Angela Merkel in China, mass shooting in Florida, underground empires

[Quartz - qz.com] Daily Brief sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Angela Merkel meets with China’s leaders. The German chancellor aims to push Beijing on trade, cyber security, and human rights during [a joint cabinet meeting]. Yesterday, she accused China of [hurting Europe’s steel industry]by overproducing the commodity. Apple’s big conference for developers begins. The tech giant’s annual [Worldwide Developer Conference] in San Francisco launches with an expected focus on [opening up its digital assistant Siri] to outside coders. Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince visits the US. Mohammed bin Salman—in charge of [overhauling his country’s economy]—will meet with president Barack Obama, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and other senior officials. He also plans to meet with Silicon Valley executives in California. Over the weekend The US suffered the deadliest mass shooting in its history. A man identified as Omar Mateen [killed 50 people] and wounded at least 50 more at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on Sunday (June 12). Mateen reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIL in a 911 call before the attack. Hooliganism and trash marred Euro 2016. European soccer’s governing body UEFA warned Russia and England their teams [would be booted from the tournament] if their fans were involved in any further violence. Meanwhile, France faces [another week of strikes] by unions over labor reforms, with uncollected trash piling up in Paris and a walkout by Air France pilots leading to flight disruptions. A bomb went off in Shanghai’s main airport. Five people were wounded when a man [threw a homemade explosive device] near check-in desks at Pudong International Airport, and then stabbed himself in the neck. “Hamilton” dominated the Tony Awards. The blockbuster hip-hop Broadway musical [won 11 awards], having received 16 nominations—the most in Broadway history. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda [gave a stirring tribute] to the Orlando shooting victims in his acceptance speech. Lotte postponed its big IPO. Following last week’s raids by prosecutors on the South Korean retail group, it said would [withdraw plans to list] for now. The IPO was expected to raise up to $4.5 billion. Over 2,500 migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean. Italian authorities said they pulled migrants crossing from Libya out of the sea near the coast of Sicily [in separate operations] on Saturday and Sunday. Almost 50,000 people have arrived in Italy since the start of the year, and thousands have died during the treacherous crossing. Sponsor content by Appboy New Research Report: How Brands Increase App Retention 75% of app users fail to return the day after first use. A [new research report from Appboy] examines data from more than 300 apps globally and more than 300 million user profiles to learn how brands can increase app retention. The report covers 10 industries for the most comprehensive benchmarks on app retention to date. Quartz obsession interlude Kevin J. Delaney on Silicon Valley’s plan to create a radically new stock exchange. “US tech startups have long wanted to overhaul the process for firms to list their shares and to find ways to minimize pressures on public companies from high-frequency trading, cynical activism, and any distorting incentives of quarterly results.” [Read more here]. Matters of debate America is wrongly blocking gay men from donating blood to Orlando shooting victims. The government’s guidance against gay male donations [is scientifically unjustified], and a reminder of lingering battles facing the LGBT community. We’ve been eating genetically modified food for 10,000 years. Why stop now? Not all [genetically modified food is bad], and plenty of “cloned” produce is considered “organic.” What the modern “Right to Die” debate can learn from an ancient Indian religion. Choosing to fast to death at the end of one’s life is seen as [a spiritual celebration in Jainism]. Surprising discoveries Vast underground cities were uncovered in Cambodia. Some as large as capital Phnom Penh, they would have comprised the [world’s largest empire] in the 12th century. You can train your brain to cope with stress. There are neuroscience-based techniques that [alter brain chemistry] “as much as any antidepressant,” according to experts. Dr. Robot will see you now. Experiments on pigs found autonomous robots made [as good or better stitches] than experienced human surgeons. Japanese messaging app Line made $268 million from digital stickers last year. The “larger and more expressive version of emoticons,” as the company describes them, accounted for a quarter of [total sales]. The Milky Way is disappearing. One-third of the global population [can’t see the galaxy] because of widespread light pollution. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, pricey sticker sets, and star maps to [hi@qz.com]. You can download [our iPhone app] or follow us [on Twitter] for updates throughout the day. Want to receive the Daily Brief at a different time? [Click here] to change your edition. To unsubscribe entirely, [click here]. Like us on [Facebook] and follow us on [Twitter]. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States