Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Trump meets ASEAN in the Philippines. US president Donald Trump will hold a full day of meetings with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Countries, and also have a one-on-one with Indian leader Narendra Modi. Trump over the weekend offered to mediate territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
A $150 million World Cup corruption scandal heads to court in the US. More than 40 people have already pleaded guilty to participating in a 24-year scheme linked to the award of broadcasting and hosting rights for the FIFA World Cup and other tournaments.
Scientists announce 2017 carbon emission figures. Delegates at the Bonn UN Climate Change Conference will continue meeting this week to discuss ways to reach goals set under the Paris climate agreement. Currently, the US is the only country that wants to withdraw.
Over the weekend
Saad Hariri appeared on TV. The Lebanese prime minister said that he would return home in a few days to formally submit his resignation and warned Hezbollah not to meddle in regional conflicts, in his first televised appearance in over a week. Hariri spoke from Riyadh, where some Lebanese officials believe he is being held captive by his Saudi allies.
Alibaba snagged $25 billion in Singles Day sales. That’s a record amount for the Chinese online retailer, which has been pushing to make the sales day a global event. China’s State Post Bureau estimates that over 1 billion packages will be delivered across China between Nov. 11-16.
The TPP progressed without the US. A group of 11 countries said after meeting in Vietnam (paywall) that they were committed to moving ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump pulled the US out of. A deal could be struck as early as the beginning of next year.
A massive earthquake hit the Iran-Iraq border. At least 140 people have died in Iran in the magnitude 7.3 quake that hit the northern Iraqi city of Halabja Sunday night local time.
SoftBank almost completed its investment in Uber. The Japanese tech giant agreed to take 14% of shares in Uber, which includes new shares for about $1 billion and $9 billion in Uber stock from existing shareholders. The deal would keep the ride-hailing company’s current valuation at $68 billion.
Demonstrators called for ethnic purity in Poland.
In an Independence Day march of about
in Warsaw, radical nationalist groups chanted anti-gay, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic rhetoric. The chanters were not immediately condemned by senior government officials.
Quartz obsession interlude
Dave Gershgorn on the complexities of creating human-like artificial intelligence. “Our best AI today can do very specific tasks. AI can identify what’s in an image with astounding accuracy and speed. AI can transcribe our speech into words, or translate snippets of text from one language to another. It can analyze stock performance and try to predict outcomes. But these are all separate algorithms, each specifically configured by humans to excel at their single task.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The richest women in the US are the ones having the most kids. When inequality grows, people who have higher incomes can afford to hire people with lower incomes as help more easily.
Hip-hop is old. The people who grew up with it are now adults at a perfect point of wistful regard for the genre.
Apu’s character on The Simpsons is problematic. South Asian Americans say the portrayal of the Kwik-E-Mart owner (paywall) perpetuates a charged stereotype of Indians in Hollywood.
Surprising discoveries
NASA launched 7,400 pounds of groceries into space. The agency also sent up some E. coli to test the bacteria’s reaction to low gravity.
Elon Musk’s Instagram caused a stir in Turkey. The Tesla CEO posted a photo of himself at the grave of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, whose values conflict with those championed by current strongman leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Justin Trudeau got takeout at a Filipino fast-food chain. The Canadian prime minister visited a branch of Jollibee in Manila, where he got fried chicken and a strawberry tea float.
Spotify is letting employees choose its holidays. The idea that employees must take off work only on holidays sanctioned by Hallmark, Christianity, or the government is outdated.
United Airlines stopped flights to New Delhi. The temporary halt in flights from Newark airport is because of poor air quality in the Indian capital.
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