Your Tuesday Briefing

Iran, Saudi Arabia, PepsiCo View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, August 7, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA AND REMY TUMIN Good morning. Sanctions loom in Iran, Saudi Arabia lashes back against criticism, and Indian farmers let loose. Here’s the latest: EPA, via Shutterstock • The U.S. is restoring sanctions against Iran that were lifted under the 2015 global agreement to curb the country’s nuclear program,[widening the Trump administration’s rift]( with European allies. European officials, who say the Iran deal is crucial to their countries’ security, pushed companies based on the Continent to ignore the new American directive and keep doing business with Iran. Above, shuttered stores in Tehran’s grand bazaar. With the new penalties imminent, Iranians [braced for more economic pain](. Imports that will soon be banned, including new planes, were rushed in to beat the clock. _____ Al Drago for The New York Times • Saudi Arabia expelled Canada’s ambassador after Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, above, criticized the kingdom for arresting rights activists. The Saudis also [froze new business deals]( with Canada. The harsh response to Canada’s criticism, which once would have been seen as pro forma, was more evidence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who bills himself as a progressive reformer — is ready to punish perceived challenges to his authority at home and abroad. Elsewhere in the region, a Syrian rocket scientist who was working on precision-guided missiles was [killed by a car bomb](. All fingers pointed to Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, in what could be the fourth Israeli assassination of a weapons engineer on foreign soil in three years. _____ Miguel Gutiérrez/EPA, via Shutterstock • After a dramatic assassination attempt on Saturday, President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, above, may seem like a vulnerable leader. But [our reporter finds the opposite is true]( Mr. Maduro has used all the political disasters in his country — an economy in free-fall, months of street protests, global isolation — to tighten his grip on power. _____ Lyndon French for The New York Times • For decades, synthetic polymers were designed to be cheap and extremely durable, quickly making the plastic material a ubiquitous replacement for metals and glass. But the plastic’s inability to disintegrate is contributing to a buildup of waste around the world, prompting the E.U. to consider banning single-use plastics. Now, scientists are trying to design plastic with a [built-in self-destruct mechanism](. Above, a demonstration of plastic being degraded by high-powered light. Business Michael Nagle/Bloomberg • Indra Nooyi, above, PepsiCo’s chief executive, will [step down in October]( after 12 years in the top job. That will leave [just 24 women leading S.&P. 500 companies](. Joanna Coles, the chief content officer at Hearst Magazines, which publishes Cosmopolitan, Esquire, and Harper’s Bazaar, [is also stepping down](. • Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify all [removed posts and videos by Alex Jones.]( Mr. Jones has long used his Infowars site to propagate bizarre conspiracy theories, including one that claims the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, in which 20 young children and six adults were killed, was a hoax. • Corporations used to focus on one thing when it came to travel: saving money. Now, managers want to make sure employees are ready to do business when they land. That means [splurging on some V.I.P. perks]( like lounge access and business-class seats. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Munir Uz Zaman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Students in Bangladesh clashed with riot police on Monday, as the government cracked down on escalating protests that began as a call for safer roads. Above, a demonstration in the capital, Dhaka, on Sunday. [[The New York Times]( • A generation of Chinese teenagers has grown up without Google, Facebook or Twitter. Many have no idea what those global internet mainstays are, and they seem content with their country’s censored version of the web. [[The New York Times]( • A tanker truck carrying flammable material exploded on a highway near Bologna, Italy, killing at least two people and injuring dozens more, police said. [[Associated Press]( • The British government is expected to ask Russia to extradite two suspects in the Salisbury nerve agent attack. The request is expected to be rejected. [[Guardian]]( • Two Germans who fled their retirement home were planning to go to a heavy metal music festival, until the police got in the way of their fun. [[CNN]]( • China has banned the release of Disney’s new Winnie the Pooh movie, “Christopher Robin.” It’s unclear why, but it may have something to do with an internet meme comparing the bear to China’s president, Xi Jinping. [[BBC]]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Mengxin Li • Here’s how to fight [autoplay videos](. • In an emergency, would [your dog run for help]( • Recipe of the day: This [pasta with Chinese broccoli]( dish comes straight from David Chang’s Los Angeles restaurant. Noteworthy Sasha Maslov for The New York Times • In memoriam: Joël Robuchon, above, the classically trained but [endlessly]( French chef]( who dazzled the culinary world. He was 73. Mr. Robuchon accumulated more Michelin stars than any other chef. “First he cracked the code,” [our restaurant critic writes]( in a remembrance. “Then he rewrote it.” • Two Indian farmers may have just won the Kiki Challenge, an [internet dance craze](. A short video of the two men grooving in a rice paddy to a Drake song, “In My Feelings,” as their mud-splattered oxen lumber on ahead of them, has been viewed millions of times. • Hat in the ring. Wild-goose chase. Throw in the towel. We use sports terms all the time, but where do they come from? [Our reporter unpacks their origins](. Back Story Brian Lawless/PA Wire This year, Countess Constance Markievicz finally took her place in the British Parliament. A century after she became the first woman elected to the House of Commons, [her portrait went on display]( there. It will be up until early October, [to commemorate the anniversary]( of the acts of Parliament that allowed some women to vote and hold office. Despite her historic election, Countess Markievicz never took her seat, in keeping with the abstentionist policy of her party, Ireland’s Sinn Fein, which refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the king. Before she was elected, she had taken up the cause of women’s rights, labor and Irish nationalism. Her participation in the [1916 Easter Rising]( an armed rebellion against British rule, led to a death sentence that was commuted because she was a woman. After her release, she was again arrested but won election to the House of Commons from prison. [A letter she received]( from 10 Downing Street after her election began, “Dear Sir …” She said of women’s rights in 1922, “I would work for it anywhere, as one of the crying wrongs of the world, that women, because of their sex, should be debarred from any position or any right that their brains entitle them a right to hold.” Countess Markievicz died in Dublin in 1927 at the age of 59. Aodhan Beirne wrote today’s Back Story. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. [Check out this page]( to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.) [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights, and [here’s our full range of free newsletters](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [europebriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:europebriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Europe)). ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. FOLLOW NYT [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Prefer a different send time? Sign up for the [Americas]( or [A]( and Australia]( editions. | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing: Europe Edition newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018