| | | Ex-Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn leaves a Tokyo detention center after his release on bail Wednesday. Source: Getty |
| | IMPORTANT | | 01 | Days after the collapse of a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, experts say Pyongyang has been rebuilding a long-range rocket launch facility it began dismantling after the first summit last year. Meanwhile, national security adviser John Bolton said North Korea may face even tougher U.S. sanctions if it doesn’t denuclearize soon.
What does this mean for future talks? South Korea’s intelligence chief reportedly believes Pyongyang is restoring the site either as a back-up option if negotiations fail — or to stage another dismantling if diplomatic efforts are successful. | |
| | 02 | After clocking 136,150 detentions of migrants traveling as families between October and February, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the system is “well beyond capacity.” That record-breaking figure includes at least 66,000 arrests in February alone — the highest number in more than a decade.
What’s being done? While efforts are underway to improve detention systems, including offering better health care to migrant families seeking asylum, officials say these are still only short-term solutions.
Check out this OZY feature about how Mexico is opening its own borders. | |
| | 03 | The disgraced auto executive was freed from a Japanese prison today after spending more than three months in pretrial detention. Ghosn, who posted $8.9 million in bail, faces restrictions that include constant video surveillance and no access to mobile internet — in addition to the forfeiture of all three of his passports. Facing up to 15 years in prison for financial misconduct, he maintains he’s innocent.
What’s next for Nissan? Life apparently isn’t all bad for the Japanese firm: Its Leaf hatchback just became the first electric car to cross the 400,000 sales mark.
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| | 04 | Yesterday Pakistani authorities announced they’d arrested 44 members of banned groups — including relatives of the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was behind a recent suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that left dozens dead. That attack prompted New Delhi to accuse Islamabad of harboring terrorists, sparking fresh tensions between the two nuclear powers.
Will this soothe India’s concerns? Analysts say the operation seemed more symbolic than meaningful, especially in the absence of a broader crackdown on Islamist groups.
Don’t miss OZY’s Special Briefing on the India-Pakistan dispute. | |
| | 05 | At least 16 people were killed in a suicide attack today in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. Chinese online retailers have cut iPhone prices for the second time this year as Apple faces slowing growth in the world’s biggest smartphone market. And disgraced singer R. Kelly will use his first TV interview since being charged with sexual abuse last month to refute the allegations.
#OZYfact: The Solomon Airlift, the largest-ever aerial expedition in Israeli history, brought 14,500 Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Read more on OZY.
We’re hiring! OZY is looking for a creative and ambitious senior graphic designer to join our marketing team. Could this be you? Check out the job description for more details … and find all our open jobs right here. |
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| | | | INTRIGUING | | 01 | He gave it a shot. Ethan Lindenberger, 18, told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions yesterday about how he sought to vaccinate himself after his mother — reportedly misinformed by social media — didn’t get him immunized. The Ohio teen said his efforts to counter her anti-vaccine beliefs with solid research were met with the response, “That’s what they want you to think.”
How else is the anti-vaccine movement under fire? Amid growing concerns about its negative effect on public health, Amazon has reportedly begun removing anti-vaccine documentaries from Prime Video.
Read OZY’s story about the small island paradise that’s beating malaria. | |
| | 02 | Reduce, reuse, restyle. Mimi Prober’s worries about the fashion industry’s environmental impact inspired a zero-waste philosophy that makes sustainability the focus of her collections, OZY reports. She integrates antique fabrics, such as handmade 19th-century lace, with natural fibers and botanical dyes to create what she calls modern-day heirlooms. That’s helped the creative New Yorker forge partnerships with high-end retailers and even snag celebrity endorsements.
Are Prober’s products affordable? At $450 per T-shirt, not exactly — but she notes that cheaper “fast fashion” causes the vast majority of environmental harm. | |
| | 03 | The East Japan Railway Company said Tuesday it would introduce a system to send video surveillance images straight to police during emergency situations, part of an effort to boost security ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Plans also include installing about 22,000 security cameras at 1,200 stations. Meanwhile, the transport ministry has started testing body scanners at a central station where a 1995 nerve gas attack took place.
Is everyone on board with these new measures? Despite a spate of high-profile train attacks in recent years, rail companies have opposed stricter rules that may inconvenience passengers. | |
| | 04 | On its way to a lunar landing next month, the Beresheet spacecraft beamed back a photo of itself yesterday — with Earth in the background 23,364 miles away. Visible in the shot was a plaque featuring the Israeli flag and two messages: “Long live the nation of Israel” in Hebrew, and “Small Country, Big Dreams” in English. Launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last month, Beresheet is set to enter the moon’s orbit April 4 before landing seven days later.
How historic is Beresheet’s journey? If it’s successful, Israel will become only the fourth country after the Soviet Union, China and the U.S. to complete a soft lunar touchdown.
Don’t miss this OZY story about China’s burgeoning private space industry. | |
| | 05 | They were flagrant fouls. Two Adidas employees and a would-be agent have been sentenced to at least six months in prison after being convicted on wire fraud charges last year. They were accused of conspiring to pay $100,000 to prospect Brian Bowen’s family in exchange for his signing to play basketball for the University of Louisville. Two more trials are pending against coaches allegedly involved in a pay-for-play scheme.
Will the system change? Despite what he called lenient sentences, the judge said he hopes the ruling will rattle a college basketball world long plagued by allegations of corruption.
Don’t miss this OZY story about what a player-run league would look like. | |
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| | Caught Up? Now Vault Ahead ... | | To get more fresh stories and bold ideas in your inbox, check out The Daily Dose. | | | Acumen A new global survey suggests parents have something new to feel guilty about when it comes to smartphones and their children. READ NOW | |
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