Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UN Security Council may discuss US missiles. Russia and China have requested a meeting today after the US tested cruise missiles that would have been banned under the recently terminated Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Rohingyas return home. Bangladesh and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees are working together to determine how to proceed after Myanmar agreed to allow 3,450 people (from a list of 22,000) to repatriate today.
Salesforce and Gap report earnings. Analysts will be looking for any revenue growth Salesforce was able to achieve after acquiring Tableau and ClickSoftware for $15.7 billion and $1.35 billion, respectively, in the last quarter. Gap shares surged 4% in anticipation of today’s earnings report, one of the last before it spins off its lower-end Old Navy brand sometime in 2020.
While you were sleeping
India’s former finance minister was arrested. In a dramatic series of events, P. Chidambaram was taken in by the Central Bureau of Investigation over connections to a Rs305 crore ($42.8 million) corruption and money laundering case.
US negotiators arrived for Taliban peace talks. Washington’s special envoy landed in Qatar to discuss removal of US forces in exchange for a Taliban agreement not to support international terrorism.
China asks US to “meet us halfway” on trade talks. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the comments hours after US president Donald Trump cast doubt on the prospects of next month’s round of meetings. Meanwhile, the US Treasury designated three Chinese men as “significant foreign narcotics traffickers” in an attempt to shut down imports of fentanyl.
Nepal banned single-use plastics around Mount Everest. The ban comes after authorities recently cleared 11 metric tons of plastic waste from the world’s highest peak. It will take effect in January of 2020.
It’s gonna be forever or it’s gonna go down in flames. Taylor Swift says she plans to re-record her old songs after losing financial control of her masters in a $300 million deal with record label Big Machine and music industry heavyweight Scooter Braun. Other artists have done so, but never with material so recently made.
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Quartz Obsession
Tramadol is the opioid crisis you might not have heard of. While oxycodone and fentanyl get headlines in the West, tramadol use is surging in West Africa and parts of the Middle East. Despite being much less potent, it’s still addictive. Time to crack down? Not so fast—in many countries, it’s the only widely available and affordable form of pain relief for patients. Go beyond the headlines with today’s Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Are we talking about practice? The “10,000-hour rule” produces as many mediocre talents as it does experts.
Governments should just print more money. They could kick-start stalled economies, so long as they stop at the first sign of inflation.
Spider-Man’s going to be just fine. Don’t forget—Sony produced the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse without any help from Disney.
Surprising discoveries
SONG TITLES ALL LOOK LIKE THIS NOW. unless they look like this. And it’s a trend that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
China has its own Burning Man. A five-day festival in the Gobi Desert celebrated art and music, but was beset by heat, cold, rain, and sandstorms.
A septuagenarian won a thousand-kilometer horse race. Mongol Derby champion Bob Long said being prepared gave him the edge he needed.
Hong Kong protest tattoos abound. From umbrellas to bleeding eyes, activists are getting permanent reminders inked onto their skin.
A black hole devoured a neutron star. For the first time, scientists have detected gravitational waves that may have originated from one such collision.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, SONG TITLES, and tired horses 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 Susan Howson and Max Lockie.