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What to watch for today and over the weekend
UK politics realigns after a big victory for Boris Johnson. With nearly all votes counted, the prime minister’s Conservative party is set for a huge majority, its largest since Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 landslide. The Labour party now begins a period of soul-searching after its worst election result since the 1930s, with Jeremy Corbyn stepping down as party leader. The Scottish National Party won 48 out of 59 seats north of the border, strengthening the possibility of a referendum on independence from the UK.
Meanwhile, in Brussels… EU leaders meet for the second day of a summit that will be dominated by Brexit. Following his election victory, Johnson reiterated his promise to take the UK out of the EU by the end of January, and now has the parliamentary backing to do it. A draft text from the EU side calls for the “timely ratification and effective implementation” of a divorce deal, which will lay the groundwork for a trade agreement between the UK and EU.
Trump unveils a US-China trade deal. Or not. Yesterday, the US president reportedly signed off on a “phase one” agreement to reduce tariffs in return for Beijing purchasing US farm goods. A formal announcement of the agreement could come today—but nothing is certain in the stop-start trade talks—with new US tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese goods due to take effect on Sunday.
The House judiciary committee holds a historic vote on impeachment. After a marathon 14-hour debate was abruptly adjourned last night, lawmakers reconvene for the final vote to send the articles of impeachment against president Trump to the House floor next week.
A money-losing, SoftBank-backed company goes public. OneConnect, the financial technology arm of China’s Ping An insurance group, begins trading in New York. The company sold shares at half the valuation it achieved in a funding round last year, another hit to SoftBank’s faltering investment portfolio.
While you were sleeping
Markets jumped on Brexit news. European stocks rose to near record highs after the UK election results came in, with uncertainty removed over the course of Brexit, at least in the short term. The pound recorded a particularly big jump against the dollar, reaching its highest level in more than a year.
Qantas chose Airbus over Boeing for extreme long-haul flights. The Australian carrier will buy up to 12 planes fitted with an extra fuel tank for 20-hour flights, like proposed non-stop services between Sydney and both London and New York.
The EU left Poland out of its climate deal. A summit to lay out a €100 billion ($110 billion) investment plan for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 managed to win over the Czech Republic and Hungary, but Warsaw resisted.
New Zealand divers failed to find the last two bodies. After six bodies were retrieved in a risky rescue operation, police sent a team to locate the remaining bodies near the White Island volcano, which erupted on Monday. Navy and police divers will try again tomorrow.
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Stripe is the fintech world’s $35 billion gorilla. The San Francisco-based company’s software has become the payment plumbing for e-commerce giants like Amazon, as well as tiny startups in more than 120 countries. As it tries to rewire the internet’s attention economy, Quartz’s John Detrixhe spoke with Matt Henderson, Stripe’s Dublin-based lead for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as part of our “Beyond the fintech hype” field guide.
Quartz obsession
Espionage, but make it adorable. Whether they admit it or not, intelligence agencies around the world use animals to snoop on each other. Yes—even in an age of microscopic cameras, satellites, and drones—dogs, dolphins, pigeons, and the occasional spy squirrel still have abilities that we have yet to improve upon, like echolocation and highly developed senses of smell. The Quartz Obsession goes deep undercover into the world of animal spies.
Matters of debate
Impeachment needs public buy-in. It’s a political, not criminal, process, as South Korea showed.
Marie Kondo’s tidiness tips continue to spark joy. And some decluttering efforts, as specified by the Japanese organizing consultant.
Handbags are for everyone. 1999 wasn’t ready for Friends’ Joey Tribbiani’s boundary-pushing fashion choice, but 2019 has finally caught up.
Surprising discoveries
Greta Thunberg has a particular way of talking about climate change. It’s called staying on topic.
Internet shutdowns are becoming second-nature to the world’s largest democracy. It’s not just Kashmir, India did it in Assam, too.
Roman ear cleaners look like modern-day cotton buds. A roughly 2,000-year-old metal tool was unearthed in England.
Humans were responsible for the Carolina parakeet’s extinction. A genetic study of the US’s only native parrot confirmed it.
Mars has water an inch below its surface. A newly released ice map could steer future missions to get humans on the red planet.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, tidiness tips, and Martian spring water to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android, and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Rashmee Roshan Lall and Jason Karaian.