The New York Times - Your Friday Briefing

By Matthew Cullen

Good morning. We’re covering the swearing-in of Iran’s new president, plans for Covid booster shots in Europe and a U.S. push for electric cars.

Iran’s new hard-line president is sworn in

Ebrahim Raisi, an extremely conservative cleric, was sworn in as president on Thursday, bringing to power a close ally of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He takes office at a turbulent time. Iran’s economic weakness, compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, a water shortage and the severely damaging effects of American sanctions, is considered his most immediate problem.

Tensions are also running high with Israel. Israeli officials have accused Iran of carrying out a deadly drone attack last week on an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean managed by an Israeli company. Israel may soon retaliate for that attack.

Who is Raisi? Before his election, Raisi, 60, was the head of Iran’s judiciary. He spent much of his career as a prosecutor and is on a U.S. sanctions list over his human rights record.

Context: Raisi’s June election was skipped by many Iranians who saw it as being rigged in his favor.

France and Germany stick to vaccine booster plan

France and Germany will administer booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines to older and vulnerable people in the coming months, despite an appeal from the World Health Organization for a freeze on those shots to send doses to poorer nations.

President Emmanuel Macron said that France would begin offering people a third shot starting in September, particularly to “the most vulnerable and the most elderly.” German officials made similar statements, arguing that they needed to care for their own residents while still donating millions of doses.

The announcements came just a day after the W.H.O. called for a moratorium on booster shots so that supplies could be focused on countries who have not yet vaccinated at least 10 percent of their populations. More than 80 percent of the vaccines administered worldwide have been used in wealthier countries, according to the W.H.O.

Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

• The global caseload of known coronavirus infections surpassed 200 million.
• The Biden administration is developing plans to require all foreign travelers to the U.S. to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with limited exceptions.
• Authorities in the Australian state of Victoria announced a sixth lockdown to try to avert a prolonged outbreak of the Delta variant.

U.S. moves to phase out gas cars

President Biden announced a plan that would rapidly shift Americans from gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles over the next decade.

The plan, which calls for more stringent auto pollution rules and increases mileage standards, sets a target that half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. be electric by 2030. The three largest automakers signed onto the plan on the condition that Congress passes an infrastructure bill that includes funding for a national network of electric vehicle charging stations.

Tackling climate change: Biden has pledged to cut planet-warming emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels by the end of this decade. But that promise will be impossible to meet without a radical shift away from gas-powered cars and trucks.

China angle: Biden has voiced concerns that the U.S. is trailing China in the manufacturing of electric vehicles. He believes a retooled automotive and battery industry can generate jobs and boost American trade power.

THE LATEST NEWS

• Keegan Palmer of Australia won gold in men’s park skateboarding, defeating the world’s No. 1-ranked park skater, Heimana Reynolds of the U.S.

• The U.S. men’s basketball team beat Australia, 97-78, in a semifinal match. They will play either France or Slovenia for the gold medal.
• Japanese athletes have made a practice of apologizing for falling short of gold in their home country — even when they win silver or bronze.

• Tunisians have largely backed President Kais Saied as he seized power last month from the rest of the government. Many said they were fed up with corruption and willing to believe that the president could deliver change.
• The impeachment inquiry into New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is nearing completion after a report concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women.
• President Joe Biden signed an order allowing Hong Kong residents in the U.S. to remain for up to 18 months in response to China’s crackdown on the territory.
• At least 17 people were killed by a lightning strike at a wedding party on a boat in Bangladesh. The groom and several others were injured.
• Forest fires ravaging southern Europe have prompted mass evacuations in Greece and Turkey. People in Athens were instructed to remain indoors because of the smoke.
• The Australian police charged the co-founder of the global megachurch Hillsong with concealing child sexual abuse carried out by his father.

Since coming to power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has clamped down on freedoms across China’s mainland and brutally extinguished pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Now many in Taiwan worry: Are they next?

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ARTS AND IDEAS

The empty Olympics

One of the first things you’ll notice at the Tokyo Games: empty stadiums.

The organizers barred spectators from all venues in Tokyo to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks. “For athletes who once envisioned themselves performing for hordes of buzzing fans, the hushed vibe has been a bummer,” Andrew Keh wrote in The Times.

Grunts echo through vacant arenas; the hum of cicadas provides a soundtrack for outdoor competitions. At one boxing match, Keh notes, the sounds of punches were accompanied by a noisy hallway door. “The atmosphere ain’t really here,” Britain’s Caroline Dubois, one of the boxers, said afterward.

But not everyone misses the roar of the crowd. For some lower-profile Olympic sports — like taekwondo and shooting — empty seats are the norm, as Joshua Robinson and Andrew Beaton write in The Wall Street Journal. “If there were a full stadium,” the Japanese archer Takaharu Furukawa said, “I would be more nervous and make a mistake.”

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

Nuoc cham, a Vietnamese sauce with lime juice and chile, brightens up this chicken and herb salad.

The short stories in Simon Rich’s “New Teeth” are told from the perspective of characters who do not fully comprehend their own circumstances.

Musicals from the singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb, a new production of “South Pacific” and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe are among our picks for theater to stream.

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Airplane seating choice (five letters).

And here is today’s Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — Matthew

P.S. Our sports reporter Kurt Streeter joined KQED’s Forum to talk about the Tokyo Olympics.

The latest episode of “The Daily” is on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s political future.

Tom Wright-Piersanti wrote the Arts and Ideas section. You can reach Matthew and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

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