Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for
China’s top economic advisor heads to the US. Liu He, expected to become China’s vice premier for financial and industrial policy, aims to ease growing tensions with the Trump administration over trade. Liu is the second member of the Politburo to visit Washington, DC, this month.
Jeremy Corbyn pushes a soft Brexit. The Labour leader is expected to give a speech at Coventry University advocating for a permanent customs union with the EU, in what the Financial Times calls “a major shift in Brexit dynamics.” Labour’s official new position makes the prospect of a parliamentary majority on a soft Brexit significantly more likely.
The Balkans get a visit from the European Commission. EC president Jean-Claude Juncker will do a tour of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Albania—all aspiring members of the EU. Juncker has pledged to expand the EU bloc, although he cautions that the western Balkans would need to resolve border disputes and make other political reforms before gaining admission.
Over the weekend
China moved to allow Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely. The country’s constitution currently states that the president and vice-president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms.” On Sunday, the Central Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party of China formally proposed removing that crucial phrase, living up to expectations that Xi plans to stay in power far longer than the current 10-year limit.
North Korea said it’s willing to talk with the US. In a meeting at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, North Korea representatives told South Korean president Moon Jae-in that their country is open to improving relations with the US—though they did not indicate whether they would discuss denuclearization or North Korea’s growing nuclear program. The response from the White House was circumspect: “We will see if Pyongyang’s message…represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization.”
US Democrats released their response to the Nunes memo. Two weeks after President Trump blocked its publication for containing classified information, a heavily redacted and legally-reviewed version was published on Saturday. The document is a detailed rebuttal of the Nunes memo, which portrayed the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the US election as politically biased.
A ceasefire was implemented in Syria, and promptly ignored. Syrian regime forces continued their offensive in eastern Ghouta Sunday, one day after the UN ordered a nationwide ceasefire in the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombing, which killed nine and injured 31, was less intense than in the past week. The offensive directly violates the UN order and puts pressure on Assad’s ally, Russian president Vladimir Putin, to ensure the ceasefire is fully implemented.
The 2018 Winter Olympics came to a peaceful close. Athletes from North Korea and South Korea walked alongside each other in the closing ceremony, with a handful waving the flag of a unified Korean peninsula. The decision to march together, made only a month before the opening ceremony, was a rare sign of reconciliation amid steadily growing tensions between the two countries.
Quartz obsession interlude
Dan Kopf on how much money people need to be happy. “Researchers find that in every region of the world, after accounting for a person’s age, gender, and marital status, people with higher incomes are happier. But they also find that there is a level of income at which happiness no longer increases with more money. This varies by region, with Australia and New Zealand the highest and Latin America and the Caribbean the lowest. They even find some evidence that in certain places, when incomes rise above the cutoff level, life satisfaction gets lower.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Facebook and Google are not invincible. The tech titans may have billions, but the services they’re selling don’t necessarily have staying power—which means they’re vulnerable to disruption.
A lot of Americans are misinterpreting the Second Amendment. Gun advocates frequently cite founding father George Mason’s quote, “The militia is the whole of the people.” But that takes Mason’s words out of context.
Let boys be sensitive. If we want true gender equality, we need to encourage boys to talk about and express their feelings, instead of telling them to toughen up.
Surprising discoveries
Astronomers have spotted the most distant supernova yet. Light from the “superluminous supernova” took 10.5 billion light years to reach earth.
Physical activity benefits your personality—two decades later. A study of 8,500 people found that less active types were less conscientious, agreeable, open, and extraverted 20 years later.
Eating fish may prevent allergies. A Sweden study found that kids who ate fish at least once a month when they were one year old had a reduced risk of suffering from allergies at age 12.
Snails get chilly, too. Cold weather made snails too “sluggish” to compete in a planned snail race at an English pub.
Nokia’s famous ringtone dates all the way back to the 19th century. Frédéric Chopin’s 1834 waltz “Grand Valse Brillante” was the original inspiration for the chimes heard round the world.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, snails, and classical waltzes to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Olivia Goldhill and edited by Sarah Todd.