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Residents Grapple with Aftermath of Golan Heights Attack; Electoral Authority: Venezuela's Maduro Wins Third Term; 99 Days Left Until U.S. Presidential Election; Simone Biles Fights Through Injury Scare at Paris Debut; U.S., Japan to Modernize Military Partnership; Overtourism Sends Costs Soaring in Europe. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired July 29, 2024 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

[00:00:33]

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, Israel strikes Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon in response to a deadly rocket attack. We'll look at the price both sides could pay as worries grow the situation could quickly escalate.

Vote counting underway in Venezuela's presidential elections. A pivotal vote that could oust an autocrat.

And later, overwhelmed and unwelcome. Many of the world's most beautiful cities say tourists aren't welcome.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: And we begin in the Middle East as the region is on edge following a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding a security cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation. The cabinet authorizing Mr. Netanyahu and his defense minister to, quote, "decide on the nature of the response against Hezbollah."

Israel has blamed the Lebanese militant group for the strike, which killed 12 young people and injured more than 40 on Saturday. Hezbollah has firmly denied it was behind the attack.

Israel's military says it conducted air strikes against Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanese territory and along the border overnight on Sunday. Lebanon warning Israel of a regional war if it goes too far.

Meanwhile, America's top diplomat says the U.S. does not want any escalation in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: But we also don't want to see the conflict escalate. We don't want to see it spread. That has been one of our goals from day one, from -- from October 7 on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is on the ground in the occupied Golan Heights with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sirens pierce the serenity of this town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. And in an instant--

(EXPLOSION)

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- this explosion will shatter the very soul of the Druze community that lives here. As residents and first responders rushed to the scene, the horror of this strike becomes clear.

A soccer field, children's bikes, pools of blood between them. Twelve children, the youngest just 10 years old, torn from this life.

It is the deadliest attack on civilians in Israel or Israeli- controlled territory since October 7, according to Israeli officials.

Israel says Hezbollah, which has frequently targeted the Golan Heights before, is behind the attack. Hezbollah denies responsibility.

DIAMOND: It was 6 p.m. on a hot summer evening. Dozens of children were playing on this soccer field right behind me when suddenly sirens rang out.

Seconds later, a rocket made impact just right here where, in its place, now stands this black flag of mourning.

But one of the most devastating parts of all of this, as you see this scene frozen in time, is the fact that right behind us was safety, a bomb shelter. But there simply was not enough time for these children to get inside.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Taymor Wili was looking out his window when the rocket struck, and rushed to the scene. We found him that night hours later, still trying to make sense of it all.

TAYMOR WILI, WITNESSED ROCKET STRIKE: Well, at first, I saw the injured children running around. I saw blood. They didn't respond to us. They were panicking.

I saw a lot of guys gathering here. Most of them didn't go down.

I went down here, and I saw a lot of things that are way too gruesome to mention out of respect for the families. And we tried to help, but it was beyond our help. There's nothing we can do. DIAMOND (voice-over): In Majdal Shams, mourning is all that remains.

Thousands gathered here to pay their final respects. The sight of each casket brings with it another wave of cries and wails as nightmares turn into crushing reality, where photos of smiling children, like 11- year-old Alma (ph), can only mean one thing.

AYMAN FAKHR EL-DIN, DAUGHTER KILLED IN ATTACK (through translator): So, I reached the stadium, and in the corner, I saw dead bodies and body parts. When I got closer to one of them, I saw a bracelet. I knew it was Alma (ph).

[00:05:03]

DIAMOND (voice-over): Ayman Fakhr El-Din is only just beginning to process the loss of his only daughter.

DIAMOND: She liked soccer, huh?

LEL-DIN: Yes. Liked sport, all sport.

DIAMOND: And she played? And she was good.

EL-DIN: Yes. Good.

DIAMOND: Yes?

EL-DIN: Yes.

EL-DIN (through translator): Alma (ph) is a child filled with energy. She loved life. She was special in school and in athletics.

DIAMOND (voice-over): He now calls on his son, Rayyan (ph), for comfort.

DIAMOND: This is her big brother.

DIAMOND (voice-over): But Rayyan's (ph) grief is all too fresh.

DIAMOND: Rayyan (ph), what do you remember about your sister? What do you want people to know about your sister?

EL-DIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

RAYYAN (ph) EL-DIN, LOST SISTER IN ATTACK (through translator): Everything about her was lovely.

EL-DIN (through translator): She liked to play, just like any other kid. In the end, we have a room without Alma (ph).

DIAMODN: And it is not just the Israeli government that says that Hezbollah was responsible for this awful rocket attack. It is also at least one of the fathers of the 12 victims.

That man, Ayman, the father of 11-year-old Alma (ph), says that there is not a doubt in his mind that Hezbollah was responsible for this. He said that "They killed my daughter." He said it was Hezbollah for sure: "My enemy is Hezbollah. I say it openly."

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Majdal Shams, Golan Heights.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thanassis Cambanis is the director of Century International. He's also the author of "A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollah's Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel."

Thanks so much for being available. The consensus seems to be it was a Hezbollah rocket, but many think if it was, it was a mistake. A miscalculation is what pushes simmering conflicts into full-blown ones, isn't it? Is that more likely today than yesterday? A full-blown conflict?

THANASSIS CAMBANIS, DIRECTOR, CENTURY INTERNATIONAL: Yes, we've been worried for a long time about an accident or a miscalculation causing this simmering war that's been going on since October on the Lebanon- Israel front, triggering a full outright war, bigger, we think, than what we're seeing in Gaza.

And this -- this rocket strike on Majdal Shams seems pretty clearly an error or miscalculation. The evidence is that it's a Hezbollah rocket, and Hezbollah did take responsibility in a statement for targeting an Israeli military base in the occupied Golan Heights right around the time of this incident.

It doesn't make sense that Hezbollah would intentionally target Druze civilians, most of whom are loyal to the Syrian regime. These are essentially natural allies of Hezbollah. So, it doesn't -- it doesn't stand to reason that they would do this on purpose.

But what we've been saying as analysts for the whole duration of this conflict is that when and if we get a regional war, it's going to be because of a miscalculation or an error.

HOLMES: Right.

CAMBANIS: Like this appears to have been.

HOLMES: If it remains the case that Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran, for that matter, don't want full-on war, want to keep this limited if possible, what sorts of targets might Israel hit? Would it be like -- I don't know -- the Southern suburbs of Beirut in the cross hairs? Israel's hit the airport before.

Do you think the strikes would be measured to avoid escalation?

CAMBANIS: Well, the -- one of the interesting and unpredictable dynamics here is that inside the Israeli establishment, there are two different viewpoints.

From what I understand, it's kind of the reverse of the split we have on Gaza. So, when it comes to Lebanon, it's the IDF, the sort of traditional mainstream military that wants an escalation with Lebanon. There seem to be voices in the senior military leadership who believe

they have an opportunity to change the balance somehow in Israel's favor against Hezbollah, whereas the political leadership, the same folks who are sort of pushing for a maximalist course in Gaza, Netanyahu and others in his cabinet, understand the risks with Hezbollah.

They understand Hezbollah is a much more serious adversary, and they don't want an escalation.

So, part of the -- the question here is, who holds the day in deciding how to strike back. If Israel wants to keep this contained, as we saw earlier this year in that very theatrical and scary, but ultimately contained, exchange of fire with Iran, they can do this in a way that, you know, where it basically ends here, right?

So, it's less a question of where they hit than how many people are killed.

So, they -- they could do something as dramatic as hitting an airport or -- or a Hezbollah headquarters building in Southern Beirut. The thing that will change the calculus for the worse is if they do something that kills hundreds of civilians in Lebanon, in which case Hezbollah will be obligated by its own redlines to retaliate.

HOLMES: And Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, he told CNN's Ben Wedeman earlier today -- and I'll just quote from him that if -- you know, if Israel goes to a full war. And he said, quote, "It's not going to be Hezbollah against Israel. You have the Houthis. You have the Iraqi militias. You have the militias in Syria who are not Syrians: Pakistani, Afghani militias. They're all going to get involved in that," unquote.

I mean, that's quite a scary comment. What would that scenario, which no one I think wants, look like?

CAMBANIS: Well, I mean, we're -- we have a preview of it underway now. Right? We've seen violence and rocket fire from Iraq, from Lebanon. We've seen the Houthis really taking an active role in the conflict, including the drone strike on Tel Aviv last week.

So, what it looks like is catastrophic. And one of the things that your viewers should -- should keep in mind is that -- the Hezbollah possesses military capabilities that we have not seen yet in this conflict for many of Israel's adversaries.

Hezbollah is very well-supported, well organized, traditional military force. It has rockets; it has mortars. It also has infantry fighters who have been actively at war, engaged in urban warfare nonstop for more than a decade.

These -- these are fighting assets that are going to cause real mayhem and real strategic danger for Israel. And unfortunately, they're going to cause a lot of death and damage, right?

So, what we've seen until now is that Israel ultimately isn't suffering a lot of civilian casualties or damage since the horrible losses at suffered on October for seventh 7th itself.

But in a direct war with Hezbollah, it will suffer hundreds or thousands of civilian dead. It will suffer successful missile strikes against civilian and strategic and military targets in places like Haifa and maybe Tel Aviv, throughout the Galilee. It's exposed in a way that it has not been until now.

And just quickly on a regional basis, if and when this jumps to the next level and brings in Iran's Trump card, which is Hezbollah, where we are going to see de-stabilizing violence in Yemen, in Iraq. And probably the rest of the gulf in a way that we have really avoided until now, keeping this very complex web of interests contained with these sort of theatrical or choreographed tit-for-tat exchanges.

When that breaks down, it's going to be total war. And that's going to be awful for the civilians who live in these areas.

It's also going to be awful for the strategic interests of the United States and its partners in the region.

HOLMES: Terrifying potentialities out there, and hopefully, cooler heads prevail.

Thanassis Cambanis, thank you so much.

CAMBANIS: Good to talk to you, Michael.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, it's been a deadly weekend again in Gaza. Palestinian officials say at least 19 civilians, including children, died in Israeli attacks on Sunday alone.

At least ten people killed in Khan Younis when an Israeli airstrike hit a house.

Gaza's civil defense says four people died when an airstrike hit tents in al-Mawasi. It was meant to be a humanitarian zone. The Israeli military designated it that way some time ago, and it just ordered people to evacuate there.

The relative of one little girl who was killed says the situation is hopeless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHADIA HALABI, AUNT OF GIRL KILLED IN KHAN YOUNIS (through translator): I wish that the world would look at us with mercy and sympathy. Least of all for our children, and the life we are living in terror and sadness. But enough, enough. Please look upon us with mercy.

What have the children done to deserve this life? The girl told me every day that you should be martyred, as there's nothing good in this life. Thank God, she is now with her God, who is more merciful than all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Early on Sunday, Israel ordered evacuations of a street and a refugee camp in central Gaza that housed around 29,000 people.

According to UNRWA, only 14 percent of Gaza is not under Israeli evacuation orders at the moment. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the recurrent displacement of civilians is depriving them of, quote, "dignified survival."

[00:15:00]

Voters in Venezuela are awaiting the results of one of the most crucial presidential elections in recent years. Polls opened early on Sunday morning, with the opposition reporting high voter turnout. Nearly 55 percent, or more than 11 million voters, choosing to either reelect longtime strongman Nicolas Maduro, or usher in a new era.

President Maduro faces one of his greatest political challenges in former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The incumbent has been in office since Hugo Chavez's death in 2013.

Let's go to Venezuela now, where journalist Stefano Pozzebon joins us from the capital, Caracas.

Hope you can hear me. There's been this great fear that these would not be free and fair elections. Western observers weren't allowed in. Russian and Chinese ones were.

What -- what do we know about how voting unfolded on the day and how the results are looking?

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Well, Michael, we're going to break the news to you right now, because less than five minutes ago, the electoral authority here in Venezuela has proclaimed longtime strongman and authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro as the winner of this Sunday's election, with 51 percent of the vote out of a 59 percent turnout.

And that's why you can probably struggle to hear me, because these are the celebrations of Maduro's supporters.

But it's fair to say that there are not many people here at the presidential palace just behind my back, waiting for Maduro to show up and waiting to celebrate with him.

Voting centers have concluded their operations almost six hours ago, Michael, and we're only learning about these results now.

These results will almost be certainly disputed by the opposition, who felt very strongly that they have a strong mandate and a strong turnout, especially. It's going to be very crucial to see what happens in the next few hours.

Over Sunday, we've felt tension rising all across Venezuela as people were waiting for these results. And now that these results are out, you can expect many millions of people in this country will be disappointed and perhaps even angry. More pressure also, Michael, just before you let it go, on the Carter Center, which is the only institutional independent voting observation mission here in Venezuela.

They arrived with a team of 17 people to monitor an election of more than 20 million voters, potentially. And they will give us a presser on Tuesday morning. What they will say will be heavily scrutinized on whether this election can be considered not free nor fair, because in Venezuela, you don't have neither free nor fair elections, but at least a competitive one.

Back to you, Michael.

HOLMES: So -- so what happens? I mean, I was reading. Edison Research had an exit poll that had the opposition candidate at 65 percent and Maduro with 31 percent. That was earlier and before these so-called official results.

Maduro declaring victory. What -- what could be the risks of or even -- or even the perception of Maduro, perhaps, stealing the election? What happens then yes?

POZZEBON: Yes, absolutely. This is the question on everyone's mind here in Venezuela.

The thing is, in Venezuela, you don't have exit polls in Venezuela. You don't have a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or transparent vote counting. You only have this electoral authority coming up in the middle of the night to tell you the results. And these are the results for now.

The question now is what will the opposition do? Because in a few hours, you will see Nicolas Maduro from the palace just behind my back, celebrating and saying that he won loud and free -- loud and -- and square. Fair.

And the opposition will almost certainly dispute that.

What can the opposition do to try to force negotiations or try to dispute these results? Perhaps, for example, publishing some of the data that they have handled in their campaign, or some of the data that their electoral witness have collected inside the electoral voting operations.

Perhaps the next few hours will be crucial for this country. And that will be crucial for the rest of Latin America and the rest of North America as well.

This is a country that has seen an enormous exodus of migrants, Michael. And most experts believe that, if Maduro was to be reelected in this election, you will have many more migrants leaving Venezuela and trying to find better luck and a better fortune in Latin America and perhaps in North America.

So, there's a lot at stake here, a lot to be played again in the next few hours.

[00:20:05]

HOLMES: Absolutely. You make a great point. Eight million Venezuelans have fled the country; 800,000 have been processed into the U.S. across the Southern border since 2021. There was a poll that suggested 30 percent of Venezuelans would consider the leaving if Maduro won. That is a major issue in a U.S. election year.

Stefano Pozzebon in Caracas, appreciate your reporting. We'll check in with you in jail.

Well, we are now less than 100 days away from the 2024 U.S. presidential election. And it's hard to believe it's only been a week since U.S. President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has moved quickly to consolidate support from the Democratic Party.

Both Harris sand Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took a break from the campaign trail on Sunday and, instead, let their allies stump for them.

But the Harris campaign did announce in a memo that it has raised $200 million just since last Sunday. It says 66 percent of those donations are coming from small first-time donors.

And according to a new ABC News/IPSOS poll, the vice president's favorability rating has gone up eight points since last week, while Trump has seen his ratings slip by four points.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny now with the latest on this race from the battleground state of Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris heading into a new phase of their campaign now, with fewer than 100 days to go before election day.

A very busy weekend of campaigning here in Michigan and in battleground states across the country. The former president campaigning in Minnesota, trying to bring that state back into play. Of course, President Biden carried it quite comfortably, but Donald Trump lost it narrowly back in 2016. It's seen as the reddest blue state in the country, if you will.

Now, so many different polls are showing that Vice President Harris is doing much better than President Biden. Now of course, this race is still too close to call, nationally and in battleground states across the country.

But she is showing gains among younger voters and voters of color.

Now, the race to define Vice President Harris is on aggressively. The Republicans are trying to do that through campaign ads, branding her as a San Francisco liberal, in their words.

J.D. Vance, the Ohio senator and the Republican vice-presidential candidate going after her aggressively this weekend.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The people are going to learn her record. They're going to learn that she's a radical. What they're going to learn, that she's basically a San Francisco liberal who wants to take San Francisco policies to the entire country. And I don't think that's going to sell in Minnesota. I don't think it's going to sell anywhere else.

So, as we tell the message, and as we -- as we talk about how President Trump has made people's lives better and can do it again, I think we're going to turn Minnesota red and a lot of other states, as well.

ZELENY: But speaking of running mates, Vice President Harris is looking for one of her own. She's entering the final days of making that choice.

She's considering Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Vice President Harris has relationships with most of these potential candidates, but the question is, who can be a governing partner? Her vetting team is looking through the backgrounds of all of these candidates.

And she, of course, I'm told, will begin weighing in with interviews. She hopes to have a decision by August 7.

That of course, will frame this race. Harris and whoever she chooses against Trump and J.D. Vance, going into the final three months of this campaign, clearly too close to call. This election, already one for the history books, could be headed there in November.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Still to come on the program, Simone Biles making an epic comeback in Paris, even fighting through an apparent injury. We'll have the latest from the Olympic Games when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:26:10]

HOLMES: Japan now leading the gold medal count after an exciting weekend of tough competition in Paris. Australia a close second, both countries with four golds. But Japan has the edge with an extra bronze there.

The U.S. taking third spot with three golds and 12 medals total. France and South Korea rounding out the top five.

On Monday, 19 more medals will be handed out, including the women's 400-meter individual medley in swimming. British diver Tom Daley is hoping to defend his title in the synchronized 10-meter platform. And Spanish tennis champ Rafael Nadal will be back on the court to face Novak Djokovic in the second round of men's singles.

CNN's Coy Wire has a look at some of the highlights from Sunday, including the long-awaited return of Olympic superstar Simone Biles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: It was a Sunday funday at the women's gymnastics team qualifier. Celebrities from Tom Cruise to John Legend, to Lady Gaga in the house, all to witness the GOAT in Paris.

WIRE (voice-over): Simone Biles, in her third Olympic Games.

But during her warm-ups, she injured herself. She was limping. The arena got quiet, but Simone rises up, tapes up her ankle, rallies and dominates.

Her coach told media that it's a lingering calf injury, but Biles dug deep for an iconic performance. The team qualified for the final. Four of the five U.S. gymnasts qualified for individual events, led by Biles in four of them.

So, she will have a shot at five more medals here in Paris.

France's Leon Marchand has broken Michael Phelps's Olympic record, crushing the field in the 400-meter individual medley. The host nation speedboat left his competition in the whitewater, finishing a mile ahead of the pack.

Marchand had already beaten Phelps's world record. The host nation's fans made the atmosphere in the arena absolutely electric.

And a shocker in the pool. Team USA's world and Olympic record holder in the 100-meter butterfly, Gretchen Walsh, in her first ever games, getting caught down the stretch by teammate Torri Huske, the U.S. finishing one-two with 21-year-old Huske, who missed the podium in Tokyo, becoming an Olympic champion.

Lebron James and Team USA pulling away in the fourth quarter in their opener to dominate Nikola Jokic and Serbia for their first win of these Olympics.

LeBron finishing with 21 points, but U.S. all-time leading scorer, Kevin Durant, came off the bench for his first game with the team and lit it up to the tune of 23 points.

Final score, 110-84. And the U.S. will play South Sudan next on Wednesday.

Finally, these are not high school yearbook photos. This teenage trio has swept the women's skateboarding streets metals at these games, Japan's 14-year-old phenom Coco Yoshizawa, taking the gold.

And 15-year-old teammate Liz Akama winning silver as 16-year-old Rayssa Leal takes the bronze. An Olympic medal, and they can't even drive yet.

The IOC said they wanted younger fans to watch the games. The youth said, oh, we're not watching. We're competing, and we're winning all the medals. Thank you very much.

Well, it's also Sunday funday for the Olympics here in Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Coming up, the U.S. and Japan are overhauling their historic military partnership to put up a stronger front against China. We'll tell you how, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:56]

HOLMES: The U.S. is overhauling its military partnership with Japan as the two countries work to counter China's influence in the Asia- Pacific region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with their Japanese counterparts in Tokyo, announcing a new plan to modernize the U.S. force presence in Japan with expanded operations.

Blinken also says the U.S.-Japanese relationship will remain steadfast, no matter who wins the presidential election in November.

Blinken and Austin will soon head to the Philippines to meet with leaders there.

Hanako Montgomery joins me now from Tokyo to discuss. Good to see you, Hanako.

Some Asian nations have been concerned about the level of U.S. commitment to allies in the region, particularly with the election coming up in the U.S. How important are these meetings in that regard?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Michael, it's good to see you, too. I mean, these meetings are very, very important for Asia and really just goes to show how the United States is still all in on this region, despite the looming uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election and the foreign policy that might come with a new head of state.

One of the key deliverables we saw come out of this weekend was a joint agreement signed between the United States and Japan that would basically reconstitute the U.S. forces in Japan as a joint force headquarters.

Now, what this really means is that the U.S. and Japan would have greater interoperability and cooperation when dealing with any regional security threats in the Indo-Pacific.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hailed this upgrade as the most significant improvement to military ties in 70 years. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also described and praised the U.S.-Japan alliance. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: Over 70 years, the United States-Japan alliance has been the cornerstone for peace, for stability in the Indo-Pacific and now beyond. And it's helping make our own people more free, more secure, more prosperous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now, this agreement, which also comes after the Japanese prime minister made his official visit to Washington back in April, really cemented Japan's role and its importance in Washington's regional security strategy.

Due to this alliance, the United States has been able to improve its ties with other allies in Asia, such as with South Korea. Over the weekend, we saw, actually, the first trilateral meeting between defense chiefs in 15 years between Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

The three countries described further improving their ties to help deter any threats from North Korea.

Now, another key detail that's come out of these meetings and also the Quad, which is underway today, is just how many times China is being mentioned.

In fact, in the joint agreement signed between the U.S. and Japan, China's economic, political, and military coercion was identified as the most significant security challenge in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

[00:35:03]

So clearly, China is front of mind for many Asian countries, especially as it grows increasingly assertive, increasingly military assertive in the Indo-Pacific region.

Now, that isn't the only concern, however, for many of these Asian countries. There's also the outcome of the U.S. presidential election that they have to worry about.

Previously, former President Donald Trump has discussed pulling out U.S. troops from Asia, has also questioned the cost of these Asian alliances.

So really, that's kind of created a lot of fear among Asian countries.

But we saw over the weekend, Secretary of State Blinken tried to assuage those fears and basically restate and show how the U.S. Is still committed to Asia, no matter the outcome of the presidential election and that they would work on further deepening these very, very key alliances -- Michael. HOLMES: Important meeting. Thanks for the reporting. Hanako Montgomery there in Tokyo for us.

Well, for some, it is a holiday. For others, it is home. And for some of Europe's renowned travel hotspots, the question is being asked: are there simply too many tourists to handle? That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Europe, of course, is known for some of the world's most beautiful and beloved travel destinations. But in some cities, the locals have had enough and say over-tourism is pricing many locals out of the places they call home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): Sunset on Greece's Santorini Island. The view of the sky sinking into the ocean, stunning. But it's the reverse angle of the famed cliffside terraces that's not so Instagram-friendly. And that's drawing a lot of attention.

During tourist season, crowds clog the winding paths to watch the sun go down. And some locals worry it's too much for the island.

KOSTAS SAKAVARAS, SANTORINI TOURIST GUIDE: The arrival of big numbers of people put a serious strain on the local infrastructure. Our roads were never designed for this many thousands of people. Our narrow cobblestone streets were not designed for this either.

HOLMES (voice-over): Nearly 3.5 million tourists visited Santorini last year, an overwhelming number compared to the island's 20,000 permanent residents.

And to combat the wear and tear from such a high amount of foot traffic, Greece's prime minister says he's considering limiting the amount of cruise ship visitors to the country's most popular islands.

And Santorini's mayor is proposing capping arrivals to just 8,000 a day, down from 17,000.

Calls to reign in the number of tourists, and the inflated costs that often come with them, are growing in many European vacation hotspots as locals say they're being priced out of living in their own cities.

[00:40:04]

In Barcelona, a group of protesters recently sprayed tourists with water pistols, which was quickly denounced by Spain's tourism minister, who says Spain welcomes its guests, but admits more regulations are needed.

JORDI HEREU, SPANISH TOURISM MINISTER (through translator): We all have the great challenge of governing tourism. Tourism is a great phenomenon that has a thousand positive consequences, but it must be governed. HOLMES (voice-over): Barcelona's mayor says he will bar short-term apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 in an attempt to reduce rents, which he says have increased by nearly 70 percent over the past decade.

But anger has been growing in many Spanish holiday destinations, especially in recent months in places like Majorca and the Canary Islands, where there have been mass protests against what locals say is an unsustainable tourist model that enriches only a few.

ALBERT ARTIAGA, MAJORCA RESIDENT (through translator): We can't go to the beaches that we always went to his children. And we find that we're retreating inland, giving up the better places that the island offers to people from outside.

It's not the fault of tourism. It's the fault of those who run it: the government, the hotel owners, and the people in power.

HOLMES (voice-over): Venice has grappled with overtourism for years but says that it's had some success with a temporary entrance fee for day trippers which brought in more than $2.6 million to the city over 29 peak days between April and July.

But officials say they'll need to study the data further to see if it's a long-term solution to cutting down on overcrowding.

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HOLMES: Well, Taylor Swift fans took tailgating -- or Taylor-gating, as it's become known -- to the next level in Munich, Germany.

Now have a look at this. Those on the hill outside the open-roofed stadium were able to see and hear Swift's performance for free. Police estimate 40,000 people camped there on Saturday. And that's in addition to the 75,000 fans who had tickets to the actual show.

Swift is on the European leg of her Eras Tour. After two nights in Munich, she's heading to the Polish capital of Warsaw for three concepts.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on X and Instagram, @HolmesCNN. Stick around. WORLD SPORT is next with all of the action from Paris. And I'll be back with more news in about 15, 20 minutes.

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