Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UN Human Rights Council opens its main annual session. NGOs want the council to adopt a resolution establishing a fact-finding mission to China’s mass detention camps holding members of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang. Beijing has lobbied hard to thwart scrutiny at the session.
Mike Pence meets Juan Guaido in Bogota. The US vice president is signaling his support for Venezuela’s opposition leader, whom he will meet for the first time on the sidelines of a meeting of regional leaders before giving a speech. US officials said he will announce “clear steps” to address the Venezuela crisis.
US officials and the Taliban meet in Qatar. The two sides will focus on details of a framework agreed to last month, involving a US troop withdrawal in exchange for (paywall) a guarantee that terrorists will never use Afghan territory. Excluded from the talks: the Afghan government.
Over the weekend
Trump raised hopes of a US-China trade deal. On Sunday the US president described talks that had been extended over the weekend as “very productive.” The two sides are trying to iron out differences on China’s treatment of state-owned enterprises, forced technology transfers, and other matters.
Venezuelan troops blocked foreign aid. Forces loyal to president Nicolas Maduro violently drove back (paywall) aid convoys trying to enter from Colombia, resulting in four deaths and hundreds of injuries. Brazil described it as as a criminal act and urged allies to join a “liberation effort.”
HMD Global launched new Nokia phones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Most notable was a Nokia 9 PureView featuring an array of five camera lenses. The Finnish company, which owns the Nokia brand, also presented simpler models designed with emerging markets in mind.
India intensified its crackdown in Kashmir. Authorities rushed about 10,000 additional paramilitary soldiers to the area, and security forces killed three militants, and lost two of their own, in a gunfight in the Kulgam district. On Feb. 14, a suicide attack killed 42 Indian soldiers.
Pope Francis called for “an all-out battle against the abuse of minors.” The pope spoke after a four-day Vatican meeting (paywall) on clerical sexual abuse, but did not offer any new efforts (paywall) to hold priests who abuse children accountable.
Quartz Obsession
The candle industry’s future is bright. It’s grown by a third in the past couple years, driven by wellness (Goop offers one that invokes “centuries-old floorboards in a mountain chapel somewhere in Yugoslavia”) and luxury (like Gucci’s $790 Esotericum feline-head candle). But the dominant player is the omnipresent Yankee Candle Company, which has nearly half of the US market. Follow the scent at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Work is the new religion. The rich and educated are looking to their jobs for identity, transcendence, and community. It’s not going so well.
Late bloomers are happier and more successful. Early failures are great practice for building resilience and reframing obstacles as opportunities.
Individual investors aren’t “dumb money.” New research shows they make better decisions than Wall Street acknowledges.
Surprising discoveries
Algae could play a key role in getting humans to Mars. The green slime has enormous potential for long-term space travel, including uses in waste removal, radiation shielding, fuel, and food.
The trauma caused by distance from nature has a name. It’s called “psychoterratica.”
An Oscar campaign costs between $3 million and $5 million. That’s according to the Wall Street Journal, which asks whether the time and money that movie studios spend promoting their films for the prestigious award is actually worth it.
Only you (but also goats) can prevent forest fires. A California town is crowdsourcing funds to rent goats that eat flammable plants (along with about everything else). It’s calling the campaign “Goat Fund Me.”
Indonesia has the least volatile economy of the 21st century. Its GDP per capita grew between 3% and 5% every year from 2002 to 2017.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, late bloomers, and goats for rent to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Steve Mollman and Sarah Kessler.