UK parliament sworn in, “The Simpsons” turns 30, free newspaper

The UK’s new Parliament gets to work. MPs are sworn in, with prime minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party taking 365 of parliament’s 650 seats following last week’s landslide election victory. Johnson plans to add a clause to his Brexit bill making it illegal to delay the divorce process beyond the end of next year. [Quartz Daily Brief]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today The UK’s new Parliament gets to work. MPs [are sworn in]( with prime minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party taking 365 of parliament’s 650 seats following last week’s landslide election victory. Johnson plans to [add a clause]( to his Brexit bill making it illegal to delay the divorce process beyond the end of next year. Argentina rushes to revive its recessionary economy. An [emergency bill]( will propose an array of tax hikes to raise funds, as new president Alberto Fernández also tries to renegotiate payment terms on IMF loans. [GDP data]( is expected to show that the economy shrank in five of the past six quarters. The UN Security Council discusses sanctions on North Korea. China and Russia have proposed [lifting sanctions]( on exports of statues and seafood. At China’s request, the council will also discuss [the situation in Indian Kashmir](. The Simpsons turns 30. The animated series first aired on Fox on Dec. 17, 1989, and has since become the longest-running scripted primetime series in history. You can celebrate by watching more than 660 episodes in a 15-day marathon [starting tonight on FXX](. Sponsor content by Slack How many unread emails do you have? The average office worker spends nearly a third of their day managing their inbox. Email is broken, and Slack has a solution. [Read about a better way to work](. While you were sleeping Unilever said it will miss its growth target. The consumer goods giant said [sales grew by less than 3%]( (paywall) in 2019, missing the lower end of its guidance. Lower-than-expected growth will continue in the first half of 2020, it added, due to “challenges in certain markets” like south Asia and west Africa. Pakistan’s former leader was sentenced to death for treason. Former president and military leader Pervez Musharraf was accused of high treason in 2013 for suspending the constitution and imposing emergency rule. He was [sentenced in absentia]( at a court in Islamabad; he is currently receiving medical treatment in Dubai. Roche cleared the final hurdle to buy an American gene therapy firm. The[US antitrust green light]( for the $4.3 billion acquisition of Spark Therapeutics will help the Swiss pharma group move into treating genetic disorders. Toyota was bullish on global car sales. The Japanese automaker said its global vehicle sales will [set a record high in 2020]( in spite of a slowdown in demand in China and the US. The company expects to sell 10.77 million cars next year, compared with 10.72 million this year. Quartz membership The world is running out of freshwater. Just 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh, and almost nowhere is its value truly reflected in its price. Now, investors are paying more attention to corporate water issues, and businesses are beginning to respond. In [this week’s field guide]( John Engen explores [the world’s water woes](. Quartz obsession Cyborgs already walk among us. Humans whose bodies have been implanted with cutting-edge tech have long lived in the realm of sci-fi movies—but many of us already use devices that augment our hearing, vision, and memory. You could even argue that the ubiquity of smartphones turns most of us, at least functionally, into cyborgs. [Upgrade your knowledge with the Quartz Obsession.]( Matters of debate Keynes’s optimism about the future was wrong. [Far from having moved beyond]( basic economic problems, Gen Z faces economic stagnation and ecological collapse. “Ethical” companies should be forced to keep their promises. When they [don’t behave as well as they claim they do]( consumers should be able to sue. Clothing sizes are meaningless. Even with new sizing technology, it’s hard to assign [a number that fully defines anyone’s figure]( (paywall). Surprising discoveries A new species of flower was discovered on Facebook. A [Ukrainian snowdrop specialist]( spotted it in a Turkish pediatrician’s holiday photos. Italian soccer used pictures of apes in an anti-racism campaign. The [tone-deaf campaign]( was meant to discourage fans from making monkey noises at black players. Japan’s Little Miss Period is trying to make menstruation less taboo. The movie’s animated character knocks women out [with a “period punch”]( before extracting blood. Britain’s baby prince loves celebrity chefs. One of 19-month-old prince Louis’s first words was “Mary,” after[he recognized TV chef Mary Berry]( on a cookbook cover. An Alaskan newspaper is for sale for $0. The owner just wants someone willing to live in Skagway—population 1,000—to[keep the publication alive](. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, new plant species, and obscure Simpsons quotes to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our app on iOS or Android]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Annabelle Timsit and Jason Karaian. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here to sign up.]( Want to advertise in the Quartz Daily Brief? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. To unsubscribe from the Quartz Daily Brief, [click here](.