Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Japan’s asteroid mission. The Hayabusa-2 probe is about to land two small rovers, MINERVA-II1A and MINERVA-II1B, to the Ryugu space rock. A successful rollout will mark a history-making moment for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency as the first to launch rovers on an asteroid.
UK party conferences. The UK Independence Party, which campaigned for Brexit, will hold a two-day conference in Birmingham that begins today. Members will look for signs of whether the party will shift further right under leader Gerard Batten, and if he’ll remain in his post after April. At the Labour Party’s annual conference, taking place from Sunday to Wednesday in Liverpool, Brexit and austerity will be the main themes.
Rigged elections in eSwatini and the Maldives. Today’s vote in the southeast African nation formerly known as Swaziland features candidates loyal to King Mswati III seeking seats in a parliament completely controlled by him. The Maldives will go to the polls on Sunday, with president Abdulla Yameen, who has cracked down on critics and opposition parties, seeking a second five-year term.
A Fox-Comcast showdown. The two media giants will meet for a final auction round on Saturday to decide which company will claim UK broadcaster Sky. Comcast is preparing for an uphill fight (paywall) now that Disney is acquiring most of Fox, including its current stake in Sky.
Hong Kong’s new bullet train to China opens. The $11 billion high-speed rail, which has been mired in scandal, will link the city to the world’s largest high-speed rail network starting Sunday. The new train will cut the two-hour journey to Guangzhou to 48 minutes.
While you were sleeping
Christine Blasey Ford set conditions for testifying. A lawyer for Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault in the ’80s, said she would be willing to testify next week if “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety” were met—but not on Monday when a Senate hearing is currently scheduled.
Marine Le Pen was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. A French court ordered the test as part of its investigation into the far-right leader’s 2015 Twitter posts featuring gruesome images of Islamic State executions. Le Pen later told reporters she would skip the test.
Wells Fargo will cut 5% to 10% of its workforce. Reductions at the US bank could affect 26,500 employees over the next three years. Wells Fargo is still recovering from a series of scandals, including the 2016 revelation that employees had opened millions of accounts without customers’ permission.
The US imposed more sanctions on China. Officials said they would enforce fresh penalties on China’s military for buying Russian fighter jets and missile systems, a breach of existing restrictions against Moscow for its interference in the 2016 US election.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Nikhil Sonnad on the linguistic contributions of Black Twitter: “[T]erms that originate in the South do not spread by jumping to other cities; instead, they spread via areas with large black populations… Among the ones most associated with the Deep South region are famo (family and friends), fleek (on point), and baeless (single).” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Your employer should pay for your commute. People priced out of urban centers are on call or working during their long commutes.
Notifications no longer notify you of anything useful. They’re used by apps to beg for attention.
We should tax meat like sugar. Overconsumption of meat is damaging our health and the environment.
Surprising discoveries
Octopuses get friendlier on ecstasy, just like humans. When given MDMA, the creatures ditch their solitary habits.
London found its serial cat killer. Police say hundreds of feline mutilations were actually caused by cars and foxes.
North Korea has its own cosmetics brand. A state-owned makeup line says it’s running “neck and neck” with Shiseido and Chanel.
Zika could treat brain cancer. The cell-targeting tendencies that make it dangerous could kill the stem cells that allow tumors to stay alive.
The oldest known animal was found in fossil form. Ediacarans existed 558 million years ago, at least 20 million years before the Cambrian explosion of life.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, octopus hugs, and North Korean lipstick 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 Maria Thomas.