Good morning, Quartz readers!
Hereās what you need to know
The UK is expanding its Covid-19 vaccine mixing studyā¦ Oxford-led researchers have been mixing Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots in two-dose inoculations, and will now add the Moderna and Novavax shots to their trials.
ā¦while Johnson & Johnson delayed its vaccine rollout in Europe. It made the decision after the US recommended pausing use of the coronavirus shots over blood clot concerns.
Europe is reducing state support for fossil fuels. Seven countries including Germany, France, and Britain will cease government-financed export guarantees for such projects.
US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. President Joe Biden delayed the current deadline of May 1, set by his predecessor. Meanwhile, the UK will reportedly follow suit and pull out nearly all of its soldiers there.
John Kerry talks emissions in Shanghai. The US climate envoy is the first Biden administration official to visit China, and will discuss tackling climate change with his counterparts.
Ever Given is stuck again. Egyptian authorities have impounded the giant container ship as they seek compensation from its Japanese owner for blocking the Suez Canal last month.
Chinese tech giants vowed to not be monopolistic. A dozen companies promised to stop practices including forcing merchants into exclusive contracts, following Chinese regulatorsā order to cease such behavior within a month.
What to watch for
Will Coinbase become the most valuable publicly listed exchange on the planet? Thatās what investors (and a few envious exchange CEOs) will be watching to see when the crypto platform begins trading on Nasdaq today. Some estimates indicate the eight-year-old company could be valued at $100 billionānearly double that of Intercontinental Exchange, operator of the New York Stock Exchange and other important venues.
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The offering is a direct listing instead of a traditional IPO. That means the market, rather than the underwriting investment banks, will determine the opening trading price for Coinbase shares under the ticker COIN. If the companyās stock trades anything like bitcoin and the other crypto assets that change hands on its exchange, get ready for a rollercoaster.
Charting Twitch fans
Twitch viewership doubled during lockdown, but mostly, users werenāt logging on to see epic zombie battles or car chasesāthey tuned in for the far less dramatic experience of watching people sit in front of their webcams and talk.

Inveterate gamers once used to ridicule users, often women, who were too into chatting and not enough into playing, which resulted in its own kind of inherent sexism. Three years ago, Twitch spun the feature off into āJust Chattingā and once Covid-19 put a serious damper on in-person chatting, the category exploded.
Weād all do well to keep up, as video game live streaming may be the future of entertainment.
Could you handle being a pandemic health minister?
Austriaās health minister Rudolf Anschober resigned yesterday, in the middle of a āthird waveā of coronavirus infectionsāitās not the only country to have had trouble keeping that role filled.
Before you start brushing off your CV, letās take a look at some territory that seems to come with the job:
š“ You wonāt be able to catch many hours of sleep, but, hey, you could catch Covid-19!
šŖ When your head of state makes bad decisions you may have to take the blameāeven if their supporters threaten your life.
ā ļø In fact, you should probably get used to death threats.
š¤ You probably wonāt get a lot of praise for a job well done. (But you might get an embarrassing nickname.)
Still interested? Annabelle Timsit has more about the trials and tribulations of Anschober and his colleagues across the globe.
ā¦ Former health ministers: Your career needs helpācan we interest you in Quartz At Work? Youāll hit a paywall eventually, but a Quartz membership will sort you right out. Try it for free.
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Surprising discoveries
Siri scooped Apple when asked about the date of its next event. The company later confirmed the voice assistantās response with formal invitations.
Facebook mistakenly took down the official page for the French town of Bitche. It seems something was lost in translation.
Researchers translated spider web vibrations into musical tones. They hope to someday use the findings to ātalkā to arachnids.
Have you seen this rabbit? The worldās longest bunny is missing, and police fear he was kidnapped.
Some people actually understand NFTs. Listen to two of themāQuartz senior reporter Samanth Subramanian and Nadya Ivanova of tech research firm LāAtelier BNP Paribasādiscuss on Clubhouse on Thursday, April 15 at 12pm Eastern time.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, health minister job listings, and giant rabbit sightings to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Todayās Daily Brief was brought to you by Jane Li, Mary Hui, John Detrixhe, Susan Howson, and Liz Webber.