Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
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 a major shift in Brexit dynamics. Labour’s new position makes the prospect of a parliamentary majority on a soft Brexit significantly more likely.
The mobile industry gathers in Barcelona. The four-day Mobile World Congress begins, following press events yesterday that introduced Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and S9+, Nokia’s 8110 reboot, and a laptop from Huawei that could make Apple’s design team envious. Quartz is on the ground and publishing a pop-up newsletter you can sign up for here.
Russia likely uses its UN Security Council veto power. The council has to renew its targeted sanctions on Yemen today, and the US has been lobbying for Iran to be held accountable over its weapons falling into the hands of Yemen’s Houthi group. Russia prefers a rival resolution that doesn’t mention Iran.
Over the weekend
China moved to allow Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely. Yesterday, the Communist Party’s central committee proposed removing the phrase that the president and vice-president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms” from the country’s constitution. The move supports predictions Xi would try to stay in power beyond the 10-year limit.
Warren Buffett published his letter to shareholders. This year the much-anticipated note revealed how Berkshire Hathaway gained $29 billion in 2017 from Trump’s tax reforms (Buffett himself believes higher taxes should be imposed on the wealthy). The “Oracle of Omaha” also said that some of the best market advice can be found in 19th-century poems.
North Korea said it’s willing to talk with the US. Officials attending the Winter Olympics closing ceremony told South Korean president Moon Jae-in that their country is open to talks with the US. But they did not indicate whether denuclearization—a key demand from Washington—would be up for discussion.
US Democrats released their response to the Nunes memo. As expected it’s a detailed rebuttal of the memo, which portrayed the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the US election as politically biased. It’s also heavily redacted, having been blocked by Trump a few weeks ago for containing classified information.
A former journalist became Australia’s deputy prime minister. Michael McCormack, once the editor of a regional newspaper, replaced Barnaby Joyce as leader of the Nationals, the governing coalition’s junior partner. Joyce stepped down following scrutiny over an extramarital affair and allegations of sexual harassment.
A ceasefire was implemented in Syria and promptly ignored. Regime forces continued their offensive in eastern Ghouta yesterday, one day after the UN ordered a nationwide ceasefire. Airstrikes and artillery shelling killed nine and injured 31, though it was less intense than attacks in the past week, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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… 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 services they’re selling don’t necessarily have staying power—which means they’re vulnerable to disruption (paywall).
Instagram is killing the way we experience art. Before whipping out your smartphone, stand before a work of art and allow yourself to get lost in it.
Let boys be sensitive. If we want true gender equality, we need to encourage boys (paywall) to talk about and express their feelings, instead of telling them to toughen up.
Surprising discoveries
Astronomers have spotted the most distant supernova yet. The cosmic explosion took place 10.5 billion light years from Earth.
Physical activity benefits your personality—two decades later. A study of 8,500 people found that less active types were less conscientious, agreeable, and extroverted 20 years later.
Eating fish may prevent allergies. A Swedish 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, fish entrees, 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 Steve Mollman and edited by Alice Truong.