Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UK gives evidence on the Skripal poisoning to the UN. The UN Security Council will meet this afternoon so Britain can present its findings on the circumstances surrounding the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Prime minister Theresa May has blamed Russia for the attack, and UK officials are calling for justice.
India hosts Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis to deepen strategic ties… The US secretary of state and defense secretary will sit down with their Indian counterparts to discuss anti-terrorism efforts and countering China’s influence in the Indian Ocean. But looming over the talks is the threat of US sanctions because of India’s purchases of oil from Iran and missiles from Russia (paywall).
…While India’s Supreme Court makes a landmark ruling on gay sex. A five-judge bench will decide whether to strike down Section 377, a colonial-era law that criminalizes gay sex. While the statute technically extends to sexual acts deemed as “unnatural offenses,” such as oral and anal sex, it has usually been enforced against men.
Yemen’s warring factions meet to talk peace. The UN-brokered meeting in Geneva aims to end nearly four years of fighting between the internationally recognized government and Al Houthi militants. The focus of the talks will be humanitarian issues, including unrestricted aid deliveries and the release of prisoners held by both sides.
American football season kicks off. Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will face the Atlanta Falcons in the first game. The days leading up to the start of the season were especially divisive after Nike, an official sponsor of the National Football League, revealed that Colin Kaepernick, who famously protested police brutality by not standing during the national anthem, as one of the faces for its new “Just Do It” campaign. A Nike TV ad featuring Kaepernick will air during the opening game.
While you were sleeping
Crypto markets continued their free fall. More than $20 billion in market capitalization of crypto assets were erased during US hours, and again plunged sharply (paywall) during the Asia morning. Over the last 24 hours, bitcoin dropped by over $1,000 at one point, dipping below $6,300, while ether hit a one-year low at $211. (Keep up with crypto news with Quartz’s new Private Key newsletter.)
The two Koreas set the date for another summit. South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet in Pyongyang from Sept. 18 to 20 for their third summit this year (paywall). A South Korean official said the two countries will set up a joint liaison office in the North before the meeting.
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Hokkaido. At least two people were killed and 140 injured in Japan’s northern island. The powerful quake caused landslides that buried homes, shut down its main airport in Sapporo, and knocked out power for the whole island and its 5.3 million people. About 40 people remain missing.
Palestinian groups blasted an Israeli court ruling to demolish a West Bank village. The Israeli military is expected to move soon to demolish a Bedouin village, forcibly evicting 180 residents. The Palestinian Authority called the ruling illegal while Israeli’s defense minister praised the judges for their “brave decision.”
An anonymous op-ed spoke of a resistance inside the White House. An anonymous senior official, writing for the New York Times (paywall), called Donald Trump “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.” The alleged advisor claimed a group of staff members were “steering the administration” until “it’s over.”
Quartz Obsession interlude
Heather Timmons on the race to identify the author of the New York Times op-ed. “Within minutes of it being published online, text alerts were buzzing on phones across Washington DC, as insiders, outsiders, reporters, and everyone else tried to answer one question: Who was the anonymous author? Word sleuths quickly uncovered the fact that the essay featured a word only used regularly by one other top member of the administration. The word is ‘lodestar’…and the official is vice president Mike Pence.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
K-pop stars should be exempted from mandatory military service. South Korea already makes exceptions for exceptional athletes and artists who elevate its national image.
The New Yorker gave Steve Bannon everything he wanted. Inviting him to the magazine’s festival gave him an intellectual air; uninviting him created a free-speech martyr.
Saving one sick orca is an expensive distraction. Pacific Northwest scientists should shift the focus to all ocean life.
Surprising discoveries
Scientists identified a “flexitarian” shark species. The bonnethead is the first known omnivore shark, relying on seagrass for 60% of its diet.
The BBC is slowing down radio programming. Radio 3 will soon be broadcasting the sound of herded cows, a forest hike, and other meditative, ASMR-like audio works.
Saturn’s bizarre hexagon-shaped vortex threw astrophysicists for a loop. It’s either a previously discovered formation that’s way bigger than scientists thought, or a doppelganger storm has spawned.
Someone might’ve tried to sabotage the International Space Station. A tiny meteorite was ruled out as the cause of a new air leak.
A village requires all residents to remove their appendixes. Villas Las Estrellas in Antarctica is more than 1,000 km (625 miles) from the nearest hospital.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, calming soundscapes, and space conspiracy theories 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 Alice Truong and edited by Isabella Steger.