🌎 Flying blues

Plus: Will Amazon run out of people to hire? Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here]( [Quartz]( June 20, 2022 [View in browser]( Sponsored By Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know Colombia elected its first left-wing president. Gustavo Petro, a former mayor of Bogotá and ex-guerilla fighter, [claimed victory]( after running on a platform to [combat inequality](. Bitcoin dropped below $20,000. The cryptocurrency slumped this weekend, reaching its lowest level since December 2020, and [continues to hover]( at the symbolic threshold. US air travelers faced major disruptions over the weekend. Thousands of flights were [canceled or delayed]( as airlines struggle with staff absences. The UN’s top diplomat condemned fossil fuel companies and their financial backers. Secretary-general [Antonio Guterres’s position]( clashed with US president Joe Biden’s call on energy producers to drill more oil. Apple employees voted to form the company’s first US union. Retail workers at an Apple store in Maryland voted by a nearly [2-to-1 margin]( to unionize amid a [nationwide surge]( in labor organizing. The US marked its second-ever Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Celebrations in [the nation’s capital]( were marred by [a shooting at a street party](. Swimming world’s governing body restricted transgender athletes’ participation at elite competitions. FINA’s set [hormone-based criteria]( for inclusion in men’s or women’s events. Sponsor content by Apple Card Pay no fees. Ever. Apple Card reboots the credit card. It has no annual, foreign transaction, late, or over-the-limit fees. Terms apply.[Advertisement] [Apply here]( What to watch for Europe is adjusting to new cuts in its natural gas supply after Russia [stopped or reduced the flow of gas]( into a dozen countries including Germany, France, Poland, and Italy last week. The fuel cuts coincide with a [heat wave stretching across Europe]( from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. In response, Germany announced yesterday it would [restart its coal-fired power plants](, a [setback for climate policy]( after the country [invested $45 billion to phase out coal]( by as early as 2030. Italy may be forced to [ration gas and burn more coal]( to meet power demand this week, and Spanish power plants are stockpiling gas to prepare for coming shortages. In the coming days, more European governments are likely to announce their plans for coping with fuel shortages. Will Amazon run out of people to hire? Amazon, the world’s second largest private employer, may be [running out of people to hire](. An [internal research memo obtained by Recode]( indicated that the e-commerce giant is worried its available US warehouse labor will deplete very soon. Amazon has played down the implications of the research memo, saying it doesn’t represent what’s really going on. But even if the company isn’t on the cusp of a labor shortage, it is struggling with attrition as employees raise concerns about unsafe working environments and [lead unionization efforts](. It’s clear even Amazon knows it’s getting harder to find people who consider the work fulfilling. 2024: Year the memo predicts Amazon’s US warehouse labor supply will dry out 75%: Rate at which Amazon’s global workforce grew during the pandemic 70%: Share of Amazon’s retail business sales that are in the US $18: Amount Amazon has raised its minimum wage to, on average Africa’s CEOs are hyped on Côte d’Ivoire [Deloitte's Africa CEO results] Côte d’Ivoire is reclaiming its reputation as a top investment destination in Francophone Africa—and on the continent as a whole, according to the 2022 CEO Barometer Survey released at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, the largest annual gathering of Africa’s private sector. Political stability, favorable business climate reforms, and a strong economy are the key factors in the west African [country’s renewed prominence](. Quartz Africa editor Ciku Kimeria wrote about why companies want to do business in Côte d’Ivoire in the latest Quartz Africa Weekly briefing. Keep up with the continent by [signing up today]( and [reading our latest edition](. [⚡ Sign me up]( Subscribe with one click Message from our Partner When two Financial Times reporters dig into the porn industry, they make a shocking discovery: nobody knows who is controlling the largest porn business in the world. On the Hot Money podcast, hosts Patricia Nilsson and Alex Barker uncover who is pulling the strings, revealing a story that includes billionaires, tech geniuses, and powerful finance companies. [Listen now]( Quartz most popular 🏀 [The Warriors’ $1.6 billion bet on live sports is finally paying off]( ✌️ [Why Indian developers keep quitting their jobs]( 🔌 [Tesla is leaving the market for low-end electric cars to traditional automakers]( 👤 [The disappearance of a top livestreamer shows the risk of doing business in China]( 😬 [Do you live close enough to a small US airport to have lead exposure?]( 📦 [Oracle finally won TikTok’s US data storage business]( ✦ Love stories like these? Support our journalism by becoming a Quartz member. Sign up today and [take 40% off](. Sponsor content by Apple Card Pay no fees. Ever. Apple Card reboots the credit card. It has no annual, foreign transaction, late, or over-the-limit fees. Terms apply.[Advertisement] [Apply here]( Surprising discoveries Half of Japan’s businesses may still be using Internet Explorer… A report found a fifth of companies [didn’t even have a plan]( for switching browsers once Microsoft ended support. …while in South Korea, Internet Explorer got a final resting place. A software engineer paid 430,000 won ($330) for a headstone [commemorating the browser]( on top of a cafe. Nepal is moving its Everest base camp to a lower altitude. Climate change and overuse is melting the Khumbu glacier where [1,500 people gather]( each season. There’s already litter on Mars. NASA believes a shiny object photographed between two red rocks is [a piece of a foil thermal blanket]( from a 2021 mission. People are saving their pee for farmers. A fertilizer shortage has inspired some Americans to [fill jugs with urine]( to help their local growers increase crop yields. SPREAD THE WORD Over 500k readers and counting. 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