Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Vladimir Putin visits Iran. The Russian president will discuss the Syria crisis, energy cooperation, and the Iran nuclear deal with top leaders in Tehran. Also on the agenda, in a separate trilateral talk, are plans for a rail line connecting Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran designed to move freight from Asia to Europe and steal some business from the Suez Canal.
Japan’s eight-day special legislative session begins. The Diet is expected to officially re-elect prime minister Shinzo Abe after his convincing victory in a snap election last week. He is expected to leave his cabinet largely unchanged, and will give lawmakers only a limited period to discuss policy issues and political scandals.
Tesla reports third-quarter earnings. Between the mass-market Model 3’s troubled production schedule and CEO Elon Musk’s divided attention, analysts aren’t sure which way the numbers will go. Facebook will also report its numbers.
India’s largest general insurer launches a $1.5 billion IPO. New India Assurance will have the second-largest IPO in the industry’s history, after a successful offering last week by the nation’s largest reinsurance company, General Insurance Corporation of India.
While you were sleeping
A man in a truck plowed through a bike lane in New York City, killing at least eight people. The driver exited the vehicle with an imitation firearm and yelled “God is great” in Arabic before being shot by police, who took him into custody. Authorities identified the attacker as Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old Uzbek immigrant.
US lawmakers grilled Facebook, Google, and Twitter. On the first day of a series of hearings, executives were questioned about Russian attempts to sow division and influence the 2016 election, which the firms had been slow to acknowledge. More drama will unfold today and can be watched live.
South Korea reported booming exports in October. Thanks largely to memory-chip sales, exports grew 7.1% on-year. Exports to China leapt 13.5% from a year ago. The brisk activity suggested Asia’s fourth-largest economy is stepping it up a notch, while a separate report showed inflation moderated in September, muting calls for an interest-rate hike in the coming months.
Sony brought its robotic dog back from the dead. In a sign it’s willing to take risks again after years of refocusing, the company unveiled a new version of Aibo, which it stopped making in 2006. The AI-enabled canine, to be sold in January, has OLED displays for eyes and will more proactively interact with its owners than previous models. Yesterday Sony forecast record earnings for the year.
Climbers will be banned on Uluru. The famous rock formation in the Australian outback will be closed to climbers starting in 2019. The decision ends a decades-long campaign by Aboriginal people to protect what they consider to be a sacred monolith. The park that hosts the rock is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site and will remain open.
Quartz obsession interlude
Dave Gershgorn on the emerging era of easily faked, AI-generated photos. “Nvidia’s results look so realistic because the company compiled a new library of 30,000 images of celebrities, which… gave each algorithm enough to data to not only understand what a human face looks like, but also how details like beards and jewelry make a ‘believable’ face.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Facebook can’t rein in Facebook. The company’s control over its platform has significant limitations.
Killing every terrorist is not a strategy. New US counterterrorism guidelines that loosen the rules for deadly force will have disastrous consequences.
The “mobile internet” is now just the internet. We spend 70% of our online time on our phones.
Surprising discoveries
No creature who encounters pizza remains unchanged. City mice genes show the effects of eating a lot of fatty acids, which are prevalent in fast food.
Black licorice can kill you. It contains a chemical compound called glycyrrhizin, which can cause potentially dangerous heartbeat irregularities.
AI can be trained to detect suicidal tendencies. Researchers developed an algorithm to spot fMRI scans of people who are at risk of self-harm.
A Japanese convenience store used drones to deliver fried chicken in Fukushima. It’s part of a six-month test that could become a long-term offering.
Martin Luther changed the way beer is made. His protest movement against the Catholic Church also spurred the inclusion of hops, which became a symbol of the rebellion.
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