Belarus “hijacking”, Olympic vaccinations, too much sanitizer

Plus: How free rides help Uber [Quartz]( Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know The US, EU, and UK accused Belarus of hijacking a plane. They’re [considering sanctions]( after fighter jets forced a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk, where police arrested Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich. Japan began a mass Covid-19 vaccination program. The military is administering [thousands of shots a day]( in Osaka and Tokyo, where the Olympics are due to begin in two months (see below). The World Health Organization holds its annual assembly. Taiwan, an early Covid success story that’s now facing a spike in infections, [has again been left out]( because of China. A volcano eruption left hundreds homeless in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite serious concerns, [lava from Mount Nyiragongo]( failed to reach nearby Goma, a city of 2 million. Phil Mickelson became the oldest winner of a major golf tournament. With [thousands of spectators finally present](, the 50-year-old American won the US PGA Championship in South Carolina. Bob Dylan is 80 today. Although he shows no signs of retiring, he recently sold his songs to Universal Music [for a rumored $300-$400 million](. What to watch for The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo is slated to begin in two months. Opinion polls show that the [Japanese population](, and major [Japanese firms]( and [investors including Masayoshi Son](, largely favor postponing or canceling the games. Organizers are steadily announcing decisions on Covid-19 testing, spectators, and protocols. But no amount of planning can [reduce Covid-19 risk to zero](. Fewer than 5% of people in Japan have received a first vaccine dose. Many parts of the country, including host city Tokyo, are under a state of emergency as cases have risen in recent weeks. Being vaccinated is not a requirement for athletes, though many countries are prioritizing jabs for Olympic participants. It is unclear how widely the local organizers will be vaccinated. They’ll be the people interacting with international arrivals. Only the International Olympic Committee can cancel the event. But the local authorities still [get left with the tab](. Charting the ways Uber benefits from giving free rides for vaccines [A chart showing Uber's monthly unique user count by quarter. It shows a steady rise from 700 million in the first quarter of 2018 to 1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, then a dip to 550 million in depths of the coronavirus and a rise back to just shy of 1 billion in the first quarter of 2021] Starting today, Uber will provide free rides to anyone in the US going to and from Covid-19 vaccination sites. The company is also providing 20,000 free vaccine-appointment rides to the elderly in certain cities in Japan. And, in a partnership with UNESCO, Uber will provide 1 million free rides to teachers around the world. Anyone without reliable transportation stands to benefit, [but Uber has a lot to gain as well:]( - It can help it recover old customers. Riders who have avoided Uber trips during the pandemic could be coaxed back into the habit. - It can help it gain new customers. Once new users download the Uber app, it makes them more likely to consider using the service in the future. - It will boost its usage figures. The company lost half its customers from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020 and is still about 130 million users off its peak. - It’s good PR. Uber is seen as the [less socially responsible ride-hailing company]( compared to its rival Lyft. It continues to [face criticism]( from labor advocates and policymakers. Who owns the Arctic? [Illustration of ships and oil rigs surrounding iceberg] Illustration by James Daw The Arctic is bordered by eight independent countries—Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, the US, China, Iceland, and Greenland. Each is able to claim the waters off its coasts and the resources beneath. Everything else is covered by a patchwork of regulations, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Companies are eyeing the Arctic as a place to extract natural resources like rare earth metals, oil, and natural gas. Many of these companies are so large, and so often state-owned, that they serve as proxies for their governments, their narrow industrial interests providing a cover for their states’ projections of power. [Read more here](. ✦ Figuring out the Arctic is a billion-dollar question, but [trying out a Quartz membership is free](. Gain access to all the stories, presentations, field guides, workshops, and more available exclusively to Quartz members. Quartz announcement Every week, Quartz publishes a new field guide with an expert look at the most important phenomena influencing how you live, your work, and the global economy. As a membership exclusive, you’ll get access to 100+ field guides to prepare you for the world’s biggest changes. [Read this week’s guide on opening the arctic by signing up for membership now, 40% off.]( Handpicked Quartz 📦 [China’s vaccine outreach in Africa is falling short of Beijing’s pledges]( 🐰 [Space Jam is a massive merchandising opportunity with a movie attached]( 🌏 [How Ethereum plans to get around a major drag on crypto prices]( 🗳 [Retail investors are finally poised to take on stratospheric CEO pay]( 📝 [Inside the hard business of selling DIY rape kits]( 🔑 [Biden’s new executive order on climate change leaves a key question unanswered]( 🎮 [Netflix is seriously flirting with a push into video games]( 📉 [How much should anyone be worrying about WeWork’s $2.6 billion quarterly loss?]( 🏭 [African data hubs have a sustainability issue]( Surprising discoveries A South African university determined a Rembrandt was a fake. A [painstaking investigation]( led to the discovery of pigments that couldn’t have been in a work by the Dutch master. Sweden is building a space complex. It will be [Europe’s first orbital launch site]( for satellites, and the reindeer are not happy. Tardigrades—a.k.a. “water bears”—can survive impacts at up to 1,845 miles per hour. Scientists fired the famously tough creatures [out of a gun]( to simulate the crash of a space landing. US retailers have too much hand sanitizer. Demand has plummeted, and stores are [taking extreme measures]( to offload their stock. Cocaine is washing up in the Florida Keys. For weeks now residents have been finding [wrapped bundles of the drug](. SHARE TO EARN SWAG Coffee cups, tote bags, free membership, and more. Refer the Quartz Daily Brief to friends, family, and coworkers to earn all of these premium prizes. [Share the Daily Brief today]( and start reaping the rewards. Our best wishes for a productive day. 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