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.
… Quartzy has your Black Friday shopping strategy covered. Make a shopping plan, focus on what you’re spending rather than saving, consider cost-per-wear, and choose quality over quantity. We also crunched the data to see what you can learn from the biggest discounts from tech manufacturers.
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 vote in the country’s first state elections since the removal of the authoritarian King Gyanendra in 2008.
While you were sleeping
South Africa doubled Oscar Pistorius’s sentence. The Supreme Court of Appeal increased the former Olympic athlete’s sentence to 13 years and five months for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. Prosecutors argued that the original six-year sentence was too lenient.
Zimbabwe swore in its new president. Emmerson Mnangagwa—nicknamed “the Crocodile” for his ruthlessness and secrecy—is the former right-hand man of ex-president Robert Mugabe. He came back from exile this week after the military ousted Mugabe. The IMF warned that Zimbabwe needs to turn its economy around fast if it’s to access international financial aid.
SoftBank knew about the Uber hack before we did. The ride-hailing app said it informed its suitor before going public about the breach of 57 million driver and passenger accounts. SoftBank is planning to buy around 14% of Uber for $10 billion. Uber’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi reportedly knew (paywall) about the breach two months before the news broke.
The US Navy called off its search for the three missing sailors. The seamen were on the military plane that crashed into the Philippine Sea on Wednesday; eight remaining passengers were rescued. The accident caps a bad year for the Navy in the region: an August collision between the USS John McCain and a merchant ship left 10 US sailors dead, and seven more were killed after a collision in June.
The Irish government teetered on the brink of collapse. Deputy prime minister Frances Fitzgerald faces a vote of no confidence over a policing scandal. Irish leader Leo Varadkhar is standing by his deputy, but the crisis could mean snap elections. Ireland—the only country with an EU land border with Britain—is also ensnarled in the ongoing Brexit mess.
Beijing investigated child abuse at an expensive kindergarten. The kindergarten—run by a US-listed preschool group RYB Education—is in trouble, after parents said they found needle marks on their children. Some parents told state media that their kids had been given unidentified pills and forced to stand still or locked in a dark room as punishment.
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 (paywall) no tax and a high tax will benefit the economy, and also help people who inherit money.
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
“Indiana Joan” was accused of looting Egyptian artefacts. Australian Joan Howard allegedly stole from archaeological digs during her husband’s diplomatic trips.
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 self-harming. Smartphone use and academic pressure, might be contributing to the surge in 10- to 14-year-old girls arriving in ERs with self-inflicted injuries.
A nudist restaurant has opened in Paris. Diners can eat naked, but French law requires the staff to be fully dressed.
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