🌏 A bittersweet deal

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

The COP27 deal delivered a loss and damage fund, but fell short of reducing emissions. The historic win for climate finance was overshadowed by the failure to make progress on phasing out fossil fuels.

China recorded its first covid death in almost 6 months. The announcement comes as cases rise across the country, prompting authorities to urge people to stay indoors.

Indonesia’s edtech startup Ruannguru laid off hundreds of employees. The Tiger Global-backed startup is the latest tech firm in the country to announce job cuts.

India’s Skyroot launched the country’s first privately built rocket into space. The rocket Vikram S placed three satellites into orbit.

Eighty-eight countries voted to crack down on shark finning. A new deal increases the number of shark species under protection, delivering a blow to the multi-million dollar industry. 

Malaysia’s election delivered the country’s first-ever hung parliament. Party leaders are now scrambling to assemble a majority coalition.

Kim Jong Un introduced his daughter to the world. North Korea’s secretive leader was pictured at a recent missile launch holding hands with the fourth-generation member of the country’s ruling family.

What to watch for

Twelve years ago, Qatar become the first Middle Eastern country to win a bid to host a FIFA World Cup. Now, it’s the first host country to lose the inaugural match of the world’s largest soccer tournament.

The 0-2 loss to Ecuador is hardly the most remarkable development for a host country mired in controversies including bribery, budgetary mismanagement, and human rights abuses. The record nine-figure sum Qatar spent to host and market itself as a viable destination for major sporting events is unlikely to pay off any time soon:

$220 billion: Estimated cost of the Qatar World cup, outspending the former record-holder, Brazil’s 2014 tournament, which cost $15 billion

$17 billion: The expected economic gain of hosting the World Cup for Qatar, down from an earlier estimate of $20 billion

$6.5 billion: Amount spent on the eight stadiums involved, an expense that is almost certain to become redundant 

Take a scroll down FTX’s convoluted org chart

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its billionaire co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried are reportedly under investigation by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission for mismanaging billions of dollars in client funds.

Replacing Bankman-Fried as CEO to guide the liquidation efforts is John Ray III, who previously oversaw the Enron bankruptcy. He’s now offered a glimpse of the probably intentionally convoluted web of legal entities Bankman-Fried had spun. An organizational chart of FTX’s sprawling empire shows more than 100 interrelated firms spanning 27 regions, including the company’s headquarters in the Bahamas.

Ray described the FTX mismanagement as the worst he’s ever seen, but don’t just take his word for it: because your eyeballs deserve it, we reoriented the organizational chart from the court filing for easier vertical viewing and added annotations for clarity. While it identifies specific FTX entities and subsidiaries, the chart raises more questions than answers.

Africa needs crypto regulation

Africans are taking stock of their losses in the wake of crypto exchange FTX’s collapse. For some crypto startups in Nigeria, that has meant painful layoffs. In Kenya, people are counting millions in losses, and users across South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania, and Senegal are withdrawing their funds in a panic.

What the commotion has made clear is that, more than ever, Africa urgently needs regulation to hold foreign companies accountable for the losses African traders now face. As Quartz Africa reporter Faustine Ngila explains, so far Ethiopia is the continent’s only country that’s seriously regulating the space.

✦ Never miss an update from the continent by signing up for Quartz Africa Weekly. And while you’re at it, grab a Quartz membership—we’ll even take 50% off our usual price, just cause.

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Surprising discoveries

A rare bird was spotted for the first time in 140 years. The sighting of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon was compared to “finding a unicorn.”

Once considered to be mute, 53 animal species actually make sounds. Turtles in particular are more talkative than previously thought. 

A 95-year-old won the Latin Grammy for best new artist. Cuban American singer-songwriter Angela Álvarez wants you to know “it’s never too late” to follow your dreams.

A flourishing ecosystem lies beneath the Antarctic sea. The discovery of phytoplankton blooms indicates photosynthesis is taking place underneath the ice sheet layers.

The leap second has its days numbered. The 50-year-old measure will be phased out by 2035.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, leap seconds, and Latin Grammy awards to hi@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Ananya Bhattacharya, Sofia Lotto Persio, Nate DiCamillo, Scott Nover, Amanda Shendruk, Julia Malleck, Morgan Haefner, and Susan Howson.