Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Rodrigo Duterte goes to Tokyo. The controversial Philippine president snubbed his Japanese hosts, who are his country’s biggest source of foreign direct investment, by visiting new allies in Beijing first. Japanese leaders are still preparing a bonanza in aid and loans.
Apple earnings lose their shine. Revenues from the iPhone have fallen for two straight quarters, and the launch of the iPhone 7 happened too late in the quarter to make much difference. Services from apps, iCloud, and Apple Music may be a bright spot, and results from China will be closely watched.
Google’s latest smartphone begins shipping in India. The well-reviewed Pixel and Pixel Plus will go on sale through e-commerce company Flipkart as well as over 1,000 retail stores. The company is offering customer support through HTC India stores.
While you were sleeping
Cyrus Pallonji Mistry was fired as Tata Group chairman. No reason was given for the departure of Mistry, the first non-family member to run the Indian conglomerate, which has suffered from several years of stagnant sales. Former chairman Ratan Tata will fill in on an interim basis until a successor is found.
France cleared its sprawling “Jungle” camp. Authorities ousted nearly 8,000 people from the northern port city of Calais. Migrants and refugees will be resettled in 451 shelters around the country.
Nearly everyone panned the AT&T-Time Warner deal. Shares of both companies fell as analysts questioned the logic of the $85.4 billion acquisition, (paywall) and its chances of securing approval from antitrust regulators. Both GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine opposed the deal.
Elon Musk filled in details of his plan to colonize Mars. The SpaceX CEO would rely heavily on mining robots, and build geodesic domes to house human settlers. He estimated it would take 40 to 100 years to construct the colony.
William Shakespeare got a new co-author. The Oxford University Press credited Christopher Marlowe as a co-writer of the three Henry VI plays, after researchers used traditional methods and computerized tools to examine the text. Seventeen of Shakespeare’s 44 plays are now classified as collaborations.
Quartz markets haiku
Faceless company
Pulling at the strings. “Westworld”
or AT&T? 🌵
Quartz obsession interlude
Isabella Steger on the battle between feminism and deep-seated misogyny in South Korea. “Newly-formed online feminist group Megalia’s activism is a bold step in a country where women continue to face discrimination at home, in the workplace, and on the streets. Yet as more women push against deep-set conservative attitudes in Korea, the backlash has been vicious. Young Korean men, who no longer enjoy the same economic security and position of power in society, are virtually, and literally, taking their frustrations out on women.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Nobody will admit that America is fighting in five wars. Politicians and the press are trying to avoid responsibility for US military adventures in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia.
Africa wasn’t “rising” before and it’s not ”reeling” now. Economic tropes have obscured a diverse and complex continent.
There’s no such thing as a true rebel. We’re all subject to influences, especially when we try to resist them.
Surprising discoveries
Climate change is not a new concept. The environmental impact of burning fossil fuels was discussed in 1882.
Your “organic” shampoo is meaningless. There’s no certification process for non-food items.
The Victorians were obsessed with disembodied hands. They were frequently incorporated into housewares and sculpture.
The perfect team is a nice one. Google spent years crunching the numbers to figure that out.
A weed-filled bus went up in flames this weekend. The vehicle caused a massive traffic jam, but everyone was surprisingly chill about it.
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