Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
The FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup tips off. The US team is once again tournament favorite, and host country China goes into the competition ranked 30th worldwide. Heads of state including Chinese president Xi Jinping and Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte are expected to attend this weekend’s opening ceremonies in Beijing.
Eurovision reveals its 2020 host city. After winning last year’s competition, the Netherlands is on the hook for next year’s fiercely competitive and wildly popular singing extravaganza. The final choice between Maastricht or Rotterdam will be revealed later today.
India announces its latest GDP numbers. Most economists are expecting the April-June growth rate to come in at no more than 5.7%, the slowest rate in at least five years. Experts are pointing to sluggish demand in the auto sector and trade war tensions for the slowdown.
The world observes the International Day of the Disappeared. Spurred by conflicts in the Balkans and Latin America, the day has come to be recognized by groups like Amnesty International, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Red Cross/Red Crescent.
While you were sleeping
Apple sent invites for its next iPhone event. The company will hold its annual September hardware product launch event on Sept. 10 at its Cupertino, California headquarters. The invitation itself may hold clues about the color schemes available for the update to Apple’s lower-end iPhone XR.
India built a list of companies to lure from China. In an attempt to capitalize on the trade war, the government is preparing a package of incentives to bring high-tech manufacturing business from companies including Apple, Wistron, Pegatron, and Foxconn to Indian shores, according to Reuters’ sources.
Germany eased citizenship rules for descendants of Nazi victims. The move comes after the urging of a British group, many of whom have had their applications rejected following the 2016 Brexit vote.
Israel used fake soldiers as decoys. The military has allegedly planted the dummies on the Lebanese border as it waits for Iran-backed Hezbollah to make good on threats of retaliation after Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Syria.
Trump promised an ongoing military presence in Afghanistan. Even if the US reaches an agreement with the Taliban to end the 18-year war, the president says troops—decreased to 8,600—will stay.
Quartz Membership
To celebrate our field guide on China’s Africa project, take 50% off your first year of membership by using code QUARTZAFRICA at checkout.
The growth of Chinese investment in Africa over the past two decades has been unprecedented and unparalleled, but China still isn’t the leading foreign investor in Africa. What makes China’s presence different from that of the rest of the world, is that it’s physical, and thus, visible. See for yourself how much optics matter when you’re trying to make your presence known on another continent.
Quartz Obsession
The English Channel is a boundary that mankind can’t stop pushing. Franky Zapata just crossed it on a hoverboard, but it’s also been crossed via hot air balloons, a hovercraft, an electric plane, a carbon-fiber wingsuit, a pedal-powered plane, and good old arms and legs. But the hardest way to cross might be by car, if Brexit throws the crucial economic link into chaos. Take a journey at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Join the conversation on the Quartz app!
Watch what you say about China. Employees at companies that do business there could lose their jobs if they support the wrong cause.
Mini-shampoos aren’t ruining the environment. Swearing off miniature toiletries may be good PR, but investing in carbon-reducing technologies would go a lot farther.
Spend some time with your work elders. Intergenerational outside-of-work hangouts can provide valuable professional and personal insight.
Surprising discoveries
One single gene isn’t responsible for sexuality. Broad efforts to find genetic links indicating inherited homosexual behavior have been inconclusive.
A medicinal mixup gave babies “Werewolf Syndrome.” Hair-loss drugs were mislabeled as gastric reflex drugs, and 17 babies sprouted hair all over.
Male cosmonauts had a pre-launch pee ritual. Newly designed Russian space suits will make urinating on a bus tire difficult to pull off.
Cadbury attempted chocolate diplomacy. A bar that combines four different types of chocolate is meant to celebrate diversity in India.
Baby Borises are on the rise. As UK politician and current prime minister Boris Johnson’s career progresses, so do his namesakes.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, travel-sized toiletries, and chocolates of all kinds 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 Susan Howson and Max Lockie.