Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Syria tries another ceasefire. The Syrian government and rebel groups agreed on a nationwide ceasefire to begin at midnight local time (5am HKT). Backed by Russia and Turkey, the detente is one of several attempted this year. Under the terms of the deal, peace talks will be held in Kazakhstan in the next month, though a date hasn’t been announced.
India’s first transgender school opens. The Sahaj International School in Kochi, Kerala, will initially serve 10 transgender students, and be run by six transgender teachers and administrators, working with the TransIndia Foundation. After nearly 50 building owners refused to house the institute, it finally secured a lease from a Christian organization.
World leaders bid 2016 adieu. French president Francois Hollande and German chancellor Angela Merkel will make televised speeches to close out the year; the latter is expected to discuss her policy agenda for 2017. On New Year’s Eve, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will address the nation, in part about the impact of his controversial 50-day demonetization scheme. While US president Barack Obama has no plans for an end-of-year speech, he is expected to make an end-of-presidency speech on Jan. 10, 2017.
While you were sleeping
The US fired back at Russia over election hacking. The Obama administration ejected 35 Russian intelligence operatives from US soil, expanded sanctions, and published declassified information on Russia’s cyber-meddling in the US presidential election. A Russian presidential spokesperson vowed retaliation, saying that there would be “no alternative here to the principle of reciprocity.” The move will force president-elect Donald Trump to either accept the sanctions when he takes office, or lift them against the will of US intelligence agencies—and members of his own party.
Honda recalled 650,000 Odyssey minivans. The Japanese automaker said that the release lever for the second row of seats refused to lock in some vans, allowing the seat to move during a crash. The recall applies to 2011 to 2016 model-year Odyssey vans in the US, and some in Canada and Mexico. No injuries tied to the defect have been reported.
Iraqi forces launched phase two of their Mosul offensive. Security forces worked to liberate the eastern side of the city from Islamic State militants, the second stage of an operation that has proceeded slowly to avoid civilian casualties. Since the offensive began in October, US-backed forces have retaken a quarter of the city; Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi expects a full recapture to take three more months.
Italy griped about the cost of its bank bailout. Italian economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan called on the European Central Bank to explain why it nearly doubled its estimated capital shortfall for Monte dei Paschi si Siena, the world’s oldest bank, which is currently being rescued by the state. On Monday, the ECB pegged Monte dei Paschi’s capital shortfall at 8.8 billion euros ($9.20 billion), up from a previous estimate of 5 billion euros, substantially increasing the cost of a government bailout.
Rodrigo Duterte called US ambassadors secret spies. In a television interview, the Philippines president characterized US envoys to other countries as “spies” whose “forte is really to undermine governments.” Earlier this week, the volatile leader threatened to throw corrupt government officials out of a helicopter, saying he had done it before and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
Quartz obsession interlude
Neha Thirani Bagri on the scary, unimpeachable evidence that climate change is already here. “According to Pew Research, less than half of all American adults believe that the Earth is warming mostly due to human activity. They are wrong, though, and 2016 was the year that news from around the world made climate change undeniable to anyone paying attention.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Netanyahu is mad that the UN called his bluff. Israel’s prime minister has long assumed that the international community would overlook the plight of Palestinians.
High CEO pay doesn’t help companies’ bottom line. There’s a “material disconnect” between what bosses are paid and a company’s financial performance.
Mobile-app games teach bad economics. In-app purchases are designed to manipulate kids into buying things they don’t need.
Surprising discoveries
Nine species have been named after Barack Obama. That’s more than any other president—though Teddy Roosevelt comes close with seven.
Half the planet will have to endure 2016 for an extra moment. On Dec. 31, the world will experience its 28th leap second.
Netflix is helping parents get kids to bed early on New Year’s Eve. The streaming service offers 10 different countdown videos to be played, well, whenever you want.
The Japanese have a word for death-by-overwork. There were a record 1,456 reports of karoshi in the 12 months ending March 2015.
The CIA refuses to sell a calendar of its official paintings. Produced by the nephew of a CIA contractor, the “Secret Ops of the CIA” calendar is available for purchase at the International Spy Museum.
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