Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
The UN approved a resolution on a global response to Covid-19. It was passed unanimously by the body’s 193 members, who called for “intensified international cooperation to contain, mitigate and defeat” the pandemic.
China observes a day of mourning. The country will mark three minutes of silence tomorrow in a day of national mourning to honor “martyrs” who have died from the coronavirus, including Li Wenliang, the doctor who first raised the alarm about the deadly disease, and who was silenced.
Narendra Modi called for a nationwide candlelight vigil on Sunday. India’s prime minister asked citizens to gather around lit candles for nine minutes to “march against the darkness towards the light.”
New Zealand unveiled new measures to help companies. Among other measures, temporary updates to the Companies Act will allow firms to put existing debts into hibernation until business returns to normal, and gives directors facing significant liquidity problems a “safe harbor” from insolvency.
The US publishes employment figures… Almost 10 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits over the past two weeks, and the release of official figures today will be the first since the government ordered the mass shutdown of businesses. Separately, president Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to help companies produce ventilators, and his administration is finalizing guidance on the broader use of face masks.
…and fired a Navy captain who asked for coronavirus help on his ship. Brett Crozier of the USS Theodore Roosevelt was punished for his “extremely poor judgment” after he wrote an urgent letter to superiors calling for “decisive action” to prevent deaths as Covid-19 spread among his crew.
Oil rallied on hopes for a better future. Crude made its biggest-ever one-day percentage price increase after Trump claimed that Russia and Saudi Arabia would make output cuts. The Kremlin responded swiftly, saying that they had not yet talked with the Saudis—who later called for an emergency OPEC meeting. Meanwhile, CEOs of at least seven major energy companies will meet Trump today to discuss energy policy.
Quartz investigates
Influencers wanted. Have you been asked to promote questionable coronavirus claims? Quartz is investigating efforts to spread misinformation or confusion about coronavirus through social media influencers (big and small), and we need your help.
Subscribe to Quartz’s free newsletter on Covid-19 and learn how the pandemic is affecting the health of the global economy.
Quartz membership
The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping education… With 1.5 billion students out of school and hundreds of millions attempting to learn solely online, the biggest educational technology experiment in history is reshaping schools, the idea of education, and what learning looks like in the 21st century.
…and leaving an indelible mark on our workplaces. What downstream effects will this crisis have on corporate culture, or creativity, or personal wellbeing? Quartz talked to CEOs, consultants, and other workforce authorities about what we stand to gain and lose from the changes wrought by the coronavirus crisis—and what’s impossible to predict.
Quartz daily obsession
From hiccup to chain reaction to total collapse. Cascading failure is not a new phenomenon, but it’s a relatively recent term, and the complexity of modern life has multiplied its real-life scenarios in the fields of technology, biology, and finance. The easiest way to think about cascading failure is as a line of tumbling dominoes—or the plot of Jurassic Park, a blockbuster about how the smallest of errors can lead to total catastrophe. The Quartz Daily Obsession will sort it all out.
Matter of debate
Policing in the time of coronavirus is a delicate act. The restrictive measures put in place to confront the pandemic have given the state an unusual amount of power over our lives for the common and individual good. But while public consent is still high, policing will inevitably become more demanding. As we’ve already seen in Hong Kong and elsewhere, police can enforce vague public health rules arbitrarily—and even use them to clamp down on dissent.
Surprising discoveries
Mice have a range of facial expressions. Researchers found six basic mouse emotions: disgust, pleasure, pain, fear, sickness, and flight.
An automated tool finds thousands of unlocked Zoom meeting IDs a day. Called zWarDial, the program developed by security researchers reveals how hackers may have exploited the service’s vulnerabilities.
Earth is moving less, thanks to coronavirus. Researchers say there is less observable seismic noise or vibrations caused by human activity.
Marie Kondo has tips for life under lockdown. The minimalism guru is using her experience of being stuck at home during the 2011 earthquake in Japan.
Scientists found evidence of forests in Antarctica. Seabed samples that are 90 million years old show signs of forest soil, pollen, root systems, and spores.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, mousey expressions, and unlocked Zoom meetings 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 written by Mary Hui and edited by Isabella Steger.