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Protesters in Belgrade breached the Serbian legislature. After the government proposed bringing back a curfew, people demonstrated in several cities, including at the country’s parliament. Police responded with armored cars and tear gas. Infections have risen after the government eased a strict lockdown to hold an election, and allowed soccer games to have thousands of spectators.
Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. With rights being curtailed in the territory after Beijing imposed a national security law, Canberra will also extend visa rights for Hong Kongers. Prime minister Scott Morrison is also holding a virtual summit with Japan’s Shinzo Abe today to discuss security ties amid increasing tensions with China. Meanwhile, Melbourne began a new six-week coronavirus lockdown.
The UK hosts a virtual summit to discuss the plight of ship workers. Thousands of seafarers are stuck at sea, while others are unable to start duty, because travel restrictions imposed by countries don’t exempt them as essential workers, despite being crucial to global trade.
Two prominent US universities sued over new student visa rules. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seek to stop a directive that would force international students taking online classes to leave the country. Meanwhile, the US’s suspension of many types of work visas is keeping families apart.
The death of the Ivory Coast’s prime minister puts a question mark over its election. President Alassane Ouattara surprised many when he announced he wouldn’t run for a third term—but may end up doing just that after Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the ruling party’s candidate for the October vote, died after becoming unwell at a cabinet meeting.
Three things from Quartz Africa we especially liked
How a “roots tourism” visit to Ghana was an awakening for social justice in the United States. Ghana’s Year of Return tourism campaign to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first slave ship landing in America was a success on many fronts. As one study finds, a yet under-reported success could also come in the form of the impact it has on racial reconciliation and understanding among travelers who made the trip.
Hundreds of elephants have been found dead in Botswana, and as yet, there is no clear cause of death. But Vicky Boult, postdoctoral researcher in conservation biology at the University of Reading, says experts “can at least rule out a few possible answers.”
The unlikely story of a former US Marine who became the darling of Nigerian radio for two decades. Back in 2000 when there were only three private radio stations in Lagos, a 41-year-old American took a chance on an ad for a radio presenter in Africa’s largest city—and never left. In the wake of his passing due to Covid-19, Yomi Kazeem reflects on how Dan Foster redefined broadcasting for a generation of Nigerians.
The Quartz Africa Weekly Brief delivers news and culture straight to your inbox, to help you keep up with a continent whose role in the new global economy is rapidly expanding. Best of all, it’s free to all Quartz readers.
Charting four-day work weeks
Pre-pandemic, companies offered condensed schedules largely to attract and retain talent that prized flexibility. In the current climate, a shorter work week is one way for companies to cut costs (✦ Quartz member exclusive) without resorting to layoffs.
Data from jobs marketplace ZipRecruiter shows that so far in 2020, 69 out of every 10,000 job postings offer four-day work weeks. It’s a tiny number to be sure, but it’s up from 40 in 2019. Between 2015 and 2018, the share was fewer than 18 in 10,000 postings each year.
For members: A pandemic’s hidden crisis
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, experts worldwide are calling attention to what they anticipate could be a huge influx of patients in need of mental health care, with needs far greater than the countries’ existing systems can handle.
20%: Estimated share of Americans who suffer from a mental health condition.
43%: Number of US-based adults with mental illness who received treatment for their condition in 2018.
4%: Portion of the US population with severe mental health conditions that weren’t under control before the coronavirus pandemic.
45%: Number of people who reported that concerns about the virus had negatively affected their mental health in a recent survey.
Read more about Covid-19’s hidden crisis in our field guide on mental health’s turning point.
✦ It can be a distressing world out there, but our mission is to cut through the clutter and give members a closer look at what really matters. Check this field guide out with a seven-day free trial, and you’ll be well on your way towards supporting quality journalism, saving yourself time, and getting to the heart of the new global economy. ✦
We’re obsessed with bicycles
Back in high gear. Adults first discovered the joy of hopping on a bike in the late 1800s, and then rediscovered it in the 1970s, as new steel frame models rode a wave of popularity. A new lockdown-inspired cycling fad may not fizzle anytime soon. There may be a global shortage of affordable new wheels, but city officials are laying the groundwork for those who’ve got them, with miles and miles of new bike lanes for people to get around safely and socially distanced. The Quartz Weekly Obsession invites you to hop on its handlebars and go for a spin.
Let’s look at the numbers
When it comes to Covid-19, which metrics matter most? Register for a free Quartz at Work workshop on “How and When We’ll Recover, by the Numbers” to help make sense of the deluge of economic and health data. The conversation begins today at 11am EDT (3pm GMT).
Surprising discoveries
No one knows why US postal delivery trucks keep catching on fire. At least 407 have gone up in smoke in the past six years.
The UK government will get (some of) the check. The restaurant stimulus plan will subsidize up to £10 ($13) of a meal.
Sometimes “a snail’s pace” is really fast. A new Boring Company competition seeks machines that can drill faster than a snail can crawl.
You know what else is fast? Electric scooters. The eSkootr Championship for e-scooter racing is launching in 2021.
Investors bought €1 billion in bonds backed by the mafia. Pension funds, hedge funds, and one of Europe’s largest private banks were among those duped out of about $1.1 billion by Italy’s ’Ndrangheta group.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, restaurant discounts, and electric scooter league invitations 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, Michelle Cheng, Yinka Adegoke, Liz Webber, and Susan Howson.