Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Robert Mugabe clings to power. After ousting him as party leader on Sunday, Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF set a deadline of noon local time on Monday for the long-serving president to step down or face impeachment. In a nationwide address on Sunday night expected to serve as his resignation speech, Mugabe instead suggested he would remain in power through at least next month. Demonstrations are expected.
The European Union prepares for Brexit. Everyone but Britain meets ahead of a major summit next month on the UK’s exit from the bloc. Ministers will be updated on talks so far, consider how much cash to demand from the UK as a “divorce settlement,” and vote on where to relocate the European Medicines Agency and European Banking Authority, which will leave London following the split.
The hunt for the ARA San Juan continues. An international coalition of ships and planes are searching for an Argentine Navy submarine lost in the south Atlantic on Nov. 15. Satellite communications traced to the sub were detected on Nov. 18. The US Navy sent a specialized deep sea rescue pod to join the search for the San Juan, which should have supplies to keep its 44 crew members alive for two weeks.
Over the weekend
German lawmakers missed a deadline to form a government. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Conservatives, along with the Free Democrats and the Greens, failed to see eye-to-eye on a coalition agreement; without a deal, Germany may hold new elections or see its first post-war minority government.
A US general said he would ignore an illegal nuclear order from Donald Trump. General John Hyten said officers have an obligation not to follow illegal orders from the erratic commander-in-chief, and will guide him toward the acceptable use of force.
Turkey banned LGBT activity in its capital. Political and cultural events organized by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups are now forbidden in Ankara due to “public safety concerns,” in another stain on Turkey’s human-rights record.
Toshiba hatched a new plan to avoid being booted from the Tokyo exchange. The beleaguered conglomerate announced that it will sell shares worth more than $5 billion and shed its nuclear unit to raise cash; the moves were motivated by potential delays in the sale of its chipmaking arm to a private equity consortium.
Donald Trump said he should’ve left American citizens in a Chinese jail. After the father of one of three US college basketball players arrested for shop-lifting in Beijing questioned Trump’s role in their release, Trump tweeted that “I should have left them in jail!”—even though the players thanked him personally.
Quartz obsession interlude
Preeti Varathan on why millennials are set to be the most unequal generation yet. “Millennials are generally saddled with more student debt, less inherited money, and stricter mortgages than previous generations. At the same time, a lucky few are set to become spectacularly wealthy, widening the already large gap between rich and poor.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Stressed about success? Try mental time travel. Viewing achievements in the context of past expectations may provide a temporary reprieve.
Is it time to move India’s national capital elsewhere? Toxic smog has recently made Delhi near-unlivable.
Recent attacks on Silicon Valley are justified. An industry once lauded for tackling the world’s biggest problems has forgotten about the people who truly need help.
Surprising discoveries
As Earth’s rotation slows, 2018 could see a spike in large earthquakes. If you were looking forward to next year, think again.
Copenhagen’s newest architectural gem is a waste management plant. The roof of Amager Bakke will have an artificial ski slope, a grove of trees, and support the world’s tallest climbing wall.
The KGB may have opened a file on Donald Trump as early as 1977. That’s 10 years before the property tycoon’s first trip to Russia, ostensibly to scout locations for a hotel.
As late as the 1700s, it was more common to read out loud than to yourself. As reading shifted away from the social, it helped create what we now call an interior life.
An obituary for the man who robbed the FBI and was never caught. The late professor John Raines, his wife, and six others absconded with FBI files that revealed unconstitutional sabotage of political activists (paywall).
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