Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
China and South Korea talk North Korea’s denuclearization… Chinese and South Korean diplomats will lead the latest round of negotiations with North Korea, starting today 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.
Europe moves forward on trade deals with Asian countries. The EU is expected to sign a bilateral trade pact with Singapore and finalize details of another with Japan at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels.
Afghanistan holds parliamentary elections. The polls take place on Sunday amid a violent environment, with 10 candidates assassinated in the last two months. The Taliban’s repeated warnings of attacks have led to the closure of over 2,000 polling stations.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump conceded that Khashoggi is dead. The president said that it “certainly looks” as if Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead and that there would be “very severe” consequences if it’s proven that Riyadh was responsible. Meanwhile, US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and UK trade minister Liam Fox were the latest invitees to abandon Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 summit.
China published its third-quarter GDP figures. Growth for the quarter came in at 6.5% year-on-year, slightly below analysts’ expectations and the slowest pace since 2009, suggesting that trade tensions and a slowing economy at home are starting to bite.
Tesla unveiled a cheaper Model 3. CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the new car has a sticker price of $45,000. The new variant gives drivers 260 miles (418 km) on one charge, with a top speed of 125 mph (200 km/h).
The US and Mexico struck a plan to manage a migrant caravan from Central America. Mexico said that it wants the UN to establish shelters along its southern border, where officials will allow those who have legitimate asylum claims to be placed in a host country as their claims are processed. Trump earlier threatened to use force to close the US-Mexico border, as a group of 3,000 Central American migrants heads toward the US.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Michael J. Coren on the Silicon Valley companies that are funded by Saudi Arabia: “The kingdom’s influence is spreading each year. Saudi money is already behind many of the biggest tech startups in the US, including Lyft, Uber and Magic Leap. Saudi Arabia’s massive $45 billion check to SoftBank’s Vision Fund, the largest venture fund of all time, means Saudi money will likely be part of the biggest pool of venture money for years to come. The Vision Fund has made at least 26 investments including into Slack, WeWork, GM Cruise, and other brand names.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
An ungroomed brow has always been a radical act. European women in the 18th century glued tiny mouse pelts to their heads to achieve the desired half-moon-shaped eyebrow.
Not letting tickets sell out is a smart move for a pop star. Taylor Swift made sure that only her real fans, not scalpers, were buying tickets to her concerts—and made a ton more money that way.
The World Bank’s measure of poverty is flawed. Countries with strong economic growth often redistribute wealth unevenly, creating and reproducing poverty.
Surprising discoveries
Panasonic invented a cubicle for your face. The headphone-containing eyeshield creates isolation, but unnervingly resembles horse blinders.
Japan’s cherry blossoms are confused. A slew of recent typhoons has caused the famously vibrant trees to sprout flowers in the fall.
More and more couples are like Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. The number of opposite-sex marriages in which the woman is older or the same age as the man is rising rapidly in the US.
A Chinese company plans to build an artificial moon to replace streetlights. Streets in Chengdu could be illuminated by a moon eight times brighter than the real one.
Canada issued a ticket for driving while high an hour after weed was legalized. 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 designated drivers 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.