Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
Donald Trump is still in hospital. Updates on the US president’s condition have been conflicting and confusing. Doctors said he could be discharged as early as today, but also revealed he’d received a steroid typically reserved for severe Covid-19 cases. Meanwhile, Trump made a surprise public appearance yesterday in a motorcade, in a publicity stunt that experts have condemned as reckless disregard for his security detail. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden again tested negative.
Pope Francis wants to reform capitalism. Laying out his vision for a post-pandemic world, his new encyclical criticizes free-market capitalism and advocates for migrant rights and a more communal society. The pandemic, he wrote, has shown that “not everything can be resolved by market freedom.”
Pro-government parties swept Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections. Citing mass irregularities, opposition parties disputed preliminary results from yesterday’s vote, which showed three parties close to the president dominating over 70% of the vote. Protests are expected in the capital today.
Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia escalated dramatically. Heavy clashes over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region spilled over into Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second largest city, killing at least one civilian and injuring dozens. Armenia denied launching missiles on residential areas.
Mecca’s Grand Mosque is open again. The holy site of Islam had been closed since March because of Covid-19. But as of yesterday, 6,000 pilgrims a day—only from Saudi Arabia for now—will be allowed to visit the mosque, which can accommodate as many as 4 million people at a time.
What to watch for
Monday: The first Nobel prize of 2020, for medicine, is announced. Other prizes, including for chemistry, physics, literature, and peace follow throughout the week.
Tuesday: Japan hosts Australia, India, and US foreign ministers for a Quad meeting; the Belarus opposition leader presses Germany to up pressure on autocrat Alexander Lukashenko; and the EU and Ukraine gather for a summit.
Wednesday: US vice president Mike Pence and senator Kamala Harris face off in a more socially distanced vice-presidential debate, while the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator resume talks with his UK counterpart in London.
Thursday: Germany holds a full parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of payments provider Wirecard.
Friday: The UK releases its monthly GDP.
Charting the EU’s trade with China
The EU wants to redefine its economic relationship with China. The 27-country bloc is China’s largest trade partner, while the Chinese market is the second largest destination for EU goods and services after the US. And yet the economic relationship between Brussels and Beijing is not well regulated. That’s partly because it has grown quickly, outpacing their ability to legislate around it. But it’s also because the most ambitious such effort—the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)—has so far failed to produce results. Read more here.
Navigating the data deluge
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a deluge of data. There are statistics everywhere you look, from the number of tests administered and cases confirmed, to the jobs lost, stimulus money spent, and Peloton bikes purchased. Understanding data feels more important than ever right now.
Since the pandemic started, Quartz has been spending an even greater share of our time confronting difficult data questions. How do we know if a trend is caused by the novel coronavirus, or if it would have happened anyway? How do we appropriately describe the massive economic dip and recovery caused by the pandemic without misleading readers?
We wanted to share some of the answers we’ve conjured to these questions. In our latest field guide we help you get to grips with the data deluge, with a list of the very best coronavirus-related data on the internet, and by teaching you the tools you need to cut through the noise.
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Obsession interlude: Because China
Asia editor Tripti Lahiri explains how Quartz’s China obsession has changed over the years:
For a long while, reporting on China was stuck on this idea that the country still had to reach some sort of destination as a world power. But Because China, which gets its name from an award-winning web series Quartz produced, chronicles all the ways big and small (but mostly big) its government and people have already reshaped the globe. It’s everything from the stuff people buy, to recycling, to shaping how people can (or can’t) talk about China. In the past year we’ve been looking especially closely at the rivalry with the US, and how Beijing is recasting Hong Kong in its own image.
This year, though, has been a reminder that despite how intertwined the world had supposedly become, and even if companies, lawmakers (and one president) in other countries can’t stop talking about China, they less and less see it as a place full of people with dreams and anxieties like their own. For many, it’s psychologically and emotionally distant. How else can we explain the fact that as China was drowning in misery in January and February, and millions were under a strict lockdown, other countries didn’t make good use of the lead time they had before the virus came to their shores?
One thing we’re trying to do in this obsession is to bridge that gap.
Read more:
- Another citizen journalist covering the coronavirus has gone missing in China
- China’s best Go player was canceled by a feminist backlash
- As in mainland China, Hong Kongers now use code to evade political censorship
Surprising discoveries
A tropical fern was hiding in Ireland. The rarest fern in Europe, previously observed only in the Caribbean, is a relic from thousands of years ago.
Buying the iconic “Crayola House” is a good deal. The postmodern mansion built in 2005 is now for sale, and the asking price is less than it cost to build it.
Pinoy pets stay safe and blessed. Pets in Manila received drive-through squirts of holy water for a Covid-appropriate celebration of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Venice tested out its new floodgates. Decades in the making, the sea walls had a successful debut this weekend.
Printers are the hot new Covid accessory. Exiled from the office, remote workers are discovering the old-fashioned joy of having a printer at home.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, rare ferns, and pet blessings to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Mary Hui, Tripti Lahiri, Sarah Todd, and Jackie Bischof.