Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The United States celebrates Thanksgiving. Markets will close, 46 million turkeys will be consumed (paywall), and roads and airports will be jammed: An estimated 50 million people will travel at least 50 miles for their feasts.
A check-in with Europe’s economy. Analysts expect eurozone consumer confidence data to show that the economy is on track for its strongest year in a decade (paywall).
Australia sounds the alarm about China. A government white paper is expected to call for maintaining a strong US presence in Asia, including political, economic, and security engagement, to counteract Beijing’s “increasing belligerence.”
While you were sleeping
A UN court convicted the “Butcher of Bosnia” of genocide… An international tribunal in the Hague sentenced former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic to life in prison for the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica and for the siege of Sarajevo, which left over 10,000 dead.
…While the US accused Myanmar of ethnic cleansing. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson cited the military’s “horrendous atrocities” against Rohingya Muslims. The designation clears the way for US sanctions against Myanmar, whose military campaign against the repressed minority has caused more than 600,000 to flee the country.
A US navy aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan. Eight people were rescued, but a search continues for three others. The aircraft was part of an annual US-Japan naval exercise and was conducting a routine transport flight to carry passengers and cargo.
Facebook’s new tool spots a user’s interaction with Russian trolls. It only displays accounts—not the content itself—that had pages and posts a user actively “liked,” but it’s one step towards undermining the fake news and propaganda spread by Russian troll farms.
The Trump Organization dropped Trump Soho. The US president’s family business will sever its contract with the investment firm that owns the 46-story condominium-hotel in Lower Manhattan. The hotel was Trump’s second in New York, but has been controversial since the get go, drawing local opposition and struggling to attract guests.
Quartz obsession interlude
Nöel Duan on China’s long, troubled road to the Victoria’s Secret runway. “China’s feminine beauty ideals have flipped and switched throughout the past 100 years, in line with the country’s political and cultural transformations … Of course in practice, the Communist Party of China did not emancipate Chinese women from ideals of beauty, Western or Eastern.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The US should get rid of its ICBMs. The long-range nuclear missiles carry too much risk of an accidental nuclear conflict.
Learning code will eventually be as useful as Ancient Greek. The more computers understand our language, the more useless programming will become.
Houses and offices should be “semi-permeable.” “Soft walls” could be made with organic materials like porous mushroom bricks and translucent microalgae tanks.
Surprising discoveries
Tailor your alcohol to your preferred experience. A global survey found that hard liquor makes us feel energized (albeit a little ill) and red wine relaxes us.
A 1960s housewife’s sexually charged memoir is still banned. Thanks to the US Supreme Court, Lillian Maxine Serett’s groundbreaking “promiscuity handbook” exists only in digital format.
Utility companies in the UK still use divining rods to find water. The centuries-old technique lacks scientific backing, but inevitably stumbles upon pipes and leaks some of the time.
A bicycle-maker implied women need electric bicycles to keep up with men. After much criticism, Italian firm Pinarello pulled the Instagram post and apologized.
A new malaria strain is resistant to drugs. The superbug could turn a once easily treatable disease into a global health crisis in Southeast Asia.
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