EU leaders discuss Brexit, Abe turns Super Mario, North Korean Netflix and chill

[Quartz - qz.com] Daily Brief sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today The leaders of Germany, France, and Italy discuss Brexit. Angela Merkel, François Hollande, and Matteo Renzi [will convene on] the small Italian island of Ventotene to discuss a joint response to the UK’s planned exit from the European Union. An informal EU summit on the matter will be held next month. Pfizer closes in on a $14 billion acquisition of Medivation. An all-cash deal [could be announced] as early as today. The move would give the pharmaceutical giant the blockbuster prostate-cancer treatment Xtandi. It is the latest in a series of giant deals in the drug and biotech industries. The US and South Korea begin their joint military drills. Around 25,000 US and 50,000 South Korean troops will take part in the exercises from now until Sept. 2. North Korea regards the drills [as a provocation] and has threatened a “pre-emptive nuclear strike.” Over the weekend The Rio Olympics wrapped up. In the final tally, the US topped the table with 46 gold medals, Great Britain took home 27—the first nation to ever improve after hosting the Games themselves—and China came in third with 26. Brazil finished 13th—[not great for hosts] but their best performance ever, which included Olympic gold in the soccer for the first time. At the closing ceremony, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe [transformed into Super Mario] during the handover for the 2020 Tokyo Games. A child suicide bomber killed over 50 at a wedding in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed ISIL for the attack in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, and said the [bomber was between] 12 and 14 years old. More than 90 people were wounded in the blast. Turkish officials said on Monday that 22 of those killed were under the age of 14. The US national security regulator okayed ChemChina’s Swiss takeover. The Chinese state-owned company’s [$43 billion takeover] (paywall) of Swiss seed company Syngenta still faces further anti-trust reviews. A quarter of Syngenta sales come from North America, so getting approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US was a major concern for ChemChina. India appointed a new central bank head. Prime minister Narendra Modi [chose Urjit Patel] as the next Reserve Bank of India governor. Patel will assume his new position after Raghuram Rajan steps down on Sept. 4, and is expected to continue his predecessor’s policies. The Philippine president threatened to leave the UN. Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at [the “stupid” UN], after it condemned his war on drugs as a human rights violation and said the president’s call for the police and the public to kill drug traffickers was “a crime under international law.” The country’s national police chief said there have been 1,800 drug-related killings since Duterte took office in May. Sponsor content by Jaguar Designed with an elevated sense of manners. The all-new Jaguar F-PACE subtly makes its presence felt, remains composed in the most challenging situations and knows how to open doors. Explore the Jaguar Guide to Manners and [discover what else] makes the Jaguar F-PACE a cut above. Quartz obsession interlude Chase Purdy on what was truly ugly about those naked Donald Trump statues that cropped up in cities last week. “Aside from preying on people’s anxieties and generally being mean-spirited, perhaps the most depressing aspect of this kind of political dialogue is that it accomplishes nothing. It might draw a momentary wry smile, but it doesn’t inspire thoughtful conversation about foreign policy or race relations or the pressures small-business owners face.” [Read more here]. Matters of debate The cookie bake-off for first lady contenders highlights the lingering sexism in American politics. It started in 1992 when Hillary Clinton made then-controversial remarks [about her career ambitions]. Rio de Janeiro really amped up the show of force during the Olympics. [So what happens] to all those resources after the sporting bonanza is finished? Scientists have already created drugs that could make us better people. But is it ethical to use pharmaceuticals to [tinker with our morals]? Surprising discoveries North Korea has got its own version of Netflix. Manbang offers viewers on-demand educational shows and [documentaries about their leaders]. NASA is opening its vaults. The US space agency is now [making its research data available] to the public via a web portal. The ideas of Sigmund Freud are being put to the test in an Argentine prison. Inmates there are working through [their emotional issues] with a psychoanalyst. China launched a wild new satellite into space. Using quantum teleportation, the Chinese will try to make information travel [outside of space and time]. The Olympics started as a male-only competition to honor the Greek god Zeus. But there’s evidence the Greeks also held [another kind of competition] for women in honor of Zeus’s wife. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Manbang logins, and cookie recipes 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