Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
The UK and India pledged to double trade by 2030. British prime minister Boris Johnson also announced £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in additional trade with India, and the two countries made a migration deal that affects Indian citizens living illegally in the UK.
Pfizer’s having a decent year. Its new hot product—a vaccine you may have heard of—raked in $3.5 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
India’s Covid-19 cases topped 20 million. Massively overloaded hospitals are still struggling with oxygen shortages, and the opposition to Narendra Modi’s government is making fervent calls for a national lockdown.
A detained Japanese journalist was charged in Myanmar. The country’s ruling military junta’s media crackdown included the arrest of Yuki Kitazumi in April for allegedly spreading false news and a just-announced satellite TV ban.
The UN called for an end to violence against Colombia protesters. Recent demonstrations over tax reform have prompted a police response that has left more than a dozen people dead.
Ferrari picked up speed… The iconic luxury Italian sports car manufacturer announced an uptick in earnings for the first quarter of 2021, but said it would miss its 2022 targets due to the pandemic. Match Group and Zillow showed that Covid-19 couldn’t stop the desire to check out potential partners and homes.
…While Nissan is offloading Daimler. Still trying to find solid footing after the 2018 arrest of former chief Carlos Ghosn, the automaker is selling stock worth $1.4 billion.
What to watch for
Facebook’s oversight board will reveal today whether former US president Donald Trump will be allowed to return to the platform, after he was banned for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington DC. The 19-member body, made up of experts in topics like journalism, misinformation, and free speech, will also make recommendations about whether Facebook should update its policies about how world leaders communicate on its platform.
The social media giant has long resisted calls to delete misinformation from the accounts of prominent politicians, arguing that the public has a right to see world leaders’ lies and judge for themselves. If the oversight board upholds Trump’s ban and calls for more stringent moderation of government officials, today’s decision could have serious repercussions for other prominent political fabulists like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and India’s Narendra Modi.
Charting India’s desperation
About 15% of Indians who have tested positive for Covid-19 require oxygen therapy, Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told National Herald. But national shortages have led many to look for life-saving supplies online.
Between April 5 and April 20, searches for the word “oxygen” on Google, Flipkart, Amazon, and YouTube had increased 60-fold, according to market intelligence firm Kalagato. Searches for “oxygen concentrators” and “oxygen cylinders” also clocked a massive surge during the period.
Introducing Quartz Essentials
We like to think of Quartz as an eddy in the river of news, a spot of relative calm where you’ll find only the most important and interesting stuff. The Quartz Daily Brief helps you make sense of the latest business news every morning. Our obsessions keep you, and us, focused on the most critical shifts in the global economy.
Our newest feature, Quartz Essentials, extracts the most essential knowledge (natch) from our news coverage in quick, engaging précis on topics that will keep you tapping through. Check out, for example, this recent piece about the challenges online grocers are facing in India. Following the article are essentials that help you place that particular news within the broader context of India’s coronavirus crisis.
We’ve also placed Quartz Essentials at the heart of our biggest editorial endeavors, like our obsessions (see How We Spend, for instance) and our weekly field guides for members (such as this week’s on the future of the IPO).
As always, we’d love to know how to become even more essential to your day. We invite your feedback at hi@qz.com.
✦ Essentials are free to read, but they’re made possible by the generous support of our members. If you like what you see, try a membership free for a week.
Handpicked Quartz
💉 Has the UK reached herd immunity?
📊 India hasn’t cared about statistics for decades
🤝 Biden’s first climate regulation is supported by industry groups and Republicans
🎥 Hollywood studios are making their plea to get you back in theaters
🌍 Developer outsourcing company Andela looks beyond its African roots
🐺 China’s wolf warriors are undermining Beijing’s empathetic messaging on India’s Covid-19 crisis
📝 Everything you need to know about this week’s G7 meetings
🏏 The Covid-19 crisis has finally infiltrated India’s biggest sport
Surprising discoveries
Can we interest you in some lab-grown caviar? A British company says even ostentatious luxuries deserve to be humane.
A farmer expanded Belgium’s borders. He moved a significant stone to better maneuver his tractor, but the mayor of the nearby French town was willing to forgive and forget.
Lego made a white noise album. Drift off to sleep to the sounds of someone hunting for that one specific piece in a giant tub of bricks.
A Japanese town spent ¥25 million ($228,000) in economic relief funds on a giant squid statue. Officials hope the cephalopod will encourage tourists to return.
An Australian politician must pay $1.2 million for ripping off a Twisted Sister song. The court just wasn’t going to take it anymore.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, soothing Lego sounds, and rock anthems 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 Nicolás Rivero, Ananya Bhattacharya, Zachary M. Seward, Susan Howson, and Liz Webber.