Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi meets with the president of Turkey. Modi and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to discuss issues including counter-terrorist efforts, trade, and India’s bid to join the international Nuclear Suppliers Group. Erdogan, who recently gained sweeping powers in a controversial referendum, is accompanied by a 150-person business delegation.
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte talks with laborers… Duterte will announce a “surprise” for workers on Monday, according to his labor secretary. The leader has been under pressure to ban contractualization, as promised during his campaign.
…And countries around the world celebrate International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day. The holiday, which dates back to a US workers’ strike in 1886, will be marked by anti-Trump and pro-immigration protests in the US.
Over the weekend
Donald Trump had a “very friendly” call with Duterte. The US president invited the Philippines president to visit the White House. The invitation reportedly surprised Trump aides (paywall) and drew criticism from international human rights groups, who accused Trump of implicitly supporting Duterte’s violent war on drugs.
Mountaineer Ueli Steck died in a fall near Mount Everest. The 40-year-old Swiss climber was in training to take a new route to the Everest summit. He was well-known for scaling the Alps at record speeds and for a daring 2013 solo ascent on Annapurna.
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen named her would-be prime minister. Le Pen, of the far-right National Front party, said that if elected she would appoint Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a mainstream right-wing politician who shares her Euroskepticism and nationalistic views.
Trump shared his thoughts on North Korea. Speaking with CBS on Sunday, he called North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un a “pretty smart cookie” who had assumed power at a young age. But Trump left open the possibility of a missile strike against the country.
New reports show China’s economy is still cooling off. Manufacturing activity slowed down in April, as did the country’s services sector.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on the napkin doodle that changed the course of American history. “This moment remains one of the most famous legends of modern economic history. Its message—that tax cuts pay for themselves—endures too. (Look no further than president Donald Trump’s budget plan for proof.) This is even more remarkable when you consider that, except in its very vague suggestion that tax rates alone do not dictate tax revenue, Laffer’s curve is wrong.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Parents are missing the scariest part of the Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why. The series about teen suicide highlights the alarming fact that most parents are clueless about what goes on at their kids’ school.
Friendships, not diet and exercise, is the key to longevity. After studying centenarians in Sardinia, Italy, psychologist Susan Pinker argues for the health benefits of having at least three stable, close friendships.
It’s time to stop mocking Luddites. The coterie of 18th-century artisans weren’t afraid of technology, they were champions of equitable profit-sharing among workers and merchants.
Surprising discoveries
Some wildlife photographers skip the safari. Your favorite nature photo may have been taken on a US game farm, where domesticated wolves, cougars, and bisons are trained to pose for the cameras.
New York’s fanciest public toilet is now open to the public. With fresh flowers, Spanish and Italian tiles, artwork on the walls and classical music, the public toilet in New York’s Bryant Park reopened to the public last week after a $300 million renovation.
The world’s most famous man spoke at TED, but half the audience didn’t know who he was. Even with 90 films under his belt and over 24 million Twitter followers, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan had to reintroduce himself at the TED conference in Vancouver.
Canadian designers have invented the ultimate empathy armband. A Bluetooth device called SymPulse allows doctors and caregivers to experience tremors felt by patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Every innovation-driven company needs this chair. Tired of wet blankets in brainstorming sessions, Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde invented a chair with a voice recognition chip that will zap anyone who utters the words “yes, but.”
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