Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
NASA is launching a spacecraft to save the world from an asteroid. The $800 million OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will launch at 7:05am HK time. Over the next four years, it will target asteroid Bennu, which could get disastrously close to Earth by the start of the 22nd century.
China releases inflation data. Consumer inflation (paywall) in China could be higher than expected in August, thanks to a disappointing rice harvest, pricier leafy greens, and pork prices firming up.
India introduces surge pricing on train lines. High-traffic festivals like Diwali and Eid are just around the corner, and rising fares on some of the most popular routes including Rajdhani, Duranto, and Shatabdi are being criticized.
While you were sleeping
Airbnb responded to its discrimination problem. Amid accusations of hosts denying people accommodation over race and other biases, the company has announced a new “open doors” policy guaranteeing a place to stay for those who are turned down—even if that means finding them a space at competing hotels.
More than 11,500 teachers lost their jobs in Turkey. President Recip Tayyip Erdogan suspected the teachers of having ties to the opposition Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). The government has similarly suspended judges, police officers, and other officials following a failed military coup attempt in July.
Tanzania threatened to ban gay-rights groups. The government warned that activists running campaigns that promote the rights of LGBTI people would face severe punishment. In Tanzania, being gay is still a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Ryan Lochte was hit with a 10-month ban from swimming. The punishment was meted out to the US Olympic swimmer after he falsely claimed he was robbed in Rio. His fellow teammates—Gunnar Bentz, Jimmy Feigen, and Jack Conger—who were also implicated in the incident will each be barred for four months.
One of India’s biggest automakers tries to fend off Uber. Carmaker Mahindra is hoping to entice more drivers (paywall) to work for the ride-sharing company Ola by offering discounted car prices, financing, insurance, and maintenance services.
Quartz markets haiku
Sub-zero rates are
Really weird. Even weirder?
The policy works
Quartz obsession interlude
Ilaria Maria Sala on the surprising endurance of the “One Country, Two Systems” in Hong Kong. “In many ways, the combination of Hong Kong with China has been like a marriage between two near-strangers, one of whom was brought to the altar without being asked their opinion, and where the power balance is fatally skewed.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Apple is doing something extraordinary for music. The switch to Lightning ports in all their new devices will encourage audio developers and engineers to create innovative, better-sounding ways to listen to tunes.
Pet ownership is morally unjust. Keeping a pet—even one that has been rescued from a worse fate—violates the fundamental rights of animals.
Robots may evolve to replace our need for sex, but they’ll never love us. No matter how realistic artificial intelligence becomes, we will never be able to teach machines true human intimacy.
Surprising discoveries
Teenagers go into an “energy-saving mode.” The drop in metabolism that occurs during adolescence might be responsible for early weight gain.
Betty Pack was the original James Bond. The globetrotting British spy used seduction to obtain French and Italian naval codes during World War II.
There are four distinct species of giraffes. Each type most likely evolved from a single ancestor.
Predator beetles could save the dying Hemlock Forests. Beetles may be the only creature capable of defeating the woolly adelgid, a sap-sucking pest that’s destroying trees in the northeastern US.
Chinese wives pay up to $500,000 to get rid of mistresses. A Beijing-based company has a team of “mistress hunters” to prevent marriages from ending in divorce.
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