Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for
The UN security council discusses the Myanmar crisis. Secretary general Antonio Guterres will brief member states about violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority. More than 430,000 people have fled the country after a brutal military campaign.
Vladimir Putin visits Turkey to talk Syria. The Russian president will meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Meanwhile, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson heads to China to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program.
Investigators present “preliminary results” on the MH17 plane crash. New details could be revealed by the joint investigation team, which is composed of and funded by five nations. The Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down over Ukraine in 2014.
While you were sleeping
Apple hit a snag on the iPhone X production line. The star-crossed tech giant is having problems producing “Romeo,” (paywall) a key component of its Face ID security hardware. Delays could make it even harder to find the flagship phone when it’s launched in November, hurting Apple’s holiday sales.
Russia and the US partnered for lunar ambitions. Despite recent acrimony, the nations’ space organizations announced a deal to collaborate on a moon base. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2020, and be finished by the end of the decade.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble got a new gig. The influential proponent of austerity was nominated to lead the country’s parliament. The move frees up a powerful position as the ruling Christian Democrats try to form a coalition with two smaller parties.
Amazon unveiled new versions of its Echo smart speaker. The company is looking to stretch its lead in AI-powered voice-activated computers, with new form factors that resemble alarm clocks and speakerphones, plus revamped versions of the Echo. There are now 5,000 people working on Alexa.
The UK threatened to drop Boeing’s defense contracts. Prime minister Theresa May said she was “bitterly disappointed” by the US move to slap Bombardier with a 219% punitive import tax following a complaint by Boeing. Workers at Bombardier’s Belfast plant could be impacted.
Iraqi Kurds voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence. 92% of voters approved a referendum to establish Kurdistan as its own country. In response, Baghdad threatened to impose air and land blockades, which could take effect as soon as Friday, and Turkey is considering a trade embargo.
Quartz obsession interlude
Amy X. Wang and Allison Schrager on the end of the university. “A massive transition is underway in the global economy right now that will soon obliterate the need for such a space, entirely. … Universities are facing a seemingly impossible crisis over how to offer accessible teaching, to several times the number of people as in years past, that is individualized, yet affordable.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Tax plan getting love / How will investors feel when / Lucy yanks the ball?
Matters of debate
Learning a local dialect is better than a global language. Technology makes it easier to communicate, but if the less-spoken languages die, traditions die with them.
As real life gets scarier, disaster movies are obsolete. Filmmakers should stick to dystopian scenarios and superheroes who save us.
Chad’s inclusion in Trump’s new travel ban is a head-scratcher. The African country has been a stalwart US counterterrorism ally.
Surprising discoveries
Coca-Cola uses AI to invent new sodas like Cherry Sprite. A high-tech vending machine prompts the soda giant to create new drinks.
Researchers discovered a giant coconut-eating rat. The rodent of unusual size lives in the shrinking forests of the Solomon Islands.
Bad weather alters your mood. Researchers analyzed 3.5 billion tweets and Facebook posts to make sure.
A Silicon Valley CEO erased his company’s gender pay gap out of his own pocket. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff wrote a $3 million check—twice.
Legalized marijuana is a boon to McDonald’s and Taco Bell. A study found an uptick in munchie consumption for dispensary customers.
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