Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
China’s falling space station is due to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. Though it’s impossible for scientists to pinpoint exactly when and where Tiangong-1 will land, they have narrowed down the likely impact window. Most of the relatively small space lab will burn up in the atmosphere anyway, so there’s little danger—and, if you happen to catch a sight of Tiangong-1 falling, it’ll likely be spectacular: it will look like slower-than-normal shooting stars splitting into other shooting stars.
Zimbabwe’s president arrives in Beijing. After Emmerson Mnangagwa took power from longtime dictator Robert Mugabe in a bloodless coup, Chinese president Xi Jinping promised to support Zimbabwe no matter what. In his first official trip outside Africa, Mnangagwa visits China with an eye on maintaining and deepening Zimbabwe’s long-standing economic relationship with Beijing through Xi’s “belt and road initiative.”
Egypt’s presidential election results will be officially announced. The presidency will almost certainly go to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who initially took power in the wake of a 2013 military coup; early counts suggest he took some 90% of the vote. What may be more politically important, though, is the final count for voter turnout this year. Al-Sisi worked hard to mobilize voters, and low turnout—combined with opposition parties claiming election misconduct—may suggest continued control of the presidency is less than assured.
2001 turns 50. Stanley Kubrick’s seminal film 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered half a century ago today. There will be screenings around the world, a special exhibit at the US National Air and Space Museum, and plenty of punditry about the prescience of the movie. The groundbreaking effects and storytelling of 2001 changed the film industry, opening doors for the serious science fiction works of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Chris Nolan, and more.
Over the weekend
Kim Jong-un clapped along to K-pop… For the first time in 10 years, South Korea sent a music delegation to its northern neighbor. Among the big South Korean musicians who performed or are set to perform for Kim (and hundreds of other North Koreans) are K-pop stars Seohyun (formerly of Girls’ Generation) and Red Velvet. The event precedes a summit planned on April 27 between Kim and South Korean president Moon Jae-in.
…while the US and South Korea began joint military exercises. The pentagon has described the drills as defensive in nature, but even so, are likely to test the sustainability of the diplomatic thawing in the region. Besides the April 27 summit between the two Koreas, Kim has also agreed in principal to meet with Donald Trump. Pyongyang’s response to the US-South Korea exercises—which include new stealth jet fighters and amphibious assault ships—could shape the tone of that meeting (paywall).
Deadly violence in Gaza reverberated around the world. On Friday, Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinian protesters who were kicking off a planned six-week demonstration in Gaza to demand the right of return for refugees. The Israeli military said the protesters were “rioting”; organizers said the protests were peaceful. On Saturday, a day of mourning was held in Gaza for the 16 Palestinians killed. The United Nations and European Union have called for an investigation into Israel’s actions, which the Gaza Health Ministry says led to the wounding of over 750 people.
Pope Francis implored the world to deal with geopolitical conflict. In an Easter Sunday speech the Catholic pope lamented the carnage being wrought all over the world, from Gaza to Venezuela, and Syria to South Sudan. Francis also addressed the tensions of the Korean Peninsula, offering an Easter blessing to, presumably, Kim, Moon, and Trump: “May those who are directly responsible act with wisdom and discernment.”
Tesla acknowledged that Autopilot was on during a fatal crash last week. Previously, the company had said it was unclear whether the collision in California was due to driver error or to a malfunction in the car’s self-driving system. The admission capped a week of bad news for Tesla, which included an announcement of its largest-ever recall and a dip in stock price, taking share values down to their lowest levels in a year.
Quartz obsession interlude
Marc Bain on wabi sabi, the Japanese aesthetic that calls for design that improves with age. “In the past, we didn’t have the same abundance of cheap stuff…. When something broke, we may have had no choice but to fix it. That’s generally no longer the case in rich countries: It’s easier than ever to toss out old things and buy new ones, an approach manufacturers are happy to cater to, as it keeps their sales flowing. This lifestyle may be convenient, but it’s terrible for the environment. And it’s also terrible for us.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
There’s an ideological rift opening up in the tech community. Infinite optimism vs. certainty of an inevitable catastrophe. Jumping in the pool of progress vs. dipping your toes in first. Tech as inherently good vs. tech can be good. In Silicon Valley, it’s becoming the Mark Zuckerbergs vs. the Elon Musks.
Catholic colleges are great at basketball because of their social justice history. Many of these schools were founded to serve immigrant, working class, and urban communities—the same communities that have produced the world’s best basketball players.
The exclamation mark is the worst! Novelist Elena Ferrante rails against the exclamation, calling it her least favorite of all punctuation marks, and writing that it is “a sign not of emotional exuberance but of aridity.”
Surprising discoveries
Scatterplots are the best! Research shows that, of all chart types, scatter plots are the ones people perceive most accurately and quickly.
Two major US cities are fighting over a bean sculpture. Chicago is mad that Houston put a giant, metallic bean, because it looks a lot like Chicago’s giant, metallic bean.
Saudi Arabia is planning the world’s largest solar-power plant. The 200 GW facility would be bigger than most major cities.
Parma ham manufacturers beef with animal activists. The meat companies say footage showing pigs in deplorable conditions are not credible, and part of a “smear campaign.”
The Thai government tried to establish a “McDonald’s of Thai Food.” Luckily, not only did it fail, but the funding ended up fueling the spread of mom-and-pop Thai places around the world.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, legs of Parma, and Tiangong-1 parts 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 and edited by Elijah Wolfson.