Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Hong Kong holds hands. On the 12th weekend of protests in the territory, demonstrators will create a 40 km (25 miles) human chain to keep attention on their fight to protect the city’s freedoms. It’s inspired by the Baltic Way, which saw 2 million people in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania join hands in 1989 to denounce Soviet rule.
Jay Powell addresses Jackson Hole. At the annual gathering of bankers and economists, the Fed chief, who faces divisions within the Federal Reserve as well as constant criticism from the US president, will seek to reassure markets that the central bank stands ready to cut rates to prevent a recession.
Narendra Modi is on the move. India’s prime minister arrives in the United Arab Emirates tonight to discuss “areas of mutual interest” with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before becoming the first Indian leader to visit Bahrain.
The G7 summit kicks off. World leaders gather from tomorrow for a long weekend in Biarritz, France, for what are expected to be tense talks on the future of multilateralism (paywall). French president Emmanuel Macron has said the meeting would most likely conclude without any sort of agreement for the first time in the group’s history. US president Donald Trump will breakfast with British prime minister Boris Johnson and chat trade with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on the sidelines.
While you were sleeping
Canada’s Hong Kong consulate suspended local staff travel to the mainland. The decision came after a staffer at Britain’s Hong Kong consulate was detained in Shenzhen earlier this month. China’s foreign ministry confirmed the detention this week, using the occasion to criticize Britain’s remarks supporting the rights of Hong Kong’s protesters.
The EU prepared to go up against Trump and tech. Politico reported that European officials have a 173-page plan to combat the US president’s trade actions as well as technology giants like Amazon, Google, and Facebook. The European Commission president-elect is allegedly under pressure to create a $100 billion fund to get European tech companies up to speed.
Walmart and Tesla appeared to patch up. In a joint statement, the two companies said they were trying to resolve all the issues around solar panels on rooftops of Walmart stores, and “re-energize” the effort, two days after the retailer sued the electric carmaker over fires at several of the installations.
Deutsche Bank got a slap on the wrist in an SEC corruption probe. Germany’s largest lender agreed to pay $16 million to settle allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it had hired “poorly qualified” relatives of officials in Russia and Asia to win business. The firm didn’t admit or deny the charges.
Turkey lost its Patriot missile deal. The US refused to sell the missile system after Turkey nabbed a Russian S-400 setup. The squashed $3.5 billion deal is the latest in a growing list of retaliatory measures wielded by the US against Turkey.
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Purdue Pharma has received heaps of criticism for the role it played in the US opioid epidemic. After a year-long investigation, Quartz found that Mundipharma—an international network of companies also owned by the Sackler family—is using similar deceptive marketing to sell opioids overseas. Members are invited to view our exclusive 40-minute documentary on what we found when we looked into how exactly legal drugs are sold.
Quartz Obsession
Time to pick a side in #JollofWars. Every West African country has its own approach to jollof rice, a hearty staple with a tomato base that’s the ancestor of jambalaya and gumbo, and whose is the best is an ongoing social media debate (hint: It’s not Jamie Oliver’s!). Now it’s hitting the menu in upscale US and UK restaurants, and KFC is hoping jollof will help it win over Nigerians. Things are getting spicy at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Join the conversation on the Quartz app!
The US should issue a 100-year bond. America has the rare opportunity to lock-in ultra-low rates for a century, and it’s time to go long.
Tech addiction is ruining the workforce of the future. The good news is that Gen Z knows it should unplug, but it’s everyone else’s job to help them.
India’s lunar mission is bigger than patriotism. The space industry is growing and countries are investing today to win earthly rewards tomorrow.
Surprising discoveries
The Apple Card bruises easily. The company says that leather, denim, and even other credit cards can damage the piece of etched titanium.
The world’s longest flight might be too long. Qantas is doing test runs for its new 20-hour direct flights to see how the human body holds up.
Lightning megaflashes get a closer look. New weather satellites are revealing record-breaking lightning strikes that stretch up to 418 miles (672 km) long.
Philly’s male Tinder users include union affiliation in their profiles. It’s a difficult achievement they’re proud of—and might signal they’ll be a good provider.
There’s a battle to own the word “the.” Marc Jacobs and Ohio State University have both filed applications to trademark the everyday word.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, “the” trademarks, and hardy cards to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Tripti Lahiri and Mary Hui.