Russia metro bombing, Dalai Lama drama, salted doorknobs

Good morning, Quartz readers!

What to watch for today

The Dalai Lama begins a touchy visit in northeast India. China claims the Arunachal Pradesh state is part of “south Tibet,” and is likely to see the Tibetan Buddhist leader’s nine-day trip as a provocation.

Japan’s ambassador returns to South Korea… Yasumasa Nagamine was withdrawn several months ago to protest a statue honoring South Korean women who were sexually assaulted in Japanese military brothels. Relations are on the mend with the prospect of a new South Korean president and renewed threats from North Korea.

…and South Korea’s centrist People’s Party picks a presidential candidate. Former party co-chairman Ahn Cheol-soo will almost certainly be chosen, following the Democratic Party’s selection of Moon Jae-in.

While you were sleeping

A bomb attack on the St. Petersburg metro killed 10 people. More than 40 people were injured by an explosion on a train while it was between stations. No group has taken responsibility for the blast, which is being investigated as a terrorist attack.

S&P cut South Africa’s credit rating to junk. The downgrade, which came after president Jacob Zuma fired his finance minister, marks the first time the country has not had an investment grade rating since 2000. The rand, which plummeted after Pravin Gordhan was dismissed, fell an additional 2.3%.

An Apple supplier’s shares plunged 70% after its contract was terminated. British microchip maker Imagination Technologies received 40% of its revenue from Apple, which unexpectedly announced that it would begin designing its own graphics chips.

Dubai busted hackers who were blackmailing White House staffers. State-run media reported that police arrested three people in an “African gang,” who had obtained “highly confidential” information from five senior officials in the Trump administration. The victims’ identities were not disclosed.

Ferdinand Piech cut ties with Volkswagen. The 80-year-old former chairman agreed to sell “a major part” of his controlling stake, worth about €1 billion ($1.1 billion), to the ruling Piech and Porsche families. The grandson of Ferdinand Porsche lost a corporate power struggle in 2015.

Quartz obsession interlude

Tim Fernholz on the complex auto trade between the US and China: “Now that China is the largest car market on the globe, US firms are reluctant to complain too loudly about the lopsided rules for fear of being cut off completely—US firms and their joint ventures have a major share of the market.” Read more here.

Markets haiku

What could be less cool
Than Google telling us that
Teens think Google’s cool?

Matters of debate

“Leaning in” isn’t working. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg says women are no better off, four years after her best seller was published.

It’s risky negotiating with China when you don’t know what you want. If the White House can’t set a coherent Asian policy, it may get suckered by Beijing.

Detroit is winning the race for autonomous cars. Google, Uber, and Tesla are ill-prepared to reach the masses.

Surprising discoveries

Dolphins like to tenderize their octopus prey. It’s the only way to avoid choking on zombie tentacles.

The UK passport might get a post-Brexit makeover. A conservative MP wants to end the ”humiliation” of having a “pink” passport—though most would call it burgundy.

Salted doorknobs could help fight superbugs. Simple table salt is much cheaper than antimicrobial copper, and may be even more effective.

A Turkish chocolate firm’s April Fools’ Day prank backfired spectacularly. Government supporters decided that it was a coded threat of a coup d’état.

Britain, Canada, and Italy have the whiniest babies. Their rates of colic are the highest in the industrialized world.

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