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 and in more than 1,000 retail stores. The company is offering customer support through HTC India stores.
While you were sleeping
Alphabet bought a startup specializing in eye-tracking technology. Who needs a computer mouse when eye movements can control things on a screen? That’s the idea behind three-year-old Eyefluence, which will now join the search giant Google at Alphabet. Its technology could work especially well in virtual reality and augmented reality environments.
Twitter plans to fire hundreds of workers. It could announce the layoffs before an earnings report on Thursday, Bloomberg reported. The money-losing company’s share price has fallen about 40% in the past 12 months, making it hard to pay engineers with stock, much less compete for talent. Potential buyers of the company, including Alphabet and Salesforce.com, have backed away.
Nearly everyone panned the AT&T-Time Warner deal. Shares of both companies fell as analysts questioned the logic (paywall) of the $85.4 billion acquisition 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.
Gunmen attacked a police training academy in Pakistan. They killed at least 59 and injured over 115 at the center, located in the southwestern city of Quetta in the Baluchistan province. The Pakistan military attributed the assault to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami, which has a history of staging attacks in the region.
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.
A Chinese university sells HIV testing kits through a vending machine. The kits cost less than $5 and are sold alongside snacks and drinks in the machines at China’s Southwest Petroleum University in the Sichuan province.
The Victorians were obsessed with disembodied hands. They were frequently incorporated into housewares and sculpture.
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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