Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Narendra Modi takes India’s Act East policy on the road. As he tries to strengthen ties with ASEAN member countries, the prime minister begins a three-day trip to Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia to discuss regional security, as well as economic and business links.
The Bank of Italy holds its annual meeting in Rome. Amid political chaos, governor Ignazio Visco will present an annual report on Italy’s economic development in the past year. The country’s persistently weak economy ushered in an uneasy coalition of populist parties that have now put the nation’s place in the euro zone in jeopardy.
Canada tries to unclog NAFTA talks. Foreign Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland is heading to Washington DC this week in another effort to move forward negotiations on the continental trade agreement. Increasingly tough US demands mean efforts to “fix” the treaty between the US, Mexico, and Canada have stalled.
While you were sleeping
Italy has a new prime minister. For now. Italy’s president named former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as interim prime minister. He’s nicknamed “Mr. Scissors” because of his dedication to cutting public spending and reducing bureaucratic waste. The populist parties who won the March election are protesting the decision, and new snap elections could come as soon as August.
Moon Jae-in had a surprise meeting with Kim Jong-un. The leaders of the two Koreas met on Saturday, and said they plan to keep the dialogue going as the date draws near for the cancelled June 12 summit between North Korea and the US. Moon said the countries agree that the summit with the US must be held.
Malaysia pulled the plug on a high-speed railway project to Singapore. The route was scheduled to be completed in 2026, before prime minister Mahathir Mohamad nixed it, citing financial concerns. Malaysia may have to pay over $125 million to Singapore—a small fee compared to the $17 billion analysts estimated the country would spend to link Kuala Lumpur with the city-state.
Europe ramped up the war on plastic. The European Union proposed a ban on single-use plastics including straws, cotton buds, and drink stirrers, which make up the majority of marine litter. The EU says the plan will prevent the emission of 3.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Disney’s latest Star Wars film bombed at the box office. Solo barely exceeded the $100 million mark in the US, finishing in the top spot over Memorial Day weekend but making it the lowest opening for a Star Wars film since Disney took over the franchise. Solo‘s opening in China wasn’t much better. For comparison, The Last Jedi earned $220 million on its opening weekend.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Ephrat Livni on the case for being a sore loser. “Political scientists set out to understand why US Supreme Court justices bother to disagree with their colleagues by writing minority opinions, despite the effort involved and the social cost of openly sparring with their coworkers. In analyzing the language of dissenting opinions, they found that emotional and vivid losing arguments get cited in later cases, while polite, mild disagreements don’t.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Machines can be spiritual. Anything that mirrors humanity could one day find itself on a religious path.
GDPR will kill the innovation economy. Users are more keen to accept new privacy agreements from behemoths like Facebook than smaller companies, which could force more humble startups into extinction.
Outrage over the 1,500 children “lost” by US immigration authorities is misplaced. The stories of children being separated from their parents under a new Trump administration policy are being conflated with a pre-existing policy of the government not tracking unaccompanied minors after they’re released from custody—mostly to family members.
Surprising discoveries
A Scottish rehab facility now treats crypto addiction. Those who compulsively trade bitcoin and ethereum can check themselves into Castle Craig Hospital, where the program is based on gambling addiction treatment.
Israel is hugely popular on Weibo because of China’s online Islamophobia. Users regularly go to Israeli embassy posts to share anti-Islamic sentiments, many of which remain untouched by China’s censors.
The Great Barrier Reef has faced death five times. Over the past 30,000 years, coral has migrated and thinned as sea levels rapidly rose, though scientists still aren’t sure what’s to blame for the reef’s near-death experiences.
Fire ants are threatening Australians’ way of life. The country has vowed to eradicate an invasive species of red ants, and spent millions to keep its fields intact and citizens picnicking.
Sesame Street is suing a NSFW muppet movie. The Happytime Murders depicts puppets swearing, having sex, and committing crimes alongside comedian Melissa McCarthy.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, crypto tips, and spiritual robots 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 April Siese and Eshe Nelson and edited by Indrani Sen.