vandals targeted France's high-speed train network with a series of coordinated actions that brought major disruption, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony, in Croisilles, northern France July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

President Biden is meeting the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Mr Biden has previously criticised Israel for the number of Palestinian civilians killed during its war against Hamas. He has made clear that he wants to ensure that a deal to end the war and free the hostages will be delivered during his last six months in office. We speak to Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son, Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was captured by Hamas on October 7th and has been held in Gaza for the past 10 months. Jonathan is part of a delegation of hostage families who have travelled to Washington to meet with Mr Biden and prime minister Netanyahu.

We have a special report on how drones are being used - close to the Ukraine-Russia frontline - our correspondent has been on that frontline.

And we will look at took ahead to Sunday's Presidential Election in Venezuela.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

In his first address to the nation since he pulled out of the presidential race, President Biden said saving democracy is more important than personal ambition. Also in the programme: Rescue teams in Taiwan race to save the crew of a sunken ship in the wake of Typhoon Gaemi; and will Deadpool and Wolverine revive Marvel’s fortunes? (Photo: Biden in the Oval Office. Credit: Reuters)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed both chambers of the US Congress in a bid to bolster support for his country's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Also on the programme: Germany bans an Iranian-linked group accusing it of promoting extremism; and we hear from the scene of two landslides in a remote region of Ethiopia, which have killed more than 200 people.

(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives at the US Capitol. Credit: Getty Images)

Some 200,000 children, young people and vulnerable adults suffered abuse while in social care in New Zealand over the last 70 years, a landmark investigation has found.

New Zealand's prime minister says it's a "dark day" for the country. We'll hear from a survivor of abuse in the system about the impact it's had.

Also in the programme: Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu is due to address the US Congress in Washington DC today amid protests, and ahead of the Olympics in Paris, there is a spy-drone scandal.

(Photo shows survivors of the care system looking emotional in New Zealand. Credit: Getty Images)

Kamala Harris, buoyed up by high profile Democratic endorsements and a massive influx of donations from ordinary supporters, takes to the US campaign trail in Wisconsin.

Also in the programme: why is the UK facing what some are calling a national emergency of violence against women and girls? And scientists push for a game-changing drug that prevents HIV infection to be made cheaply and globally available.

(IMAGE: US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at West Allis, Wisconsin, USA, USA, 23 July 2024 / CREDIT:Jeffrey Phelps/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington DC for the first time since the Hamas attacks of October the 7th plunged the Middle East into war and chaos.

The visit comes as he is under pressure to end the war in Gaza from both Israelis and the US administration.

Also in the programme: Kamala Harris starts the Presidentical race behind in the polls and with just over 100 days to go - can she turn things around? And Hollywood star Keanu Reeves talks to us about life, death, and his new book.

(File photo shows Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Joe Biden in Tel Aviv, Israel on 18 October 2023. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

What do we know about US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is thought most likely to win the Democratic Party nomination after the withdrawal of Joe Biden? What are her strengths - what are her weaknesses - and does she have a path to victory? Also in the programme: the battles between the Mexican state and the drug cartels claim yet another victim - Mexico City's police intelligence chief; and a BBC investigation tracks down one of South Africa's most notorious serial killers – Louis van Schoor – who shot dead dozens of black men and boys in the late eighties, but was controversially released from prison, and now says police colluded in his crimes.

(IMAGE: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris looks on during an event with the women and men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion teams in her first public appearance since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, on the South Lawn of the White House, Washington, U.S., July 22, 2024 / CREDIT: Reuters/Nathan Howard)

Many leading Democrats in the United States have followed Joe Biden's lead by backing his vice president, Kamala Harris as the party's new presidential nominee for the November elections. It follows Mr Biden's decision to withdraw from the election process.

Also in the programme: Hundreds killed and arrested following unrest in Bangladesh and anti-tourism demonstrations in Spain.

(Picture: US Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and US President Joe Biden (R) react during a campaign event at the Chavis Community Center, Raleigh, North Carolina, US, 26 March 2024. Credit: Allison Joyce/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

US President Joe Biden withdraws from the presidential race after weeks of mounting pressure from Democrats. On this special edition of Newhour, we look at President Biden’s legacy, reactions from Democrats and Republicans, and our correspondents in Washington and in Biden’s beach house in Delaware.

Picture: US Vice President Kamala Harris and US President Joe Biden on a stage in Raleigh, North Carolina. Credit: ALLISON JOYCE/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock.