Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UN will publish its findings on the Myanmar crisis. Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the start of the conflict that drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from their homes. Today the UN will release a report by its independent fact-finding commission regarding the human-rights violations.
US sanctions on Russia take effect. The sanctions were announced in response to the poisoning of Russian national Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK, which Moscow has denied any connection to. The newest sanctions will end foreign assistance, some arms sales, and financing to Russia, and will be in place for a year.
The US Open kicks off. The fourth and final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year begins in New York City. American Sloane Stephens and Spaniard Rafael Nadal will attempt to become the first repeat champions since Roger Federer won the tournament five consecutive years from 2004 through 2008.
Over the weekend
US senator John McCain died. A celebrated war hero and former GOP presidential candidate, McCain spent his last year in treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. The “maverick” left a legacy of voting against one’s party when necessary, forming relationships across the aisle, and sharply criticizing the president if deserved—and as tributes poured in for McCain, Donald Trump was conspicuously silent (paywall) on the matter.
Elon Musk said Tesla will stay public. Writing on the company’s blog, he indicated that he’d accepted investors’ concerns that it would be extraordinarily difficult to buy out or bring along existing shareholders. Instead, Musk vowed to focus on ramping up Model 3 production and Tesla’s profitability.
The pope asked Ireland for forgiveness. An emotionally fraught visit to a country struggling to again trust the Catholic Church ended in a penitent prayer by Pope Francis, who admitted that officials could have done much more to combat sexual abuse, mistreatment of unwed mothers and their children, and other issues.
Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s president. After a constitutional court ruled Friday that the divisive July election was legitimate, Mnangagwa officially became the country’s new leader.
Didi Chuxing stopped its Hitch service. A driver was found to have raped and killed a woman passenger—the second such incident since May. The world’s biggest ride-sharing service by number of trips hit the brakes and blamed its own customer-service procedures for not acting quickly enough on another passenger’s complaint against the driver.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on how 1825 foreshadowed the problems facing emerging markets today. “The slow-building threat of US tightening has given emerging-market leaders plenty of time to build reserves, limit reliance of dollar-denominated sovereign debt, and rein in budget deficits. But if the lessons of history are anything to go by, the deeper their ties to global financial centers, the less control smaller countries have over their own monetary systems—which means there may be more shakeups ahead.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Software should encourage us to stop and think. From impulse buys to knee-jerk reactions, we’re using technology to make the world more haphazard.
Free tampons are the mark of an evolved civilization. If society can provide free toilet paper in public places, it should be able to publicly acknowledge that at any given time, roughly 300 million women are menstruating.
Aramco should ditch its IPO. Saudi Arabia needs to focus on weaning itself off oil first (paywall), then attract investments in a more stable economy.
Surprising discoveries
People still aren’t wearing enough sunscreen. Deadly melanoma is on the rise in the US.
Madame Tussauds has given up on Australian leaders. The prime minister turnover is so rapid, the museum’s Sydney outpost can’t make wax figures fast enough.
Private enterprise is proliferating in North Korea. The country’s 400-plus officially sanctioned markets are an important source of income for the Kim Jong Un regime.
Amazon is giving employees $50 gift cards to tweet nice things about the company. Participants in the “FC Ambassador Program” also got lunch and a day off.
Sports teams are betting on pink. Painting the opponents’ locker rooms with the color is hoped to lower testosterone and decrease aggression.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, glowing employer reviews, and waxy Australian politicians 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 Isabella Steger and edited by Alice Truong.