Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Japan Display announces turnaround plans. The smartphone screen manufacturer is expected to slash over 3,500 jobs and seek an outside investor to help finance its overhaul. The joint venture by Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi has struggled, even after a $677 million injection from a state-backed investor last year.
India’s scientists take to the streets. Inspired by April’s global “March for Science,” scientists will demonstrate in over 30 cities across India. Protesters hope to draw attention to funding shortages, as well as the “propagation of unscientific, obscurantist ideas and religious intolerance.”
Belgium’s parliament holds an emergency egg meeting. Parliament will convene to discuss food safety after a poisonous insecticide forced an egg recall. A similar panic in 1999 caused a major political crisis (paywall).
While you were sleeping
South Africa’s president narrowly survived a no-confidence vote. After hours of heated debate, the motion to remove Jacob Zuma was defeated 198 to 177, with 9 abstentions. Although Zuma’s party holds over half of parliament’s seats, the margin was much narrower than expected—a sign that the ANC may be losing power after a series of corruption scandals.
El Chapo hired John Gotti’s lawyer. The world’s most famous drug kingpin, who is facing life in prison on conspiracy and money laundering charges, has hired New York attorney Jeffrey Lichtman to represent him in court next week. Lichtman is best known for getting mafia boss Gotti acquitted of racketeering charges in 2005.
Mazda developed a breakthrough fuel engine. The industry underdog says its new Skyactiv-X technology, which uses spark plugs at lower temperatures and compression ignition diesel at higher temperatures, could be 30% more efficient than current gas engines.
North Korea has produced an ICBM-ready nuclear warhead. US analysts say Pyongyang has the technology to sufficiently miniaturize its weapon—a key threshold to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power. US president Donald Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continues its nuclear threats.
Disney is pulling all of its movies from Netflix and launching its own streaming service. The entertainment giant’s move to end its exclusive streaming deal when the current contract expires in 2019 sent Netflix shares down by more than 6%. Disney plans to launch a series of streaming services, including an ESPN sports offering in 2018.
Quartz obsession interlude
Cassie Weber on the people in rich countries who are dying of loneliness: “Such “epidemics,” while not confined to rich countries, are linked to prominent features of affluent culture: longer life expectancy, decreasing marriage rates, people having fewer children, more people getting divorced, and more people living alone.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
“Fire and fury” threats / Sell HBO subscriptions / But stocks? Not so much.
Matters of debate
Biological determinism can’t explain tech’s gender gap. It’s an argument that is always used justify social hierarchies.
Marriage is increasingly the province of college-educated women. Social shifts have made “high-investment parenting” a more attractive prospect.
Rich people love endurance sports. High training costs aside, the pursuit of a clear-cut masochistic goal may be the biggest draw.
Surprising discoveries
Boeing and NASA are copying geese to save jet fuel. “Wake surfing” planes could fly in a V formation.
A man is suing Heineken for a gecko-infused beer. He claims to have PTSD after drinking a can with two dead lizards inside.
The man who wrote the book on online passwords says he got it all wrong. Bill Burr wrote the US government guidelines that require special characters and other useless rules (paywall).
There’s a scientifically optimal dunk-time for Oreos in milk. An analysis of capillary action suggests that three seconds will almost saturate the cookies.
Autonomous car tests are getting seriously weird. Reporters in Virginia spotted a self-driving car in Arlington, Virginia that turned out to be a regular car, driven by a human who was disguised as a car seat.
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