Abe’s WWII speech, Greece’s late-night vote, not enough cooks
Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Japan marks the 70th anniversary of its World War II defeat. Prime minister Shinzo Abe is expected to make a speech, and suspense is mounting in South Korea and China over whether he will apologize for the war, as his predecessors have.
The US re-opens its embassy in Cuba. State secretary John Kerry will lead a flag-raising ceremony more than 50 years after the embassy was closed. The same three Marines who took the US flag down in 1961 will hoist it once again.
The euro zone’s economic update. GDP for the 19 countries in the bloc is expected to have increased by 0.4% in the second quarter, the same as in the first quarter, with growth limited by the Greek economic crisis.
A late-night vote on the Greek bailout. An anti-austerity faction is threatening to leave prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza party. But the Greek parliament is still expected approve a new package of economic reforms in exchange for €85 billion in new loans.
While you were sleeping
Greece’s economy did surprisingly well. The financially-strapped country’s economy grew by 0.8% in the second quarter, thanks in part to its resilient tourism industry. Still, this is probably the last of Greek GDP growth we’ll see for a while.
Crude oil prices hit a six-year low. West Texas Intermediate, a benchmark for US oil, fell below $43 for the first time since 2009, while Brent crude is less than 7% from a new six-year low. The latest pressure on prices comes after China weakened its currency yet again and the International Energy Agency said demand won’t rise meaningfully until next year.
Swedish prosecutors ran out of time to charge Julian Assange for sexual assault. The five-year statute of limitations expired for two counts—unlawful coercion and sexual molestation—against the WikiLeaks founder, who has been ensconced in Ecuador’s UK embassy for several years. But one major investigation against him, for suspected rape, will remain active until 2020.
Tinder broke up with its CEO. Christopher Payne, who took over from Sean Rad as chief executive just five months ago, is stepping down, with Rad moving back into his old role. The move comes after the dating app start-up unleashed a torrent of tweets disparaging a critical article in Vanity Fair.
Chelsea Manning was threatened with solitary confinement. Lawyers and supporters of the Wikileaks whistleblower, who is serving 35 years in a military prison for disclosing government secrets, said she faces indefinite solitary confinement for a series of minor infractions, including possession of expired toothpaste and a magazine featuring Caitlyn Jenner.
Quartz obsession interlude
Max Nisen on how one undergrad lost his summer internship at Facebook. ”Arun Khanna found out the hard way that Facebook doesn’t particularly appreciate it when potential employees reveal embarrassing privacy gaps. The Harvard student was all set to be a summer intern at the tech firm until his exposure of a flaw in the company’s Messenger app went viral in a blog post on Medium in May.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The best person to fix a company is the one who created it. Companies in trouble habitually re-hire their founding CEOs.
Prison inmates need newspapers. They are a crucial learning tool for people with low literacy skills.
Airbnb is bad for city residents. An increasing number of rental homes are owned by outside investors.
Elon Musk doesn’t belong on a pedestal. The great-man myth of innovation is hurting the tech industry.
The Paleo diet is utter nonsense. New research shows that cavemen loved and needed carbs, just like us.
Surprising discoveries
The road could charge your electric car as you drive on it. Wireless charging roadways are already being used in South Korea.
American restaurants are running out of chefs. ”Too many cooks” isn’t a problem when entry-level kitchen positions go unfilled.
Yeast can make opioids. The fungus that gives us bread can also be modified to produce prescription painkillers, too.
China’s air pollution kills 4,000 people a day. Particulate matter from coal burning causes heart attacks, cancer, and asthma.
Donald Trump owns thousands of websites. He purchased DonaldTrumpSucks.com, and many more, so no one else could.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, entry-level cooks, and Paleo put-downs to [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.