Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
China and South Korea celebrate 25 years of diplomacy. Chinese president Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, “will exchange messages” and celebrate the silver anniversary of good diplomatic ties with receptions at their respective embassies.
Jared Kushner talks peace in the Middle East. Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor will hold separate meetings with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas; no major breakthroughs are expected. Meanwhile, US defense secretary James Mattis will meet with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko after viewing Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations.
India decides the fate of privacy. The country’s supreme court will vote on the legality of Aadhaar, a 12-digit biometric unique identity number that some say violates citizens’ privacy. Critics claim the IDs have been used by the government to spy on individuals. India’s constitution currently omits privacy—the government defines it as a right, but not an absolute one.
While you were sleeping
Google and Walmart teamed up against Amazon. To compete with Amazon’s grip on e-commerce, Walmart will join (paywall) online marketplace Google Express, adding thousands of items to the site and giving the retailer access to voice ordering via Google’s virtual assistant (an area currently dominated by Amazon’s Alexa). Meanwhile, the US Federal Trade Commission gave a green light to Amazon’s purchase of Whole foods.
A headless body found in Copenhagen was identified as Kim Wall. According to Danish police, DNA from the torso, which had been weighed down with metal, matched that from the Swedish journalist’s hairbrush and toothbrush. Wall had been missing for 10 days after embarking on a submarine voyage with Danish inventor Peter Madsen, who pleaded not guilty after being charged with her murder.
Uber’s second-quarter results were a pleasant surprise. The embattled ride-sharing company disclosed that gross bookings doubled to $8.7 billion from a year earlier, with net revenue increasing to $1.75 billion from $1.5 billion and trips taken climbing 150%. The results follow a summer of costly scandals (paywall), and it’s worth noting that Uber still had a CEO—and most of its board—for the majority of the second quarter.
Samsung revealed a new Note. The company unveiled the successor to its infamous Note 7, with assurances that the larger, newer Note 8 will not explode. According to Samsung, the Note 8 has passed a rigorous safety test; just in case, its battery is also physically guarded from the rest of the phone. A massive recall of the Note 7 last year cost the South Korean company $3 billion.
Wall Street fell after Trump threatened a government shutdown. Stocks slumped after Trump told a rowdy Arizona crowd that the government would be shut down if Congress fails to fund a wall on the southern US border, followed by a slight rally after House speaker Paul Ryan said a shutdown would be “unnecessary.” Tensions remain high, however, as Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to pass a spending bill.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jenny Anderson on the teen friendships that make for happier adults. “Most kids won’t have the same best friend at 25 that they had at 15, but making close friends develops muscles that can become become self-defining characteristics. These help to build self worth, and give kids confidence that they can build trusting relationships, which is something the researchers say bodes well for the next chapter of intimacy in life: romantic relationships.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Walmart taps Google / to keep Amazon at bay / in a war of words
Matters of debate
Google shouldn’t own “google.” The verb is as ubiquitous as kleenex, and only references a fraction of what parent company Alphabet has in the works.
Wellness culture is making us unwell. “Orthorexia” is an eating disorder characterized by an obsession with consuming “pure” and “clean” foods.
Ivy League schools don’t admit enough students. The best American universities are miniscule compared to their foreign counterparts, exacerbating socioeconomic inequality.
Surprising discoveries
Salmon used the eclipse to hatch an escape plan. Up to 5,000 Atlantic salmon escaped into the Pacific on Monday, prompting Washington state to temporarily lift fishing limits.
Disco is a weapon. The polarizing genre that gave us the BeeGees is being used to disarm British neo-Nazis.
Dublin airport’s lost-and-found contains one headstone. “You will always be remembered,” reads an inscription on the forgotten grave marker.
Climate change is coming for your champagne and cava. Rising global temperatures could change grapes’ taste and harvest time so drastically that sparkling wine as we know it goes extinct.
Neptune’s forecast calls for diamond rain. Due to its hot temperatures and complex atmosphere, the icy planet’s interior is studded with miniscule diamonds drizzling down glitter.
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