Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Reaction to the Turkish election. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared victory and look set to avoid a second round of voting against his biggest challenger, secular candidate Muharrem Ince, with more than 90% of votes counted. The lira has dropped to record lows this year and more than $20 billion has been wiped off of Turkish stocks.
The British royal family in a historic first. Prince William will arrive in Israel as part of a tour of the Middle East. It’ll be the first-ever visit by a member of the royal family to a territory it ruled from 1922 to the establishment of Israel in 1948.
US housing market health check. The US Census Bureau will release its monthly report on new home sales in May. Analysts expect around 665,000 sales for the month, up slightly from the 662,000 announced in April.
Over the weekend
Two bomb attacks in Africa. Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, survived what the government is calling an assassination attempt after an explosion at a campaign rally in Bulawayo on Saturday. That same day, an attacker dressed in a police uniform tossed a grenade at a rally for Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa that left two dead. Neither leader was hurt.
China pumped money into its economy. China’s central bank announced Sunday (paywall) that, starting July 5, it would reduce the amount of funds local banks need to hold by 0.5%. The move is expected to free up some 700 billion yuan ($107.6 billion) for national and local banks, as fears of a prolonged trade war with the US grow.
Women finally began driving in Saudi Arabia. Starting on Sunday, the ban on women driving has been lifted, making it the last country that legally prevented women from driving. More than 2,000 licenses have already been issued to women drivers in the kingdom.
Migrant families separated in the US were reunited. More than 500 migrant children were returned (paywall) to their parents after Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy towards illegal immigration saw scores of families separated at the border. Amid a backlash, Trump reversed the policy late last week. On Sunday, he called for deportations without any judicial process.
The former Yugoslavia loomed over a World Cup match. Two ethnic Albanian players whose families are from Kosovo are facing two-match bans after provocative celebrations in Switzerland’s win over Serbia. The Serbs, whose actions in Kosovo led to a NATO military intervention in 1999, are also being investigated by FIFA after the coach suggested the referee should be sent to the Hague for trial.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ephrat Livni on the secret to a meaningful life. “For those who feel purposeless, Landau suggests a reframing is in order. He writes, ‘A meaningful life is one in which there is a sufficient number of aspects of sufficient value, and a meaningless life is one in which there is not a sufficient number of aspects of sufficient value.'” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Facial recognition is here to stay. This surveillance software isn’t going anywhere.
Very hot days really affect your quality of life. A new study suggests that they have more of a negative impact than getting a divorce.
It’s never been easier to watch quality soccer. Globalization, technology, and access to media have created a golden age for the neutral fan (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Some $39 billion of US stocks was traded in a single second on Friday. Because FTSE Russell’s widely followed stock indexes were rebalanced (paywall) that day.
Donald Trump has a 90% approval rating from Republicans. That’s the highest since George W. Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks (paywall).
You only need to learn 50 foreign words to be understood. Bump it up to 800 and you should get through about 75% of all daily conversations.
Bentley’s latest design was inspired an iconic guitar. The dashboards in its newest vehicles were influenced by the Fender Stratocaster.
A new “ugliest dog” in the world has been crowned. It’s a nine-year-old English bulldog with a flopped-out tongue named Zsa Zsa.
The pot industry is reinventing child-resistant packaging design. It’s also often more green and easier to use.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, ugly dogs, and childproof legal weed 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 Mike Murphy and edited by Kabir Chibber.