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 the Central European University, set up by Hungarian-born financier George Soros, who is at odds with Hungary’s authoritarian government.
Rex Tillerson does Moscow. The US secretary of state on Tuesday warned 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.”
The Trump administration ends its federal hiring freeze. Agencies will be able to hire again from Wednesday, 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.
While you were sleeping
Xi Jinping urged Donald Trump to calm down. A few days after returning home from his US trip, the Chinese president and Trump had a phone call, where Xi urged him to try and resolve the North Korea issue peacefully. Trump tweeted on Tuesday that the US would “solve the problem” of North Korea alone if China didn’t help.
Shareholders revolted against Akzo Nobel. Elliott Management, the hedge fund of activist investor Paul Singer, is opposing the Dutch paint company’s rejection of two takeover bids from US rival PPG, which would make it the world’s biggest paint company. The group of investors wants to oust Akzo’s supervisory board chairman.
Uber lost another senior executive. Rachel Whetstone, head of policy and communications, said she was leaving the ride-hailing giant, which has suffered from 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.
Tesco climbed out of its hole. Britain’s biggest supermarket beat analyst expectations with a 30% rise in operating profit in the last year, to £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion). The positive results, driven by lower prices and better customer service, will bolster CEO Dave Lewis’s plans to buy wholesaler Booker.
Germany launched a probe into its soccer-bus explosion. The Federal Public Prosecutor took over an investigation of three explosions on a bus carrying the Borussia Dortmund soccer team on Tuesday evening. A letter left near the scene of the attack apparently claimed it was a retaliation for German military reconnaissance missions against ISIL in Syria, but its authenticity is unclear.
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 won’t acknowledge how risky its financial products are until they fail. The government doesn’t want to touch its $9 billion in dicey wealth-management products unless they self-implode.
United has exposed the moral dilemma of 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 relatively simple.
Surprising discoveries
Scientists figured out why laces come undone. The foot striking the ground stretches and relaxes the knot, while the swinging leg acts like a hand pulling on the ends of the laces.
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 being 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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