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The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed. After facing calls from countries including the United States and Australia, the International Olympic Committee and Japan agreed to push the global games scheduled for July 24 to sometime before the end of summer 2021—but they will keep the Tokyo 2020 monicker.
India announced a nationwide lockdown. Prime minister Narendra Modi declared a 21-day lockdown with only essential services operating on Tuesday evening. The decision raised the global total of individuals under some form of coronavirus restrictions to 2.6 billion.
Coronavirus could be rising again in Asia. After Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan got a handle on their local coronavirus outbreaks, a second wave of infections—mostly due to travelers arriving from abroad—has begun to show up in the data, so restrictive containment measures are sticking around.
The US reached 50,000 confirmed cases… The World Health Organization warned that the US could become the next global epicenter of the pandemic. Yet president Donald Trump said he wants to see the economy “opened up and raring to go by Easter,” against advice by health officials and Bill Gates. He also spoke with South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in, who reportedly offered much-needed medical supplies to the US.
…and the stock market rallied anyway. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 11% in its best day since 1933 as lawmakers neared a “phase three” spending package that would grant relief to businesses, the uninsured, and hospitals.
Italy’s outbreak continued to expand. The country saw more than 700 deaths in 24 hours, betraying earlier optimism from a multiday downward curve in the country’s death rate. Italy’s lockdown also became more restrictive with thousands forced to pay fines for breaking quarantine measures.
Masayoshi Son toyed with taking SoftBank private. According to a report in the Financial Times, the Japanese tech conglomerate cum venture capital goliath met with the hedge fund Elliott Management and the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala to explore de-listing the company. Instead, CEO Son has doubled down, raising his stake in the company to 26.9% from 25.5%.
South Korea’s latest digital sexual abuse scandal originated on Telegram. Police identified dozens of victims of sexual abuse in an online operation uncovered by journalists and researchers. Millions in South Korea have signed petitions for suspects to be publicly revealed.
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Stepping up by stepping down. By the time many startup founders realize the importance of sound management, it’s often too late. This week, we explore why founders don’t typically make the best CEOs.
Italy is now key to China’s coronavirus misinformation campaign. China’s attempts to dissociate itself from the origins of the coronavirus outbreak got an apparent boost thanks to an interview given by an Italian doctor to American media.
Quartz daily obsession
Sitting in silence has been hot for at least a couple of millennia. Meditation retreats designed for visitors to sit, walk, eat, and work in silence for days on end are attracting not only celebrities, but Silicon Valley acolytes and other “performance optimizers” who aim to “defrag [their] hard-drive” or “hack the deepest layer of the mind and reprogram it.” Shhh…it’s the Quartz Daily Obsession.
Matter of debate
Lockdowns might not be successful in India. The World Health Organization says that “the future of this pandemic” depends on how India handles the crisis. That’s cause for concern. Despite prime minister Modi’s announcement of a nationwide lockdown on Tuesday, India is not an “organized society,” one of India’s foremost epidemiologists explained to Quartz. Instead of isolation, Dr. Jayaprakash Muliyil is proposing a response built upon community participation. The economy depends on it.
Surprising discoveries
Women outlive men across species. The difference across a range of mammals adds up to nearly 20% longer lives for females.
It’s surprisingly easy to make your own bread starter. With shoppers around the world facing empty shelves, it’s a better time than ever to learn how to fend for yourself.
A creamery in Oregon is making vodka from milk… Fermenting leftover whey produces a clear liquor that the business has dubbed “Cowcohol.”
…while Brooklyn craft distilleries are producing artisanal hand sanitizer. They come in beautiful glass bottles.
Loss of taste and smell could be Covid-19 symptoms. Medical researchers are looking into the apparent phenomenon of “anosmia.”
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