Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Carrie Lam receives Beijing’s blessing. Hong Kong’s next chief executive will meet with Chinese premier Li Keqiang for her formal appointment during a four-day trip to Beijing. She was “elected” in March.
Narendra Modi hosts Malcolm Turnbull. The Indian prime minister is expected to sign a number of agreements with his Australian counterpart, including on matters of trade, security, and education. During his four-day visit Turnbull will be particularly focused on energy exports like coal and natural gas.
Rodrigo Duterte heads to the Middle East. The Philippine president visits Saudi Arabia on Monday, then Bahrain and Qatar later in the week. On the agenda: stronger protections for overseas Filipino workers and more investment in the Philippines.
Over the weekend
The US sent an aircraft carrier toward the Korean Peninsula. The USS Carl Vinson’s presence is a message to North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong-un has ramped up missile testing and sharply criticized (paywall) last week’s US airstrike in Syria. The rising tension has some wondering what a war with North Korea might actually look like.
Churches in Egypt were hit by deadly bombings. Over 40 people were killed in two separate attacks on Christian worshippers gathered for Palm Sunday. ISIL claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Boris Johnson canceled a trip to Russia. The UK foreign minister criticized Moscow’s continued support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad following last week’s chemical weapons attack on civilians, which prompted a US missile strike on a Syrian airfield.
China’s insurance regulator chief came under scrutiny. Xiang Junbo is being investigated by the country’s anti-graft commission, authorities said on Sunday. A member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee, Xiang would be one of the highest-ranking financial regulators to be caught in Beijing’s massive anti-corruption campaign.
Donald Trump’s cabinet lost another piece. After strategist Steve Bannon’s departure, the White House reportedly removed deputy adviser K.T. McFarland from the National Security Council after just three months. McFarland was offered an ambassadorship in Singapore instead.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jill Petzinger on why eco-conscious Germans don’t want electric cars: “Germany, the land of diligent recyclers, is often lauded for its eco-credentials, and its ambitious “Energiewende,” the government’s plan to wean the country off coal and nuclear power. However, as far as mobility goes, it’s a country still stubbornly attached to its gas-guzzling autos. Last year, the nation’s petrol-heads were partially responsible for sabotaging its overall greenhouse gas emissions.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The obsession with visionary entrepreneurs has gone too far. Unquestioning faith in founders created the conditions for some of Silicon Valley’s biggest scandals.
Cash is still king thanks largely to crime and tax evasion. It cloaks transactions in privacy (paywall) even as consumers increasingly favor digital alternatives.
Job interviews are pointless. Unwarranted first impressions influence hiring more than candidates’ credentials (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
The UK is considering paying wind farms to stop working. Excess energy flowing into the national grid could cause damage or outages.
Classical music can exercise our atrophied attention spans. Sitting still for a live performance can force you to rediscover focused listening.
There’s an electric version of Steve McQueen’s iconic “Le Mans” hotrod. The retrofitted Porsche 910 is twice as fast as the original and costs a cool $1.1 million.
The intoxicating scent of old books has been decrypted. After chemical analysis, researchers created the Historic Book Odor Wheel, similar to fragrance guides for wine and coffee.
US politicians proposed legalizing duels. If the proposition passes, Oregon state residents will vote on scrapping the 172-year-old ban on lawmakers drawing pistols at dawn.
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