Myanmar protesters freed, Suez shipping blocked, mask memed

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

Hundreds of protesters were freed in Myanmar. They appear to be students who were imprisoned in early March, the Guardian reports. AP journalist Thein Zaw, who was arrested while covering a protest three weeks ago, was also released.

The Suez Canal is still blocked. An official said it could take at least two days to move the grounded cargo ship.

India is reportedly holding off on major exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In a blow to the Covax global vaccine sharing program, the country is keeping the jabs for itself as cases rise, according to Reuters.

Xiaomi’s sales soared. The Chinese smartphone maker, which blew past rival Huawei in 2020, reported revenue growth of more than 20% last year.

India opened an antitrust probe against WhatsApp. It’s the latest action the country has taken in response to the Facebook-owned messaging app’s updated privacy policy.

H&M is facing backlash in China over a year-old statement about forced labor in Xinjiang. Weibo users called for a boycott and e-commerce sites appear to have blocked the retailer.

Taiwan’s drought threatens its chip makers. The government announced further cuts to water supply in areas that house semiconductor manufacturers.

What to watch for

Like everything else, the Olympic torch relay is a year late. Today, the flame begins its Japanese journey in Fukushima, the site of a devastating earthquake and nuclear disaster a decade ago.

How weird will these Olympic and Paralympic games be? A look by the digits:

0: Number of overseas spectators that will be allowed in Tokyo

0: Number of athletes representing Russia, because of a doping-related ban

Up to 10: Number of Russians competing as “neutral athletes” in track and field events

26,000: Number of beds in the Athletes Village—they will be made almost entirely of renewable materials.

6.2 million: Number of cellphones donated to create gold, silver, and bronze medals

For more Olympian numbers, use the coronavirus living briefing to assess the impact of the pandemic on the Games, Asian economies, and key global industries.

Charting global trade through the Suez Canal

Low visibility and 40-knot winds during a sandstorm grounded a container ship on the Suez Canal on Tuesday—completely blocking the important shipping lane. It’s not just a fascinating photo—the blockage disrupts global shipping the longer it stays in place.

This isn’t the first time the canal has been blocked. Following military and political conflict in the region, Egypt blocked the canal to shipping for six months beginning in 1956 and from 1967 to 1975—the latter closure trapped 14 ships and their crews for eight years.

Stealing from the rich

Meme stock trading seems to have settled down somewhat as of late, but Robinhood’s upcoming IPO and GameStop’s latest moves are demonstrating what the landscape looks like after the dust clears.

🏹  Robinhood filed confidentially for an IPO—that is, the IPO itself isn’t secret, but some key financial details are, at least for awhile longer. (It also means the company’s employees won’t yet be able to see how much its leaders—those calling for the democratization of finance—are making.)

🎮  GameStop had a dismal earnings call on Tuesday—being a meme stock doesn’t necessarily benefit a company’s sales. But the same evening, GameStop filed a 10-K that indicated it considered selling shares during the height of GME mania, but decided to wait. It’s either a laudable sign of restraint or a missed opportunity for a brick and mortar whose business model is becoming obsolete.

✦ What manner of bubble even is this? Quartz members can get a sense by diving into our field guide on the next bubble. Try out a membership for free. It won’t pop your budget.

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🇨🇳 Beijing’s European sanctions are also a bid to control who tells the China story

🕷 Disney’s Black Widow decision is a huge blow to a desperate theater industry

Surprising discoveries

For-profit nursing homes are understaffed by design. Cutting labor costs is the fastest way to boost profits.

China can’t stop memeing a 3,000-year-old gold mask. Hello Kitty looks particularly fetching while sporting the newly discovered artifact.

Researchers figured out why human brains are three times larger than primates’. A molecular switch that controls growth is in the off position in our chimp and gorilla cousins.

Pollution has caused babies to be born with smaller penises. Make all the jokes you want, but it’s a problem for human reproduction.

The Large Hadron Collider finally made another discovery. Nine years after proving the existence of the Higgs boson, scientists at CERN found evidence of a “brand new” type of particle.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, giant brains, and new particles 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 Oliver Staley, Samanth Subramanian, David Yanofsky, Clarisa Diaz, Susan Howson, and Liz Webber.