Russia invades Ukraine

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Russia invaded Ukraine. Troops are entering from multiple directions, and airstrikes are targeting Ukrainian cities. Vladimir Putin threatened “instant” retribution if anyone tries to stop Russia, and claimed there are no plans for an occupation.

The US “will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia,” Biden says. The US president called the attack “unprovoked and unjustified,” and spoke to Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

The EU is also preparing “a package of massive and targeted sanctions.” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen aims to “weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize.”

Cyberattacks accompanied airstrikes on Ukraine. Government websites went down under a barrage of distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Ukrainian airspace is closed to civilian flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency also warned airlines against flying in neighboring Russia and Belarus.

Stocks fell, while oil and other commodity prices surged. Oil is above $100 a barrel, and gold jumped to its highest value for more than a year.

What else to watch for

Today, Alibaba reports earnings for its most recent fiscal quarter.

Still under the shadow of Beijing’s crackdown on Big Tech that first began in late 2020, the firm is expected to report an approximate 60% decline in profit, according to Bloomberg. Investors will also watch closely for any clues about fresh scrutiny from Beijing, which is said to have ordered state-owned banks and firms to check their financial exposure to fintech giant Ant Group, one-third of which is owned by Alibaba.

All the guessing about Alibaba’s fate lays bare the trauma China’s crackdown has brought investors. Without their once-blind faith in the industry, most Chinese tech giants have experienced panic selloffs that wiped billions of dollars from their market value. With no signs of a change of direction from Beijing, the companies may have no choice but to accept that their heydays are already behind them.

A micronation’s Zaha Hadid-designed city in the metaverse

Image copyright: Zaha Hadid Architects

In January, the Free Republic of Liberland—a crypto-friendly micronation located on three square miles of no man’s land between Croatia and Serbia—unveiled a fully realized city in the metaverse designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. Picture a national assembly hall, a buzzy NFT bazaar, office towers—all done in Hadid’s trademark swooping, swoon-worthy architectural style.

Patrik Schumacher, who has been running Hadid’s firm since the starchitect’s death in 2016, predicts that the metaverse will usher in a golden age for parametricism—an avant-garde building style based on computer algorithms that defined Hadid’s career and legacy. “Every institution could have a mirror space in the metaverse,” he argues. “And we architects can cater to both at the same time.”

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Surprising discoveries

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A mosaic floor laid by ancient Romans has been hiding under London soil. The soil in question has been used as a parking lot for building equipment for years.

Maybe one day a security guard will add the mosaic to an art exhibit. Baltimore Museum of Art figured its guards knew the place better than just about anybody, so gave them a turn at curation.

You’ll like your coworkers more if you wear headphones. A study showed that if you feel that a speaker’s voice is coming from inside your head, you’ll warm up to them more quickly.

While you’ve got those headphones on… Listen to Quartz’s Manavi Kapur explain how the pandemic whittled Indian wedding guest lists down from a “reasonable” 1,500 people to a downright austere 500. Check out this week’s episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast.

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