Trade and border wall talks, Iran’s revolution turns 40, “obligation chocolate”

Trade talks between China and the US resume… Beijing hosts a new round of negotiations after last month’s talks in Washington. The two countries are trying to reach a deal before a March 1 deadline, when the US is expected to increase tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. [Quartz Daily Brief: America]( Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Trade talks between China and the US resume… Beijing hosts [a new round]( of negotiations after last month’s talks in Washington. The two countries are trying to reach a deal before a March 1 deadline, when the US is expected to increase tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. … while US border talks hit a wall. Democratic and Republican lawmakers will try [hash out an agreement]( on border security funding today, as they look to avoid another government shutdown. Disagreements over immigrant detention policies led to talks collapsing over the weekend. Mike Pompeo jets off to Central Europe. The US Secretary of State [kicks off]( the first high-level visit by the US to the region in years, with the White House looking to check Russian and Chinese influence. Pompeo lands in Budapest today and visits Slovakia and Poland [tomorrow](. Next steps for Brexit. Ahead of a meeting with his UK counterpart Steven Barclay today, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the EU is [willing to reconsider]( some of the language in the political declaration that accompanies the UK’s exit from the European Union, but not the withdrawal agreement. Fourth-quarter GDP data today showed Brexit anxiety [weighing on the UK economy](. Trump chats AI. The president launches the [American AI Initiative]( today, a plan to dedicate more state funds to artificial intelligence research. China has boosted its AI spending [significantly]( with the goal of becoming a world leader in the field by 2030. Iran marks a historic moment. Hundreds of thousands are expected to hit the streets to commemorate the [40th anniversary of the 1979 revolution]( which saw the formation of the Islamic Republic. The anniversary comes [amid heightened tensions]( with the US, after Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and slapped biting sanctions on the country. Over the weekend Donald Trump said his second meeting with Kim Jong Un will be in Hanoi. The US president tweeted [more details about the summit]( Friday, after confirming he would hold talks with the North Korean leader on February 27 and 28 during his State of the Union address earlier in the week. Amy Klobuchar joined the US presidential race. The Minnesota senator announced on Sunday that [she is joining the increasingly crowded field]( of candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2020 election. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren also officially [announced her candidacy]( on Saturday. South Korea agreed to pay more for US troops. The 8.2% increase will bring this year’s bill [to $890 million]( up from $870 million last year. The money covers the pay of South Korean workers at US military bases, as well as construction and logistical support. About 28,000 US troops are stationed in the country. Thailand’s election commission ruled out a royal political bid. The Southeast Asian country [disqualified Princess Ubolratana]( from running for prime minister, saying royals should stay “above politics.” Her younger brother, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, had earlier described her candidacy as “[inappropriate]( Poisonous liquor killed more than 77 people in India. The cheap illegal booze was [improperly distilled and contained methanol](. Dozens were hospitalized, and authorities have warned the death toll may increase. The Grammys and the BAFTAs celebrated inclusivity. The [US music awards show]( focused on the work of women, and featured a guest appearance by Michelle Obama. Meanwhile, the [UK’s version of the Oscars]( was swept by the female ensemble drama The Favourite, and the Spanish-language film Roma. Quartz obsession interlude “The cloud” powers the modern world but the concept of sharing computer power predates the internet. Cloud services like Amazon Web Services basically just rent out computer power—like server space—by the hour. The first time-shared computer was theorized in 1955, and demonstrated six years later, long before the internet was even a concept. Check the forecast on data storage [in the Quartz Obsession](. Membership A year ago, bitcoin was all the rage. And then it crashed. What’s next for cryptocurrency and the underlying blockchain technology that supports it? We go deep on this subject this week with Matt De Silva, our in-house wizard on cryptocurrency and author of our twice-weekly Private Key feature, which keeps you up to date on the wild and crazy world of digital money. Learn more in [this week’s membership exclusive](. Matters of debate [Join the conversation with the new Quartz app!]( Teacher merit pay is a bad idea. Success in education is [harder to define than in business](. Free money doesn’t help unemployed people find jobs. It does, however, help their well-being, a [basic-income trial in Finland]( suggests. Medical chatbots won’t replace doctors. At most they’ll help them [do their jobs better](. Surprising discoveries Welsh sea snails are a South Korean aphrodisiac. Most of the 10,000 metric tons of whelks [caught in the Bristol Channel]( are shipped to Asia. Oregon has more legal cannabis than the state can consume in six years. The finding suggests the weed [is not leaking out]( into the black market—yet. Hungarian women having four or more kids will never have to pay income tax again. Prime minister Viktor Orbán [announced the incentive Sunday](. Japanese women are pushing back against “obligation chocolate.” The tradition of [giri choco]( compels women to buy their male coworkers chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Barbie is a billion-dollar brand, again. Global sales of the fashion-doll line [reached more than $1 billion]( last year, a 14% rise from 2017. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, rejected obligation chocolates, and helpful chatbots to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by [downloading our app]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Adam Rasmi and edited by Jackie Bischof. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here to sign up.]( If you click a link to an e-commerce site and make a purchase, we may receive a small cut of the revenue, which helps support our ambitious journalism. See [here]( for more information. To unsubscribe from the Quartz Daily Brief, [click here](.