Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
The UN Security Council discusses Sudan’s coup. Protesters who forced out longtime president Omar al-Bashir refused to obey a military curfew, raising fears of violence between demonstrators, the army, and other security forces and militia.
China courts central and eastern Europe. The 16+1 summit in Croatia opening today is China’s attempt to bolster its influence in the region with development funds and other investments. Greece is set to join the grouping, with one of the major items on the agenda a Chinese-funded rail link connecting Athens and Budapest. On the same day, Malaysia will make a decision on whether to press ahead with a controversial China-backed rail project.
Australian officials visit Julian Assange. Consular staff will meet with the WikiLeaks founder, an Australian citizen, in a London jail today after he was forced from the Ecuadorian embassy. Canberra said Assange’s extradition was a matter between the UK and the US, but emphasized that it was “completely opposed” to the death penalty amid concerns over his fate if he is sent to the US.
Finland’s opposition Social Democrats make their bid for power. They’re currently leading prime minister Juha Sipila’s Center Party in polls, though some of the country’s many small parties may ultimately decide the outcome in Sunday’s election (paywall).
Game of Thrones begins its farewell. The show’s eighth and final season airs on Sunday. Quartz’s Bot Studio created a Game of Thrones recap chatbot to walk you through what happened in the previous seven seasons—and to help you think through your dream ending for the show.
While you were sleeping
Uber filed a prospectus for a $100 billion IPO. The filing makes clear the massive losses the ride-hailing giant accumulated on the road to such a lofty valuation, with details previously shared only with private investors and a small circle of media. From 2014 through 2018, the five years for which Uber reported financial data, the company lost $6.8 billion.
Donald Trump considered a radical plan to get back at his opponents. The White House had on multiple occasions pressured immigration officials to release detained immigrants (paywall) onto the streets of “sanctuary cities” such as San Francisco to retaliate against Democrats. The proposal was rejected.
The Dalai Lama was discharged from hospital. The Tibetan spiritual leader, who was admitted earlier in the week to a hospital in New Delhi for a chest infection, said he felt “almost normal.”
Chicago sued Jussie Smollett. The city is taking the Empire actor to court to recoup losses for the money spent investigating the racist and homophobic attack that police say Smollett had orchestrated against himself. In a surprise move, prosecutors last month decided to drop all charges against Smollett.
An Israeli spacecraft crash-landed on the moon. The privately funded Beresheet lander suffered an apparent engine failure while attempting a soft landing. The $100 million mission, launched more than a month ago on a SpaceX rocket, planned to take photos and scientific readings and broadcast them back to Earth.
Quartz Obsession
Drones are hard at work—even if they won’t bring you pizza. Alphabet is conducting a high-profile consumer delivery trial in Australia, but drones are far more active behind the scenes: inspecting buildings, herding animals, planting trees, and looking for dinosaur bones. In Rwanda, they carry 20% of blood outside the capital. Hover over to the Quartz Obsession.
Membership
Our week-long investigation of the tech IPO boom continues: today, we consider how venture-backed consumer companies have created a few winners and lots of losers and why Zoom may be the true unicorn—a profitable tech startup. Meanwhile, Private Key ponders the implications of China’s proposal to ban bitcoin mining.
Matters of debate
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Hitting climate goals won’t be as costly as we feared. An investment fund with more than a trillion dollars under management says it may only cost 0.5% of global GDP.
The European Union allowed the destruction of Hungary’s democracy. It failed to act when signs of the country’s turn to nationalism and authoritarianism became apparent years ago.
People are more willing to put up with wage cuts than we think. New research runs contrary to the Keynesian tenet that wage rigidity is why unemployment remains so high during a recession.
Surprising discoveries
Chinese consumers fell victim to a literal pyramid scheme. Two companies are under investigation for selling pyramid-shaped products purporting to have “healing” and “energy-absorbing” properties.
Cuba is turning to unusual animals to tackle food shortages. Officials are touting the benefits of eating ostrich and hutia, a native rodent, as the country is forced to cut back on food imports.
Switzerland thinks coffee is not essential to life. The government won’t stockpile java anymore because it lacks nutritional value.
Eating offal can help beef lovers fight climate change. Research shows that emissions from the overall meat industry would tumble if diners ditched the usual cuts of beef.
“Old Town Road” is making country music history. The controversial tune is the first of its genre in 30 years to top the Billboard Hot 100.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, cow stomachs, and edible rodents to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Isabella Steger and edited by Tripti Lahiri.