Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Mike Pompeo discusses migrants in Mexico. The secretary of state arrives in Mexico today after the US demanded that Mexico strengthen border security to stop a caravan of some 3,000 people fleeing Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador from reaching the US. Mexico has deployed hundreds of police to its southern border.
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.
Europe and Japan launch a mission to explore Mercury. BepiColombo, a joint project by the European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, blasts off from French Guiana at 9:45pm ET tonight. Scientists haven’t visited our tiny neighboring planet since 2015. You can watch the launch live here.
While you were sleeping
China posted its slowest growth since the Great Recession. GDP growth was up 6.5% from the same period a year ago, below analysts’ expectations and the slowest pace since 2009. This could mean Trump’s trade war, plus a slowing domestic economy, are beginning to take their toll.
Kandahar postponed parliamentary elections. Afghanistan polls are set to place on Sunday amid a violent environment, with 10 candidates assassinated in the last two months. But the southern province of Kandahar announced it would delay the vote by a week after its police chief was killed by a bodyguard. The Taliban’s repeated warnings of attacks have led to the closure of over 2,000 polling stations.
The former Interpol chief’s wife is not sure he’s alive. Grace Meng told the BBC that she hasn’t heard anything from Meng Hongwei since Sept. 25, when the head of the international law enforcement agency was secretly detained in China. Beijing has since said Meng was arrested on bribery charges, but his wife told the BBC, “I think it is political persecution.”
Tesla unveiled a cheaper Model 3—but it’s still not the promised $35,000. CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the new car has a sticker price of $45,000 and that Tesla is taking orders. This cheaper variant goes 260 miles on one charge, with a top speed of 125 mph; a high-performance version of the sedan starts at $64,000.
Trump praised the Montana congressman who attacked a Guardian journalist. At a Thursday evening Montana rally, the president said anyone who can do a body slam is “my guy.” Greg Gianforte violently slammed political correspondent Ben Jacobs in May 2017 as Jacobs asked a question about health-care policy.
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
Selling US coal to Asia won’t save the industry. The cost of shipping it (paywall) to China is too high, and the coal is too low-quality.
Taylor Swift is smart not to let her shows sell out. The pop star made a lot more money by ensuring that only her real fans, not scalpers, were buying tickets.
The World Bank’s measure of poverty is flawed. Countries with strong economic growth often redistribute wealth unevenly, creating and reproducing poverty.
Surprising discoveries
European women glued tiny mouse pelts to their heads to create bushier eyebrows. Ungroomed eyebrows have been a radical act since the 18th century.
Japan’s cherry blossoms are confused. Recent typhoons have caused the famous trees to sprout flowers in the fall.
Adults ingest an average of 2,000 pieces of plastic in table salt each year. Salt from Asia has by far the most microplastics.
A Chinese company plans to build a fake moon to replace streetlights. Chengdu’s streets could be lit by a satellite eight times brighter than the real moon.
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, fake moons, and Taylor Swift tickets 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 Jill Petzinger and edited by Sarah Todd.