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Here’s what you need to know
China’s top diplomat is going to Russia. The countries are increasingly coordinating efforts to counterbalance the US’s global influence.
The truce in Gaza is holding. The ceasefire has allowed humanitarian aid to reach Gaza’s residents.
The Nyiragongo volcano erupted. The flowing lava prompted evacuations in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo and some residents fled over the nearby Rwandan border.
Coronavirus vaccines prevent nearly 100% of Covid-19 deaths. The new meta study compiled the results of other scientists and also shows the vaccine remains effective against new, troublesome variants.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party could be outlawed in Myanmar. The military-appointed election chief is considering the move after Suu Kyi’s party was accused by the junta’s leader as fraudulently winning the 2015 election that brought democracy back to Myanmar.
Virgin Galactic flew to the edge of space. It was the first spaceflight from New Mexico’s purpose-built Spaceport America and Virgin’s first since February 2019.
Bitcoin bit financial markets. Cryptocurrency prices don’t usually affect traditional markets, but their recent plunge and rebound has roiled other asset classes.
Italy won Eurovision. The rock band Måneskin, whose lead singer shouted “rock ‘n’ roll never dies” on accepting the prize, won with the song “Zitti e Buoni.”
What to watch for
The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo is slated to begin in two months. Organizers are steadily announcing decisions on Covid-19 testing, spectators, and protocols. Opinion polls show that the Japanese population and Japanese firms largely favor postponing or canceling the games.
Less than 5% of people in Japan have received a first vaccine dose. Many parts of the country, including host city Tokyo, are under a state of emergency as cases have risen in recent weeks.
No planning can reduce Covid‑19 risk to zero. The virus should be expected to sneak through loopholes in the safety measures for athletes, such as daily testing and restrictions on spectators.
Many countries are prioritizing jabs for Olympic participants, but being vaccinated is not a requirement for athletes.
It is unclear how widely the local organizers will be vaccinated. They’ll be the people interacting with the international arrivals.
Only the International Olympic Committee can cancel the games. But the local authorities still get left with the tab.
Charting the ways Uber benefits from giving free rides for vaccines
Starting today, Uber will provide free rides to anyone in the US going to and from Covid-19 vaccination sites. The ride-hailing company is providing 20,000 free vaccine-appointment rides to the elderly in certain cities in Japan. And, in a partnership with UNESCO, Uber will provide 1 million free rides to teachers around the world.
Anyone without reliable transportation stands to benefit, but Uber has a lot to gain as well:
- It can help it recover old customers. Riders who have avoided Uber trips during the pandemic could be coaxed back into the habit.
- It can help it gain new customers. Once new users download the Uber app, it makes them more likely to consider using the service in the future.
- It will boost its usage figures. The company lost half its customers from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020 and is still about 130 million users off its peak.
- It’s good PR. Uber is seen as the less socially-responsible ride-hailing company compared to its rival Lyft. It continues to face criticism from labor advocates and policymakers.
Who owns the Arctic?
The Arctic is bordered by eight independent countries—Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, the US, China, Iceland, and Greenland. Each is able to claim the waters off its coasts and the resources beneath. Everything else is covered by a patchwork of regulations, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Companies are eyeing the Arctic as a place to extract natural resources like rare earth metals, oil, and natural gas. Many of these companies are so large, and so often state-owned, that they serve as proxies for their governments, their narrow industrial interests providing a cover for their states’ projections of power.
✦ Figuring out the Arctic is a billion-dollar question, but trying out a Quartz membership is free. Gain access to all the stories, presentations, field guides, workshops, and more available exclusively to Quartz members.
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Surprising discoveries
A South African university determined a Rembrandt to be faked. It took some serious investigation to conclude the painting was not by the Dutch master as long believed.
Sweden is building a space complex. It will be Europe’s first orbital launch site for satellites, and the reindeer are not happy.
Tardigrades—a.k.a. “water bears”—can survive impacts at up to 1,845 miles per hour. Scientists fired the famously tough creatures out of a gun to simulate the crash of a space landing.
US retailers have too much hand sanitizer. Demand has plummeted, leaving stores overburdened with bottles and taking extreme measures to offload their stock.
Cocaine is washing up in the Florida Keys. For weeks now residents have been finding wrapped bundles of the drug on the water and on the shore.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, fake Rembrandts, and arctic space facilities 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 Marc Bain, Michelle Cheng, Tripti Lahiri, Leslie Nguyen-Okwu, Alexandra Ossola, Annabelle Timsit, and David Yanofsky.