Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A Trump/Trudeau summit. Given Canada’s reliance on US trade, will prime minister Justin Trudeau dare to challenge president Donald Trump on Muslim immigrants and the future of the NAFTA agreement during their first meeting in Washington? And where will their handshake rank among uncomfortable Trump embraces?
Further fallout from North Korea’s latest missile test. An intermediate-range missile traveled around 310 miles into the Sea of Japan Sunday, violating UN restrictions barring such North Korean activity. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe pronounced the test “intolerable,” while some see it as a North Korean provocation of Trump. Here’s a handy map of how far North Korea’s missiles can reach at this point.
US cabinet votes. The senate is expected to approve Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and for Veterans Affairs secretary, David Shulkin. Mnuchin is among the prominent Goldman Sachs alums populating the Trump administration, and Bloomberg reports the White House is now leery of bringing on too many more.
Over the weekend
Swiss voters came out on the side of immigrants. A successful national referendum measure—opposed by nationalists stoking anti-Islam fears—makes it easier for third-generation immigrants to gain Swiss citizenship.
India tested an interceptor missile capable of destroying projectiles high in the sky. The missile collided with its target, meant to mimic an attack from an enemy ship, 60 feet in the air above the Bay of Bengal. The research and development arm of the Indian military expects to be able to deploy missiles both inside and outside the earth’s atmosphere in two years.
Royal Bank of Scotland prepared for further cuts. The Financial Times reported that the bank will unveil a £800 million cost-cutting plan later this month, while the Sunday Times said RBS would cut up to 15,000 jobs. The bank has already closed about 200 branches in recent years.
Hundreds of pilot whales stranded on the shores of New Zealand swam free. With the help of volunteers cooling them with buckets of water, 240 whales returned to the sea after the tide came in. New Zealand is struggling with its biggest beaching in decades, resulting in the deaths of at least 335 whales.
Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected president of Germany. Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, is now the 12th person to hold the somewhat-ceremonial position. He will be replacing Joachim Gauck, who is stepping down on March 18.
Australia’s ongoing heatwave horrified climate scientists. Sydney Airport reported its hottest February day ever recorded on Feb. 10, as temperatures reached 42.9 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). Scientists warn the relentless heat is a glimpse of what’s to come if carbon emissions aren’t dramatically reduced.
Quartz obsession interlude
Sarah Todd on a smart way to organize priorities at your home and office. “To figure out how to prune your to-do list, Dufu recommends using the theory of comparative advantage, a principle developed by the classical economist David Ricardo in 1817 to explain the benefits of free trade….The principle can be applied to our personal productivity, too.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Artificial intelligence’s biggest victim could be the middle class. An uprising by humans is far more likely than one by a robot superintelligence.
Germany is playing a dangerous game on trade. It chronically overproduces and under-consumes, inflating pockets of debt and unemployment in the US, the UK, and the euro zone periphery.
Don’t blame globalization for economic inequality and social immobility. The problems are due to a lack of vision and action by governments around the world.
Poor spelling is a political issue. Americans are divided on many things, and now skirmishes over misspellings are driving them further apart.
Surprising discoveries
A couple in the UK plans to wed via VR. The virtual-reality wedding will take place at a bar in Cardiff, but guests will be transported to a futuristic nightclub through VR headsets.
A startup found a way to solve robots’ awkward walking issues. Inspired by flightless birds, Agility Robotics’ latest creation walks like an ostrich and can handle nearly any terrain.
A World-War-II-era bomb forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Greeks. The 550 lb. (250 kg) bomb was unearthed in Thessaloniki during road work and was later defused.
You can likely afford a piece of Alexander Fleming’s original penicillin mold. Fleming gave out mold medallions like calling cards, so an upcoming fungus auction is expected to hit only $5,000.
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