Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The EU debates Hungary’s controversial education law. The new legislation could force the closure of Central European University, set up by Hungarian-born financier George Soros, who is at odds with Hungary’s authoritarian government.
Rex Tillerson begins a fraught trip to Moscow. The US secretary of state’s visit comes shortly after warning his hosts (paywall) to abandon support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. In the wake of US airstrikes on a Syrian airfield last week—a response to a chemical-weapons attack on civilians—Tillerson said Assad’s reign was “coming to an end.”
Rodrigo Duterte tours Bahrain. The Philippines president will meet with businesspeople about possible investment deals, a day after meeting Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Duterte has promised to bring back some overseas Filipino workers who are on death row in the Middle East.
While you were sleeping
The US accused Russia of covering up Syria’s poison gas attack. The Trump administration released information backing its accusation that the Assad regime bombed its own people with sarin nerve gas. It said the Syrian regime and Russian government are trying to confuse the international community with “false narratives.”
Trump’s press secretary claimed Hitler did not gas his own people. Sean Spicer made the statement while arguing that Bashar al-Assad was in some ways worse than the Nazi leader, who he said “was not using the gas on his own people the same way.” The Nazis gassed millions, including many Germans. Spicer later apologized.
Uber lost another senior executive. Rachel Whetstone, head of policy and communications, said she was leaving the ride-hailing giant, which has been dented by allegations of a sexist corporate culture and bad behavior from its execs, including that of CEO Travis Kalanick. The company has lost a string of top managers in recent months.
The Trump administration said it will end its federal hiring freeze. Agencies will be able to hire again, but must submit plans for making themselves leaner, said Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, adding that “government reorg is probably the biggest story nobody is talking about.” Trump ordered the hiring ban in January right after taking office.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on the search for the next “space unicorn”: “Space businesses have traditionally been predicated on heavily regulated government contracts, with deeply entrenched industry giants taking the biggest share of the work. But in the last decade, a number of trends have made extra-terrestrial business plans more attractive to nimble entrepreneurs seeking quick returns.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China is playing a dangerous game with $9 trillion worth of investments. Some popular wealth-management products need to fail lest the bubble keep inflating.
United has exposed the moral dilemma behind rewarding customer loyalty. Many elite flyers are sympathetic to the airline’s point of view.
You should consider donating your kidney to a stranger. Transplant patients are badly in need, and the process for donation is not that bad.
Surprising discoveries
A former U2 producer is selling music at Indonesia’s KFC outlets. Steve Lillywhite’s company is moving more than 500,000 CDs a month (paywall).
A hit Norwegian teen drama is broadcast in real time. If a Skam scene takes place on a Saturday at 2am, that’s when it airs.
The US Supreme Court hazes its new justices. Incoming justice Neil Gorsuch’s rookie responsibilities include organizing meals with the cafeteria staff.
Australian scientists discovered 50 new spiders in 10 days. They include a peacock spider with a “wonderful courtship behavior” akin to dancing.
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