Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Dutch voters head to the polls. The election is seen as a test of nationalist feeling, with anti-immigrant candidate Geert Wilders pushing to close all mosques and exit the EU. A strong showing by Wilders would bode well for far-right candidates in France and Germany. Prime minister Mark Rutte has urged voters to ”beat the wrong sort of populism.”
The Federal Reserve will almost certainly raise interest rates. The US central bank has prepared financial markets for higher rates, with more hikes to come—a course that sets up an inevitable collision (paywall) with the Trump administration’s desire to boost the economy. US inflation and retail sales data are also due.
The European Parliament debates the EU’s ability to keep citizens safe. The talk comes after a leaked report from a security task force showed major holes in the ability to monitor movements in and out of the bloc. The document noted it’s impossible, for instance, to search cross-national databases using fingerprints or other biometric data.
While you were sleeping
A Trump tax return came to light. In 2005 he sent $36.3 million to the taxman, on earnings of more than $150 million—a rate of about 24%. He could have avoided paying $31 million of that if not for an “alternative minimum tax” that ensures high-income earners with big deductions pay at least a minimum amount. Trump has vowed to abolish that tax.
China’s premier said his nation didn’t want a trade war with the US. Fresh out of the annual National People’s Congress, Li Keqiang said the nations share common interests and noted that bilateral trade and investment created nearly 1 million US jobs last year. Next month Chinese president Xi Jinping will meet with Trump in Florida.
Prosecutors summoned South Korea’s former president to appear for questioning. Park Geun-hye’s day in court is set for March 21. She faces charges of bribery, extortion, and abuse of power (paywall). Having been removed from office last week, she no longer has presidential immunity.
The OAS secretary general proposed suspending Venezuela’s membership. Luis Almagro, who leads the Organization of American States, said the nation should be temporarily removed from the bloc unless general elections are held soon. He argued democracy and human rights have been hurt under Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
Quartz obsession interlude
Annalisa Merelli on the refugees who made some of the nicest things we have: “David Tran, inventor of America’s beloved sweet and spicy Sriracha hot sauce, was a Vietnamese refugee. Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to Indian parents, settled in the UK after fleeing the Zanzibar revolution in 1964. Alec Issigonis, creator of the iconic Mini Cooper, was evacuated from Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) during the Greek-Turkish war in 1922.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The most detailed maps in the world will be for robots. Autonomous vehicles need to know exactly where they are, using maps that no human could read.
The world’s oil producers are back on the brink of a price war. Just a few months after an apparent truce, OPEC and Russia are under siege from US shale oil.
Women in finance are punished more severely than men. They’re 50% more likely to lose their jobs as a result of misconduct.
Surprising discoveries
Chinese thieves love QR codes. They can be used to hack smartphones or route payments to rogue accounts.
A “smart vibrator” maker was fined for tracking user data. The Bluetooth-enabled “We-Vibe” was also highly vulnerable to malicious hackers.
Spiders are the world’s most prolific predators. There are 45,000 different species that eat a total of 400 to 800 million tons of prey per year.
Japanese toilet maker Toto is getting into bathtubs. If they’re as confusing as the country’s notoriously high-tech loos, bath time should be an adventure.
MIT is handing out a $250,000 prize for disobedience. The award will go to someone who takes a personal risk to create a positive change for society.
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