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New Zealand assigned a military leader to police its border. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern blamed yesterday’s pair of imported coronavirus cases on an “unacceptable failure” of travel health protocol. And Beijing cut domestic flights after fears rose of a wider contagion as it reported 31 more cases on Tuesday, taking the total in an outbreak that started last week to 137.
China buried news of its deadly border clash with India. In the first fatal conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations since 1975, India said 20 of its soldiers were killed in hand-to-hand combat and rock pelting in the Himalayan region of Ladakh. China hasn’t disclosed its casualty numbers and state media are downplaying the incident. In Asia’s other brewing conflict, South Korea’s military said the North would “pay the price” if it carries out its threat of moving troops to inter-Korean border areas.
Japan’s exports tanked. Tokyo reported its biggest year-on-year falls in both exports and imports since the global financial crisis, with exports dropping by more than a quarter, to under $40 billion. Car exports plunged 64%, nearly as much as the fall recorded in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that shut down the country’s northeast.
The UK discusses post-Brexit trade with Australia and New Zealand. Britain laid out its goals for the deal ahead of formal video talks set to start in coming weeks. Prime minister Boris Johnson has also said he hopes for a trade agreement with the European Union, which the country left in January, by the end of July.
Charting UK workers’ recovery
The UK government has tried to cushion the economy from a deep recession, with extra assistance for companies and the unemployed. But a look just below the surface shows a massive shock with the largest drop on record for the number of weekly hours worked.
Leveling the playing field
The English Premier League—the world’s wealthiest and most popular national club competition—is getting back in the game. But the world has changed while it was on hiatus.
“Soccer may be the closest thing there is to a meritocracy in England,” writes Quartz’s Hasit Shah. “Nowhere else is there such a clear pathway for young Black men like Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford (25 and 22, respectively) to become multimillionaires and national heroes. It is, of course, predicated on supernatural talent and a ferocious work ethic, in addition to luck—every player is one bad injury away from disaster—and, most importantly, changing attitudes.”
While team owners, TV companies, and sponsors complain about the temporary loss of revenue, Sterling and Rashford have stood out for their contributions to battles against poverty and racism in extraordinarily challenging times, and made a case for the inclusion of Black talent in the game’s boardrooms.
For Members: What companies need to understand about Gen Z
What’s driving Gen Z? Quartz’s latest presentation looks at the age group’s progressive priorities—from the environment to body positivity—and what this means for companies hoping to connect with young people.
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to strengthen Gen Z’s existing tendencies to save money, value security, and prize thriftiness and conscious consumption. And with the generation’s estimated $150 billion in spending power in the US alone, companies can no longer depend on traditional gatekeepers to reach them. It’s time to meet Gen Z on its own terms.
✦ All of the slides and our field guide on What Gen Z wants are now available to Quartz members. Prize your own thriftiness by checking out a seven-day free trial. ✦
You asked about the future of the workplace
Do you think Covid-19 will permanently change the workplace? – Sallie
We think that’s a safe bet. Writing for Quartz, Jason Wingard, dean and professor of human capital management at the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, says that our suddenly new ways of working are here to stay. He breaks down the principle changes into four pillars:
- Flexible hours: Employees will be forced to set—and communicate—their own availability, based upon their personal schedules and productivity levels.
- New employee metrics: To measure individual success at the fully-remote tech firm Automattic, CEO Matt Mullenweg asks employees: “What do you actually produce?”
- Social impact: The difference between a PR grab and making a real difference can hinge on building long-term relationships with nonprofits instead of one-time actions.
- Authentic relationships: With the last semblances of formality now stripped away, it’s more important than ever to avoid a culture wherein every interaction becomes casually transactional.
Surprising discoveries
DeepMind is turning to the game of Diplomacy. The AI that’s mastered chess and Go will learn complex reasoning skills and the power of working collaboratively.
Adopt a Boston Dynamics robot dog. Finally, consumers with $74,500 to burn can give a somewhat scary Spot a new home.
“Airline bottles” need a new name. Some carriers have stopped serving alcohol in an effort to limit interactions between staff and passengers.
Siri can record your police interactions. Saying “Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over” will prompt an iPhone’s digital assistant to start a video recording.
Austrian police fined a man for “provocative” farting. They later defended the €500 penalty ($560) by saying no one would be pursued for “accidentally letting one go.”
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, headless robot pets, and Diplomacy tips 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 Tripti Lahiri, Mary Hui, Susan Howson, and Max Lockie.