Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
World leaders hit the road. Thai junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha is in New Delhi to meet with Indian leader Narendra Modi. And Chinese president Xi Jinping lands in Serbia, part of a trip that will also take him to Poland and Uzbekistan.
A powerful Saudi Arabian prince visits the White House. Deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man in charge of overhauling the kingdom’s oil-reliant economy, will meet with US president Barack Obama. Relations between the countries have been strained by civilian deaths in Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.
A verdict on Russian eligibility for the Rio Olympics. In Vienna, the International Athletics Association Federation will announce whether Russia’s track-and-field athletes can return to international competition. The team was suspended after a state-sponsored doping operation was revealed in November.
Astronauts come down to earth. Tim Peake (UK), Yuri Malenchenko (Russia), and Timothy Kopra (US) return to Earth from the International Space Station, with a landing planned for Kazakhstan on Saturday morning. During his six months in space, Peake ran the London marathon on a treadmill, remotely steered a robot on earth, and sent us beautiful pictures.
While you were sleeping
Brexit campaigns were suspended after a Labour MP was shot dead. Both sides agreed to put campaigning on hold for a second day, following the murder of British lawmaker Jo Cox on Thursday. The 41-year-old politician, who promoted the benefits of immigration and advocated for Britain to stay in the EU, was stabbed and shot in the street while meeting residents in Birstall, northern England.
Mitsubishi pays up for its misdeeds. The Japanese carmaker is reportedly planning to pay around $600 million to owners of four car models with overstated fuel-economy readings. The company admitted in April that it inaccurately reported data for 625,000 vehicles.
US diplomats urged military strikes against the Syrian president. Around 50 State Department diplomats signed an internal document criticizing US policy in Syria and calling for US airstrikes on Bashar Assad’s regime. The Obama administration has resisted intervention for fear it may trigger direct conflict with Iran and Russia.
Brazil’s tourism minister resigned. The resignation comes not long before the country hosts the Olympics. Henrique Alves was named in testimony by a former executive of state oil company Petrobras, in the nation’s largest corruption scandal ever.
Bernie Sanders addressed his supporters. The Vermont senator did not suspend his campaign nor endorse rival Hillary Clinton, who has secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. But he told supporters their next major task is to make sure Donald Trump is “defeated and defeated badly” in the US presidential election in November.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jenny Anderson on the parenting happiness gap. “Regardless of what country you live in, and what stage of life you might be at, having kids makes you significantly less happy compared to people who don’t have kids… American parents are especially miserable on this front, posting the largest gap (13%) in a group of 22 developed countries. But the research also shows that it doesn’t have to be this way.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Venezuela is a casualty of climate change. Environmental stress can topple a region’s social order, especially when a government is inept.
Don’t worry about Big Marijuana. Lawmakers shouldn’t fret about pot companies’ size, and focus on curtailing bad business practices.
In the US, linking gun safety to the terror watch list is a bad idea. Not only is it poorly maintained, it’s also probably unconstitutional.
Surprising discoveries
Goldman Sachs scans employees’ emails for rudeness and and profanity. Phrases like “I’m not a happy camper” and “I will sue you” are automatically flagged.
A robot escaped from its lab. The runaway Russian bot caused a traffic jam after it made a break for it.
A German man wanted to have his dead wife’s eggs implanted in his new partner. The court rejected his appeal (link in German).
The company behind M&M’s thinks we’re eating too much sugar. It’s considering a halt to sugary dessert treats, including McDonald’s McFlurry shakes.
An auction of Nazi memorabilia is causing an uproar. Germany’s Central Council of Jews is trying to stop the auction in Munich, which features items like Hermann Göring’s silk underpants.
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