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What to watch for today
Iran gives Europe an ultimatum. President Hassan Rouhani visits Switzerland today and Austria tomorrow to drum up support for the nuclear accord as the start date for fresh US sanctions on his country approaches. Iran said it will [resume nuclear activities]( unless key European countries agree to keep trading with it.
Poland rolls out a controversial judicial overhaul. The European Commission has protested the new policy that would [force out 40% of the countryâs Supreme Court]( justices by lowering the mandatory retirement age.
The last of the World Cupâs quarter finalists are confirmed. England play Colombia and Sweden play Switzerland in the final matches of the round of 16âsome England fans are already [daring to dream]( of a place in the finals.
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While you were sleeping
Donald Trump sent snail mail to NATO leaders. In letters sent in June, the president [chastized the leaders]( (paywall) of countries including Germany, Norway, and Canada for spending too little on their own defence. He also warned that the US was running out of patience with the bloc.
The boys trapped in a Thai cave canât be rescued for now. Divers located the 12 boys and their football coach in a flooded cave yesterday after a week-long search. The military said [getting them out could take months]( as they first need to be trained to dive. They will be supplied with food, water, and medication while they wait.
US mall vacancies hit a six-year high. Online shopping continued to hurt brick-and-mortar shopping centers in the last quarter, sending vacancy rates to 8.6%, which is the [emptiest theyâve been]( (paywall) since 2012.
Chinaâs currency hit an 11-month low against the dollar. Anxious investors bracing for the [looming US-China trade war]( caused the currency to cross the 6.7 per dollar point for the first time since August 2017. The White House will slap 25% duties on $34 billion worth of Chinese products on July 6, and Beijing will match that in retaliatory tariffs.
Amazon added six hours to Prime Day. This yearâs bargain-shopping frenzy (on July 16) will [go on for 36 hours]( the company said, and it will extend the event to include Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Last yearâs Prime Day was the biggest sales day in the companyâs history.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Rosie Spinks on how Hilton Hotels fought the Cold War with ice water, AC, and burgers. âThanks to omnipresent enterprises like Hilton, itâs remarkably hard for Americans to grasp just how pervasively embedded their countryâs dominance and ideology is. Itâs hidden in something as prosaic as a glass of ice water, a hamburger, a high-rise hotel room. Wherever Americans go, their way of lifeâand sense of hubrisâis catered to, very often by quintessentially American brands like Hilton.â [Read more here](.
Matters of debate
Tech regulation must come from companies, not governments. Private [third-party supervisors]( are more effective than slow bureaucracies.
Hiring people based on a âculture fitâ can damage your business. People who all think the same will [struggle to innovate]( or adapt to change.
Amazonâs prescription drug push will be hard to swallow. Buying PillPack was easy compared with [competing against powerful and well-established incumbents](.
Surprising discoveries
Australia is punishing anti-vaxxers. Parents [who donât vaccinate their children]( will get money docked from their family tax benefits.
âPompeiiâs Unluckiest Manâ was no more unfortunate than his neighbors. The [79 AD meme sensation]( (paywall) was killed by suffocation, not a boulder.
Japanâs World Cup octopus barely outlasted its soccer team. The creature was [sold for food]( before it could forecast the outcome of the Belgium match.
Astronomers photographed a planetâs birth for the first time. The image of a gas giant forming is [equally beautiful and enlightening](.
Uniqlo is using Roger Federer to show off its climate-controlling clothes. The [Japanese company insists]( that itâs not a âsports company,â but a technology firm.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, scientific tennis wear, and psychic-octopus salad to hi@qz.com. You can follow us [on Twitter]( for updates throughout the day or download our [apps for iPhone]( and [Android](. Todayâs Daily Brief was written by Jill Petzinger and edited by Lianna Brinded.
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