Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Amazon workers go on strike in Europe. Unions in Italy and Germany are holding out for better bonuses, with hundreds preparing to walk out on Black Friday, one of the retailer’s busiest days of the year.
Zimbabwe swears in its next president. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former right-hand man of ex-president Robert Mugabe, will be inaugurated today at the country’s National Sports Stadium after a military takeover helped bring him back from exile earlier this week.
Elections in Honduras and Nepal. The Central American country is set to re-elect US-friendly leader Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has helped revive the country’s economy. In Nepal, residents in the northern region will commence the country’s first state elections since the removal of the authoritarian King Gyanendra in 2008.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump talked ISIL and tax cuts in his Thanksgiving address. The president hailed troops in Afghanistan as “brave, incredible fighters” who were delivering “defeat after defeat” against the Islamist terrorist group. He also lauded stock market gains and promised “big, beautiful, fat tax cuts.”
Australia barbed with China over its policy paper. Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop defended a white paper that called out China’s expansion in the South China Sea, calling the document “principled” and “pragmatic.” On Thursday, the day of the its publication, China’s foreign ministry spokesman called the paper’s statements on the South China Sea “irresponsible.”
Police in Japan found eight men claiming to be from North Korea. Authorities said the men claim to be fishermen who lost control over their boat and drifted into Japanese waters. It’s not clear what will happen to them—earlier this month authorities rescued three North Korean fishermen whose boat had capsized in Japanese waters, only to return them back home upon their request.
Mitsubishi Materials felt blowback from a scandal. The company’s stock price fell 11%, the day after the it confirmed its subsidiaries had falsified data regarding the quality of its products. The admission follows a similar one made by Kobe Steel, which supplied products to clients including Toyota and Boeing.
Uma Thurman spoke out against Harvey Weinstein. “I’m glad it’s going slowly—you don’t deserve a bullet,” the star of Pulp Fiction and other Miramax films said of the Hollywood executive in an Instagram post. When approached by media earlier this month about the allegations against Weinstein, she said she would share her thoughts at a later date.
Quartz obsession interlude
Marc Bain on strategies to avoid the buying binge of holiday sales. “One of a few handy metrics to consider if you’re buying clothing is cost-per-wear. You just divide the price of purchase by how many times you’ve worn (or think you will wear) the item. A $50 pair of jeans that you wear 25 times before they rip or you decide you don’t like them has a cost-per-wear of $2.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Inherited wealth needs to be taxed fairly. A balance between no tax and a high tax will benefit the economy, and also help people who inherit money (paywall).
George Orwell is overrated. The canonical writer’s simplistic and moralizing outlook is ill-equipped to tackle today’s complex problems.
OPEC is over. In the age of ocean drilling and electric cars, the once-dominant cartel is not long for this world.
Surprising discoveries
A Swiss village will pay you to live in it. Albinen is offering to fund new residents and families as long as they’re young and ready to commit for a decade.
Deep-fat fryers help cool the environment. Tiny solid or liquid particles from fatty acid molecule clouds reflect about a quarter of the sun’s energy back into space.
More American girls are turning to self-harm. Smartphone use, increasing academic demands, and economic stress on families might be contributing to a surge in 10- to 14-year-old girls arriving in ERs with self-inflicted injuries.
A New Zealand math exam was too tough for teachers. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is facing complaints for issuing an exam that many students—and some adults—simply can’t pass.
A nudist restaurant has opened in Paris. Diners can eat completely unclothed, but French law requires the staff to be fully dressed.
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