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What to watch for today and over the weekend
Donald Tusk gives a Brexit briefing. The European Council president is scheduled to provide an update today on any new council developments regarding Brexit, after talks yesterday to determine his successor failed.
Spain’s Supreme Court will rule on the “wolf pack” sexual assault case. Both sides appealed after a court last year found five men—who called themselves the “wolf pack”—not guilty of gang-raping a teenage girl at a bull-running festival. The men, who recorded the incident, were sentenced to nine years on sexual abuse charges.
The summer’s longest day is here. The 88% of the world’s people who live in the Northern Hemisphere will also experience the year’s shortest night.
India hosts a mass yoga class. Schools and foreign embassies are set to participate in a public celebration of the practice for the International Day of Yoga. The day has been heavily promoted by prime minister Narendra Modi as a way to project India’s “soft power.”
Istanbul will choose a mayor for the second time. Election observers will be on hand as Turkey’s largest city, and its commercial hub, heads to the polls. The country’s election commission canceled the victory of the opposition candidate in March.
While you were sleeping
Hong Kong protesters renewed their efforts. After chief executive Carrie Lam failed to withdraw the controversial China extradition bill by the protesters’ stated deadline yesterday, people heeded calls for further rallies and again occupied the main road outside of government offices.
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are the last men standing in the British PM bakeoff. By the fifth and final round of voting among Tory MPs the remaining contender, Michael Gove, was knocked out so narrowly that Johnson’s team was accused of a tactical ploy. The two will now campaign for the votes of 160,000 Tory members—Johnson is favored to win.
Slack soared in its stock market debut. The workplace communication platform saw shares reach $42 in early trading, for a $21 billion valuation. The move to go public with a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO is a first for a Silicon Valley darling, and may open the floodgates for more companies to pursue the route.
Donald Trump considered airstrikes on Iran… The US president initially approved retaliatory strikes (paywall) against Iran, but then pulled back. In response to the heightened tensions, the Federal Aviation Authority banned US airlines from flying over some Iranian airspace.
…While the Senate voted to block his plan to sell arms without approval. The move is a bipartisan rebuke to the administration’s attempt to sell $8 billion in munitions to Saudi Arabia and the UAE by declaring an emergency over tensions with Iran. The House is also expected to vote to block the sales; Trump has said he’ll veto the legislation.
Riot police clashed with protesters in Georgia. Thousands gathered in the capital calling for the government to resign over concerns of Russian influence, and unrest broke out when demonstrators tried to storm the parliament building. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons.
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Matters of debate
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You can make the most of your inevitable professional decline. Instead of dreading it, reset the way you define your worth.
The deep sea is more important than deep space. We need more stories and movies about the ocean to inspire us to take better care of it.
Smart homes remain frustratingly dumb. The convoluted processes involved make getting up to turn off a light yourself seem much more convenient.
Surprising discoveries
The trade war could drive up Bible prices. China is the world’s largest publisher of the holy Christian text.
Ho Chi Minh’s corpse is getting some work done. Vietnam has called in an international team of experts to help preserve the embalmed body of its founding leader.
The location and date of Tbilisi’s first pride parade is a closely guarded secret. The last time LGBTQ activists held a demonstration in Georgia six years ago, priests and conservatives attacked them.
Most of the 9 million US dairy cows descend from just two bulls. The gene pool of Holsteins is so narrow that if they were wild they’d be critically endangered.
The proof is in the raw sewage. A federally funded study of waste confirmed that cannabis use increased in Washington state after legalization.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, embalming fluid, and cow genes 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 Tripti Lahiri and Mary Hui, and edited by Isabella Steger.