The World

Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi said at his first press conference that the economy is a top priority and that nuclear negotiations should continue — but that he won’t meet with US President Joe Biden. And, a lot of people are thinking these days, “where’s my stuff?” During the pandemic, global supply chains have been out of whack, sometimes with devastating impacts. Also, one rural Thai district has the beefiest COVID-19 vaccination incentive yet: a live cow.

It's election day in Iran. And the presidential election is already mired by controversy. Critics say the stage has deliberately been set for one candidate to win — the man closest to Iran's supreme leader. Also, throughout the US, states are pulling out all the stops to encourage people to get vaccinated, including lotteries. In Thailand, get vaccinated, win a cow. Plus, celebrating Juneteenth in China this year has a special meaning for Black Americans living there.

US-Russia relations over the years have been defined by altercation and disagreement. After Wednesday's summit meeting in Geneva, both Biden and Putin expressed a desire to turn the page. Also, since 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has led to thousands of killings. The International Criminal Court is now calling for an investigation of those deaths as war crimes. And, at the NATO leaders summit this week, the defense alliance said it would begin formally studying how climate change impacts security threats.

Despite tensions in the lead-up to the Biden-Putin summit, the two leaders were overly cordial in their remarks following their meeting in Geneva on Wednesday. And, dozens of Roma from Romania are reported to be among the thousands of undocumented migrants and asylum-seekers crossing the US-Mexico border in the last month. Also, Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza early Wednesday following Hamas sending incendiary balloons into Israel. This comes days after Israel's government shakeup and weeks after a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration released a 32-page plan for confronting domestic terrorism. It identifies white supremacist violent extremism as the greatest terrorist threat facing the United States. And, Turkey has vaccinated only about 17% of its population so far against COVID-19. But a team of health workers in eastern Turkey is working as fast as it can to vaccinate people in the remote mountain villages. Also, enter the musical world of the Weimar Republic in 1920s Berlin with the Moka Efti Orchestra who created the music for the Netflix series, “Babylon Berlin.”

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sat down on Monday for a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit. In the US, there’s a growing push to require public schools to cover the histories of groups left out of history textbooks. Also, G-7 leaders pledged 1 billion vaccine doses to developing countries and agreed to step up action on climate change, but activists say they are unimpressed. And the Copa America soccer tournament kicked off in Brazil this week. A majority of Brazilians think it's dangerous to host the games amid COVID-19 concerns.

President Joe Biden meets world leaders at the G-7 summit. With post-Brexit tension between continental Europe and Britain, we look at the role Biden can play to help ease diplomatic tensions. Plus, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has launched a brutal crackdown on his political opponents. It appears to be an attempt to clear the field so he can run virtually unopposed in the November elections. And a look at the future of Afghanistan with the person in charge of diplomatic efforts to negotiate a deal between the US and the Taliban.

Wealthy nations pledged 10 years ago to provide $100 billion a year for developing nations to mitigate climate change. The United Nations estimates that countries are $20 billion behind that goal and urged G-7 leaders to step up. Also, the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project in Canada has been canceled, but the oil industry is hugely important for the Canadian economy. And, it’s a good week for bitcoin as El Salvador became the first country to adopt the cryptocurrency as a legal tender.

This week, Joe Biden takes his first overseas trip as US president, heading to the United Kingdom to meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. And, China's ultramarathon racing community was rocked a few weeks ago when 21 runners died of hypothermia during a competition in Gansu. Also, the White House has been under pressure to do more to address worldwide vaccine shortages that are especially acute in less wealthy nations. And the International Olympic Committee is charging ahead toward this summer’s games in Tokyo. IOC President Thomas Bach has announced the Refugee Olympic Team consisting of 29 athletes from 11 countries, competing across 12 sports.

Officials in the US, Australia and Europe on Tuesday for the first time revealed details on a massive criminal gang bust operation that involved law enforcement in more than 16 countries. And, Gaza’s medical infrastructure was verging on collapse even before the recent conflict with Israel. Now, conditions are even more dire. Also, in celebration of the United Nations World Oceans Day, Cuban singer and violinist Yilian Cañizares has released a song called "Yemayá," her tribute to the West African goddess of the sea.