Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UN meets about North Korea. The United Nations Security Council will meet to discuss a nuclear test conducted by North Korea over the weekend. Diplomats say reprisals could include banning certain exports, cutting off oil supplies, preventing North Koreans from working abroad, and adding more top officials to a blacklist. US president Donald Trump suggested on Twitter that the US could stop trading with any country that “is doing business” with North Korea.
A fraud trial against former Tesco execs kicks off in London. Three former executives face charges of concealing truths about the company’s finances, a deception that led to a £263 million ($340 million) profit overstatement in 2014. Once uncovered, the error hurt Tesco’s stock and caused a PR crisis for the 98-year-old company.
BRICS summit sessions begin in North Korea’s shadow. The leaders of the BRICS nations will meet in Xiamen to discuss economic development, cultural cooperation, and international security and diplomacy. While addressing the summit yesterday—shortly after North Korea tested a nuclear weapon—Chinese president Xi Jinping alluded to the threat posed by Pyongyang, saying that “hotspot issues” and “incessant conflicts” pose “challenges to world peace.”
Over the weekend
North Korea may have tested its most powerful nuke yet. On Sunday, the nation claimed to have successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that it says could be placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile. The nuclear test—North Korea’s sixth—resulted in a tremor measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, compared with a 5.3-magnitude tremor after its last test in September 2016.
Trump decided to end DACA in six months. The president will terminate the Obama-era program that gives undocumented migrants who arrived in the US as children work permits, despite strong opposition from within the Republican party. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who tweeted on Sunday that he stands with the 250 Apple employees who are DREAMers—young immigrants authorized through DACA—is one of several Silicon Valley CEOs who have spoken out in support of DACA.
Cambodia’s opposition leader was arrested for treason. Kem Sokha, the head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was removed from his home on Sunday (paywall) on allegations that he conspired with foreigners in a secret plot to harm the nation. As part of its campaign to muzzle critics, the government has also successfully gone after the English-language Cambodia Daily, which will publish its last edition today.
Narendra Modi shook up his cabinet. The Indian prime minister reshuffled the top leadership on Sunday, axing six ministers and bringing in non-elected bureaucrats and diplomats as part of a broader technocratic shift (paywall). Among the changes: Nirmala Sitharaman was reassigned from her role as trade minister to become the new defense minister.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh. Under attack from the Myanmar army, members of the Muslim minority were forced from their homes in Rakhine State, with the United Nations estimating (paywall) the exodus at almost 80,000. Indonesia sent its foreign minister to Myanmar to urge the government to ease its military campaign against the Rohingya, after a petrol bomb was thrown at the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta on Sunday.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ananya Bhattacharya on the robots performing at one of Hinduism’s holiest ceremonies. ”In India, contraptions performing aarti and other key rituals have sprung up at private homes and public places. For some time now, online darshan (the site of a temple’s deity), mechanised preparation of prasad (offerings to the god), and adoption of solar energy have been common at places of worship… However, aarti is connected directly to the very practice of religion. So its automation, naturally, evokes strong reactions.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
America needs unions now more than ever. Middle-class anxiety, which fuels bitter politics, will not be resolved until workers have more leverage (paywall).
It’s time for Uber’s board to grow up. With a new CEO in place, the company should take a closer look at dysfunction within its board of directors.
The college hazing ritual must end. Hazing has claimed the life of at least one initiate (and often more than one) every year since 1969 in the US—the vast majority in fraternities.
Surprising discoveries
For one year, all South Asians in the US were considered “white.” For most of the 20th century, the US census did not consider South Asians a distinct race.
There’s a black market for Instagram verification. Securing that little blue check can run you up to $15,000.
A burger at America’s first vegetarian drive-through has more calories than a Big Mac. “The Amy” signature burger at Amy’s Drive Thru clocks in at 770 calories, 40 grams of fat, and 1,440 milligrams of sodium.
The US Food and Drug Administration considers ecstasy a potential “breakthrough therapy.” If clinical trials of MDMA’s effect on PTSD are successful (and funded), the FDA could fast-track its approval process.
There are only three fluent speakers of southern Africa’s original language. One of them, 84-year-old Katrina Esau, has spent 10 years teaching children to speak Nluu out of a school in her home.
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