Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
A mile-wide asteroid with its own moon passes by Earth. Not to worry: The nameless, walnut-shaped rock is flying by at a safe distance of just over 3.2 million miles (more than 5.1 million kilometers), and it won’t get this close again until 2036.
Youth around the world strike, again, for climate action. The Fridays for Future movement, inspired by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, plans over 2,000 demonstrations in more than 200 countries on every continent.
Marriage equality goes into effect in Taiwan. About 200 same-sex couples will register to wed en masse in Taipei under the new law, passed May 17.
Voting continues in Europe. Following Britain and the Netherlands, EU citizens in other member states go to the polls to vote for parliament amid the rise of nationalism and populism across Europe and ongoing drama over Brexit and immigration. Results will be announced Sunday night.
While you were sleeping
Narendra Modi declared victory in a “saffron wave.” With a win that surpassed even his 2014 landslide, India’s prime minister and his party, BJP, were handed a clear, sweeping mandate to run the country in an election that saw over 67% of the electorate vote.
Botswana lifted its elephant hunting ban. The African nation, which has the biggest elephant population on the continent—130,000 strong—said a rise in human-elephant confrontations was behind the decision. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe reinstated the hunting of buffalo with bow and arrow to boost tourism.
Rex Tillerson accused Donald Trump of under-preparing for Putin talks. Testifying to the House Foreign Affairs committee, the former US secretary of state said (paywall) the president’s lack of preparation put the US on “unequal footing” with Russia at a 2017 summit in Germany. He also called Jared Kushner out for being vulnerable to manipulation by foreign powers because of his lack of historical knowledge.
The so-called “American Taliban” was released from US prison. John Walker Lindh, captured in 2001 and then convicted of providing support to the terrorist group in Afghanistan, was freed after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence.
Arrests were made in the deadly Indonesia riots. Jakarta administrators said members of the Islamic Reform Movement, or Garis, a radical terrorist group loyal to the Islamic State, were taken into custody along with hundreds of protesters. Officials also said the death toll has risen to eight, with 737 injured, at least 79 of them seriously.
Quartz Obsession
Man camps are the architectural equivalent of the gig economy. Boomtown shelter is as old as resource extraction, but today it’s big business as oil-field workers expect to live better than prospectors. Think cafeterias, gyms, and mini-cinemas in (almost) hotel-like accommodations.
Membership
As workplace models change and philosophies about work evolve, the terminology we use for describing success is quickly losing relevance. Today’s chapter on the world of new management looks at the factors reshaping the modern career arc. At Private Key, we look at why Tether, a crypto token once valued for its stability, is looking increasingly risky. Plus: Quartz’s Annalisa Merelli discusses India’s parliamentary elections.
Matters of debate
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African countries should screen visitors for measles immunization. Americans and Europeans should be subject to the same scrutiny African travelers were during the Ebola crisis.
White guys should stop mentoring white guys. Python’s creator says that’s one way to address bias in open-source communities.
We need two women’s restrooms for every men’s bathroom. Because urinals are more populous than stalls, women face unequal queues for the loo.
Surprising discoveries
The world’s biggest T-shirt cannon can fire 186 shirts in 15 seconds. This “weapon of mass distraction” is the latest innovation in an arms race sweeping sports arenas.
Many species of bamboo blossom only every 40 to 80 years. Which is a good thing, considering that after they flower, they die off en masse.
Tesla poached a UK museum’s social media manager because of a sheep meme. Elon Musk’s weird Twitter relationship with @theMERL paid off for one guy.
Evidence of a billion-year-old fungus turned up in the Canadian Arctic. The fossil is twice as old as the previous record holder.
Pop music is singing the blues. A Quartz analysis shows mentions of “depression” and “anxiety” have increased in pop and hip-hop songs, while use of the word “peace” has declined.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, torpedoing T-shirts, and bamboo blossoms 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 Jessanne Collins and Holly Ojalvo.