Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
Leaders of the world’s richest nations got together online. During the weekend’s virtual G20 summit, host country Saudi Arabia mostly avoided damaging attacks on its human rights record and US president Donald Trump skipped out on pandemic preparedness events. Leaders agreed to a debt relief plan for poor nations, and pledged equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial. The former French president faces accusations of corruption and influence peddling over attempts to bribe a judge with a cushy job in return for information about a separate inquiry into the leader. The case is the first of several against him.
More Republicans are pushing for Trump to concede. Longtime Trump ally and former Republican governor of New Jersey Chris Christie called the president’s baseless allegations of voter fraud a “national embarrassment,” while several more GOP senators urged the White House to respect election results. Meanwhile, Trump is appealing Pennsylvania’s dismissal of his campaign’s lawsuit challenging Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
The US could place restrictions on 89 Chinese firms. A draft list seen by Reuters includes aerospace firms and other companies that Washington considers to have military ties, and if published would prohibit US suppliers from selling to them without a license. The list also designated 28 Russian entities.
Ethiopia gave a 72-hour ultimatum to Tigrayan rebel forces. The prime minister ordered the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which controls the mountainous region, to surrender before government troops launch an all-out offensive on the capital. The three-week conflict has reportedly killed hundreds and displaced thousands.
What to watch for this week
Monday: Brexit trade deal talks resume in London, and the International Emmy Awards are held.
Tuesday: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi begins a four-day visit to Japan and South Korea; US president-elect Joe Biden announces his first cabinet picks; and Grammy Award nominations are announced.
Wednesday: UK finance minister Rishi Sunak is expected to announce major infrastructure investment in his spending review, and the US publishes key metrics including personal spending, GDP, and residential sales.
Thursday: 🦃 US Thanksgiving.
Friday: Black Friday—which Amazon France has agreed to delay to help local shops hit by lockdowns.
Workplace software is having a moment
With in-person meetings still limited or impossible, companies are looking to software to make their operations easier and secure. That means the companies that provide that software are seeing a significant boost—one that might be here to stay, as remote work arrangements become permanent.
Here’s what’s in demand:
💻 Online HR systems like Workday
⛅ Cloud computing services
💼 Workers for India’s IT firms (in both hardware and software roles)
💫 Proprietary software, which helps make businesses less prone to disruption
Charting the cost of Jollof rice
Jollof rice might be as close as Nigeria gets to a national dish. The availability of its ingredients is one of the reasons the spicy rice meal cuts across ethnic divides. It also makes the dish a good benchmark for the cost of living in Nigeria.
Turns out, the cost of food has skyrocketed over the past year, leaving citizens to bear the brunt of a deteriorating economy, which has now officially tipped into recession. Yomi Kazeem explores why food costs so much, and when respite might come.
How we eat now
Nine months into the pandemic, Quartz looked at the biggest gastronomical shifts around the globe, and the impact on local and multinational businesses. Who benefits, who’s harmed, and when this is all over, which changes will last?
Whether it’s shifts in home cooking, the suffering restaurant industry, or the role of food in our culture and politics, we found a mix of creative solutions to difficult situations, ingenious adaptations to short-term shortages, and even some hope for the future. Read more in our field guide to how we eat now.
✦ Still hungry? Sign up for a free trial of Quartz membership for great reads by the plateful.
Surprising discoveries
A Dutch journalist gatecrashed an EU defense meeting. He managed to join the video call after the Dutch defense minister accidentally tweeted out login details.
Oxford Dictionaries couldn’t sum up 2020 in a single word. It had to expand its word of the year to a list including Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, and essential workers.
Remarkably preserved remains of two men were unearthed in Pompeii… The man and his slave were thought to be looking for shelter, and the ash captured details down to the folds of their clothes.
…and workers in Athens found an ancient Hermes head. They were working on a sewer when they found the marble artifact depicting the Greek god of war.
Hokkaido has a monster wolf. The Japanese city installed the mechanical animal, which makes howling sounds and flashes red eyes, in an attempt to ward off nuisance bears.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, not-so-secret meetings, and plates of Jollof rice 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, Ananya Bhattacharya, Amanda Shendruk, and Alex Ossola.