Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
China reports on its GDP. Costly trade wars have taken a toll on its economy, but the country is still expected to show a 6.6% GDP boost (paywall) over last year. Other analysts claim the debt-ridden market is closer to 5%.
India and Sri Lanka make a housing deal. Narendra Modi will meet fellow prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in New Delhi on Saturday, regarding a $300 million joint venture to build 40,000 higher quality homes for Sri Lankans than China had previously proposed.
China and South Korea talk denuclearization. Chinese and South Korean diplomats will lead the latest round of negotiations with North Korea, starting Friday in Beijing. It’ll be the first time this particular six-way forum—which includes the US, Russia, and Japan—has been held in 10 years.
Afghan holds parliamentary elections amid violence. Limited security and resources have severely lowered (paywall) the availability of polling services for Saturday’s vote, and Taliban forces are also ratcheting up pressure on civilians by calling for a boycott and threatening to attack participants.
While you were sleeping
Three Afghan leaders were murdered by the Taliban. An Afghan government bodyguard fatally shot Kandahar police chief Abdul Raziq and two other city officials, while also wounding three Americans. US Army general Austin Miller, reportedly the main target, avoided injury.
Facebook was hacked by scammers, not foreign agents. User data was supposedly being mined as part of a plot to launch advertising scams (paywall). The hackers ostensibly weren’t bankrolled by any foreign nation, and passed themselves off as a marketing firm.
Mike Pence warned Saudi Arabia. The US vice president said “consequences” would follow if journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, while Donald Trump admitted that murder seemed to be the case. US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and UK trade minister Liam Fox have both abandoned Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 summit, which continues to lose sponsors.
Israel’s supreme court ruled in favor of a US student. Israeli authorities were scolded for barring 22-year-old Lara Alqasem due to her association with a college activist group called Students for Justice in Palestine. However, a judge said Alqasem could still be expunged if she re-engages in activism against the state.
Trump threatened to use force to close the US-Mexico border. As a group of 3,000 Central American migrants makes slow progress towards the US, the president announced his intention to order the military to close the country’s southern border completely.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Ephrat Livni on the single acronym that sums up most social media platforms: “Social media platforms need us to keep coming back, so they’ve designed tools that accumulate data about us, then give us more of what moves us most to create wealth for the platforms. BUMMER platforms [are] eroding health and happiness and political and social discourse, [and] curbing our free will.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The media misunderstood Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test. The US senator actually has a stronger genetic Native American connection (paywall) than most Euro-Americans.
Dear Abby was wrong about “foreign” names. Name your child whatever you like, and let other people learn how to pronounce it correctly.
The World Bank’s measure of poverty is flawed. Countries with strong economic growth often redistribute wealth unevenly, creating and reproducing poverty.
Surprising discoveries
Taylor Swift makes more money on shows that aren’t sold out. The business-savvy pop star wards off scalpers—and pockets more cash—by keeping ticket prices high.
Panasonic invented a cubicle for your face. The headphone-containing eyeshield creates isolation, but unnervingly resembles horse blinders.
Banksy’s shredder malfunctioned. “Girl With Balloon” should have been totally destroyed, instead of partially shredded.
Japan’s cherry blossoms are confused. A slew of recent typhoons has caused the famously vibrant trees to sprout flowers in the fall.
Canada issued its first high driving ticket, an hour into legalized weed. A Winnipeg motorist learned the hard way that even a legit high counts as “driving under influence.”
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, empty venue seats, and puzzled flowers 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 and edited by Susan Howson and McKinley Noble.