Hello, Quartz readers! Our apologies for the delay in sending today’s Daily Brief, due to technical issues.
What to watch for today
Two detained Reuters journalists appear in court in Myanmar. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are accused of violating the country’s draconian Official Secrets Act by obtaining documents about the military’s violent crackdown on the Rohingya.
Narendra Modi sets an economic roadmap. The Indian prime minister is set to meet with economists and other policy experts in an attempt to restart the country’s growth. GDP is expected to climb by only 6.5% in 2018, a four-year low.
South Korea’s top nuclear negotiator visits the United States. Lee Do-hoon, the chief delegate to the stalled six-party nuclear talks, will meet with his US counterpart on the heels of successful high-level Olympic negotiations between North and South Korea.
While you were sleeping
Steve Bannon was pushed out of Breitbart. The alt-right media company’s executive chairman resigned after losing the support (paywall) of the billionaire Mercer family. Bannon has apologized for questioning the president’s mental abilities in a blockbuster White House exposé.
Kodak cashed in on the crypto craze. The storied film and camera company, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2013, saw its stock rocket up as much as 77% after announcing the Kodakcoin, a “photocentric cryptocurrency to empower photographers and agencies to take greater control in image rights management.”
Global stocks had the best start to the year since 2006. Markets in Asia, Europe, and the US have all added to their gains in 2017 as global economic growth continues. Investors have also had few alternatives, with stubbornly low bond yields and lagging growth in alternative assets other than cryptocurrencies.
Apple promised new parental controls. In response to complaints from two shareholder groups about the iPhone’s addictive hold on kids, Apple claimed it was working on “new features and enhancements” for worried parents.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on the possible screw-up of a secret satellite launch. “Few people know what SpaceX launched into space on Jan. 7 when a Falcon 9 rocket carried a secret satellite called Zuma to orbit. Now, anonymous sources say that the satellite has failed… We may not know the truth for decades, but if the recriminations over the mission are pulled into high-stakes debates over defense contracts, congressional aides may reveal further details.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Humans like SUVs because they have friendly faces. Automakers might have capitalized on our proclivity for seeing a humanoid face everywhere we look.
Self-help has turned into self-harm. The industry encourages us to remain unsatisfied with ourselves, and keeps us from remembering who we really are.
Free access to art shapes the world’s culture. Museums without admission fees draw more tourists and increase engagement with lower-income communities.
Surprising discoveries
Robot strippers underwhelmed CES attendees in Las Vegas. Most visitors were either unimpressed by the technology or outraged by the degradation of robo-women.
An electronic pill could shed light on how farts are made. The one-inch capsule analyzes decomposition in the gut to show how the body breaks down food.
Higher temperatures are turning 99% of green sea turtles female. Climate change effects on the Great Barrier Reef are also upping turtle egg mortality rates.
Canada’s ice hotel caught on fire. The blaze hospitalized two guests and damaged a room, but the ice structure was remarkably undamaged.
Don’t tell your friends you’re trying to lose weight. Even the most well-meant attempt to get you to indulge yourself is just sabotaging your efforts.
North Korea is riddled with underground tunnels. As tensions rise between the two countries, US soldiers are training to fight battles there.
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