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What to watch for today
The kilogram is redefined. To mark World Metrology Day, the kilogram will be anchored to the Planck constant, a fundamental force in nature that can never, ever change.
France’s euthanasia debate reaches a climax. Doctors today are set to stop life support for Vincent Lambert, who has been in a vegetative state since 2008. A 2015 ruling from Europe’s top court allowed Lambert to be taken off life support, though his parents will file new appeals today. Lambert’s wife supports the decision to cease treatment.
Ukraine’s comedian president is sworn in. Volodymyr Zelensky will formally become the country’s new president in an inauguration ceremony after a landslide victory in last month’s election against incumbent Petro Poroshenko.
Jacob Zuma returns to court in South Africa. The former president’s defense team will try to stop the proceedings and dismiss all charges of corruption against him. The state prosecutor will argue for a criminal trial. The case has been plagued by postponements, but this week may see real progress.
Ryanair releases full-year results. The low-cost airline has faced a number of challenges, among them rising fuel prices and Brexit uncertainty hurting UK consumer demand. What’s more, it has a large order of Boeing 737 Max 8s, the airplane still grounded following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
Over the weekend
Google revoked Huawei’s Android license. Google cut off Huawei access to Android updates following an announcement last week by the White House to blacklist the company. The move could hit Huawei’s ability to run the phone operating system. US chipmakers including Intel and Qualcomm have also frozen vital supplies to Huawei (paywall).
Japan unexpectedly posted GDP growth. The economy grew 2.1% in the first quarter, beating expectations of a 0.2% contraction. However, the good news was overshadowed by the fact that acceleration was largely driven by imports declining faster than exports, likely reflecting weak domestic spending.
Australians re-elected Scott Morrison as prime minister. In a surprise, the leader of the conservative Liberal Party came out victorious, despite polls suggesting defeat. The contest had been dubbed the “climate election,” with Morrison unabashedly siding with Big Coal.
Switzerland voted in favor of tighter gun-control laws. Though the country has a long tradition of gun ownership, voters overwhelmingly agreed to the new rules, which comply with changes in European Union regulations. Not doing so could have jeopardized the nation’s status as part of the open-border Schengen area.
Austria’s vice chancellor stepped down amid a corruption scandal. Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, was caught on video apparently agreeing to award public contracts to a Russian investor in exchange for favorable media coverage. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, seeing his coalition government collapse, called for a snap election.
Exit polls pointed to a victory for Narendra Modi. With voting in the world’s largest election wrapping up yesterday, exit polls suggest that India’s prime minister, who appealed to his Hindu nationalist base, will likely remain in power and gain an even larger majority in parliament. Official results will be announced on Thursday.
Quartz Obsession
Hilarity maker or faker? Canned laughter has been derided by high-minded critics as phony, vulgar, and an affront to the intelligence of viewers everywhere. Even though they’re considered unsophisticated, laugh tracks have a higher purpose—we enjoy laughing with others far more than laughing alone. Get in some giggles with the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Eating healthy is too much work. It increasingly feels like more trouble than it’s worth.
Work-life balance shouldn’t be tied to parenting. It implies a need to justify our right to prioritize a life outside of work.
Compassionate conservation is fatally flawed. The idea that you cannot kill any animal needs to be dismissed.
Surprising discoveries
Milkshakes have replaced eggs as the UK’s protest weapon of choice. Edinburgh police asked McDonald’s to stop selling the beverage ahead of a rally for right-wing leader Nigel Farage.
An Icelandic canyon shut down after a Justin Bieber-inspired tourist surge. The music video for his song “I’ll Show You” was shot at Fjadrárgljúfur Canyon, leading to an overwhelming number of visitors.
A billionaire will pay off all the student debt of nearly 400 graduating seniors. Robert F. Smith made the announcement at Atlanta’s historically black Morehouse College, where he gave the commencement speech.
Ultra-processed foods make you eat more. In a study, subjects on a minimally-processed diet took in significantly fewer calories and lost nearly a kilogram in two weeks.
There’s now a facial recognition app for pandas. It will boost conservationist efforts in China, where fewer than 2,000 giant pandas remain in the wild.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, milkshakes, and panda faces 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 Mary Hui and edited by Isabella Steger.