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☆ Jacob Zuma has made a dramatic comeback in South Africa’s elections. Will he have the last laugh over Ramaphosa?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Sarah Dean | David Mckenzie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Johannesburg, South Africa CNN —South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) party faces a mammoth challenge as it needs to form a government with its political rivals after suffering a seismic blow in last week’s election. However, both parties believe in the primacy of South Africa’s constitution and both have promised to crack down on corruption. If the ANC decides to pursue coalition talks with MK, then Zuma will want Ramaphosa out, solidifying his revenge. However, if South Africa’s president maintains his grip on the ANC, a coalition with MK is unlikely. South Africa’s business community and middle class are broadly nervous about an EFF–ANC coalition and its effect on investor confidence.

Persons: Mahlengi, Motsiri, Jacob Zuma, Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa –, –, ”, Tessa Dooms, ” Dooms, Ramaphosa, Gupta, Ramaphosa’s, Fikile Mbalula, “, John Steenhuisen, Steenhuisen, TK Pooe, Paul Mashatile, Zuma “ unapologetically, Melanie Verwoerd, Verwoerd, Julius Malema, Malema, Floyd Shivambu, Mandela, Klerk, Thabo Mbeki Organizations: South Africa CNN, National Congress, ANC, South, MK, who’ve, CNN, Sunday, Democratic Alliance, White South, DA, EFF, Fighters, Wits School, Governance, Empowerment, ANC’s, National Health Insurance, Freedom Party, IFP, Reserve Bank, Finance, GNU, FW Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa, Zulu

☆ The US didn't feel safe enough to raise a kid, so we moved to Japan
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Trevor D. Houchen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He and his wife felt it would be unsafe to raise their child there and decided to move to Japan. He finds Japan more affordable, safe, and is happy to be living near his wife's family — but he's scared of bullying. AdvertisementMy wife was already six months pregnant when we agreed she would leave the US and have our baby in Japan. I want him to learn to speak Japanese fluently and feel safe enough to enjoy his childhood to its fullest. As a professor myself and after a 20-year long career in education, I have read studies that note the lack of critical thinking taught in Japanese high schools.

Persons: Trevor D, Houchen, —, We'd, — we're, she'd, we'd, we've, Care.com, I'm, I'd Organizations: Service, Georgia Technical College, Georgia Gwinnett College —, of Health, Ministry of Health, Labor, Welfare, Kaiser Family Foundation, Japan Times, New York City —, US Naval Locations: Atlanta, Japan, LA, Yokosuka —, Tokyo, Houkien, New York City, Yokosuka

☆ First-degree relatives are 9 times more likely to develop a serious form of depression, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Close relatives of people with treatment-resistant depression are nine times more likely to develop depression that also does not respond to traditional treatment, a new study found. For people with treatment-resistant depression, also known as TRD, standard treatments such as psychiatric therapy and antidepressants may not work well, if at all. Being aware that treatment-resistant depression runs in families can help with early treatment options, experts say. First-degree relatives of people with TRD, which include parents, siblings and children, were nine times as likely to develop treatment-resistant depression and were at high risk of all-cause death and death by suicide compared with relatives of people without TRD, the study found. “So, this is a very welcome study indeed and goes someway to addressing the massive underrepresentation of Asian people in studies.”

Persons: CNN —, ., Ta Li, Yang Ming, ”, Andrew McIntosh, McIntosh, Justin Paget, ” Li, Li, “, ” McIntosh Organizations: Lifeline, CNN, Tung University, Centre, Clinical, Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Digital Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Scotland, Europe, North America

☆ Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens went all in on primary care. Their bets are bleeding money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In the past several years, Amazon, CVS Health, and Walgreens each spent billions to own primary-care companies. CVS bought Oak Street Health. Here's how the bets that Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens made are playing out. CVS is building more Oak Street clinics despite lossesAn Oak Street Health location in Elgin, Illinois during its grand opening. CVS is hoping to help Oak Street clinics get profitable quicker by driving more patients their way.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Thos Robinson, It's, JP Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway, Business Insider's Eugene Kim, Kim, they've, it's, VillageMD hasn't, Jefferies, Brian Tanquilut, Tanquilut, Lydia Ramsey, Mike Pykosz, Pykosz, Aetna, Michael Cherny Organizations: CVS Health, Walgreens, Amazon, CVS, Oak Street Health, Business, Aetna, Medical, Washington Post, Summit Health, Oak, Health Locations: Oak, VillageMD, Haven, Florida, Elgin , Illinois

☆ The Point - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Patrick Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Chinese officials had strongly warned Taiwanese voters not to choose as their next president Lai Ching-te, a Harvard-educated doctor whom it detests as a separatist. China cautioned that the election of Lai could lead to war in the Taiwan Strait, and it interfered in the election to try help Lai’s rivals. Taiwan’s voters took that all in and then did what mainland Chinese can’t do openly: They defied President Xi and elected Lai as president. They have made “China’s reunification” a nightmare to most Taiwanese voters. I lived in Taiwan in the 1980s, studying Chinese, and have been here countless times since.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Lai Ching, Lai, Xi, Tsai Ing, Jinping, Hsiao Organizations: Harvard, People Liberation Army Locations: Taiwan, China, Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong, New Jersey, United States

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea’s Constitutional Court has upheld a law banning same-sex relations in the military, citing a threat to combat-readiness, in a judgment decried by the local LGBTQ community as a disappointing setback. “Even if sexual acts are consensual” they risk “causing serious harm to preserving the fighting power of the nation’s armed forces, if committed (while on duty),” it added. But the group said it was encouraged by the comments of the dissenting judges, who warned against deeming sexual acts between same-sex couples as abnormal. The dissenting judges said there is “no reason” to differentiate between consensual sexual acts by same-sex soldiers and heterosexual ones. With a mandatory military service imposed on almost all able-bodied men between the age of 18 and 28, South Korea has one of the world’s largest active armies.

Persons: ”, Boram Jang, scuffles, Hong Joon, pyo Organizations: South Korea CNN, Constitutional, Amnesty, National Health Insurance Service, South Korea’s, Seoul Queer Culture, Christian, Daegu Queer Culture Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Asia, South, Daegu

☆ The Biden administration is negotiating lower prices for 10 medications with drug manufacturers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Biden administration announced Tuesday it is beginning talks with drug makers behind 10 expensive medications to lower prices for recipients of Medicare, the national health insurance program for older Americans and people with disability status. The negotiations are expected to last until 2024, with the lower prices expected to go into effect in 2026. The Congressional Budget Office "estimated that price negotiation will lower average drug prices paid by Medicare and will reduce the budget deficit by $25 billion in 2031." "Negotiating provides us a critical tool to ensure they get those prescription drugs at lower prices – just as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has done for years." AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Biden administration has recently taken aim at high drug prices and high profits at pharmaceutical companies.

Persons: —, Biden, Juliette Cubanski, Harris, Xavier Becerra, Jardiance, Eli Lilly Organizations: Service, Congressional, Medicare, Biden, Harris Administration, Human Services, U.S . Department of Veterans Affairs, HHS, Centers, Services

☆ Opinion: American women have an alcohol problem. It’s critical to understand why
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Opinion Jill Filipovic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —American women have a problem with booze. The messaging around women and drinking has reflected women’s shift toward the dysfunctional, which may then create a vicious cycle as more women see problem drinking cast as cheeky, fun or normal. And more women may now be paying the price for this normalization of alcohol abuse. I suspect many of them are turning to alcohol as one way to dull the painful reality of isolation. None of that will end alcohol abuse, which has been a centuries-long problem.

Persons: Jill Filipovic, —, White, ”, they’re, we’re Organizations: Twitter, CNN, American Medical Association, White Locations: New York, prurient, America, Europe

☆ Mental illness may mean higher heart attack, stroke risk for people under 40
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Those people younger than 40 with a mental disorder were 58% more likely to have a heart attack and 42% more likely to have a stroke than those with no disorder, the study found. That could point to a greater need for managing psychological conditions and monitoring heart health in those at risk, Park added. It is important to note that the findings do not show that mental illness causes heart attacks or stroke, she added. Choi recommends that people with mental health conditions receive regular checkups as well. “Many individuals with mental illness suffer from social isolation and loneliness, and for years researchers have been sounding the alarm that loneliness is detrimental for physical health,” Ehrlich said.

☆ Little Journey helps children prepare for hospital procedures and clinical trials. Check out the 12-slide deck it used to raise $3.1 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based Little Journey has raised $3.1 million for its children's health platform. The startup helps children and families prepare for hospital procedures and clinical trials. Check out the 12-slide deck Little Journey used to raise the fresh funds. A startup that has developed a platform to support children and their families during hospital procedures and clinical trials has just raised $3.1 million. Little Journey makes children aware of who they're meeting and where they're going and gives them coping strategies before their clinical procedures.

☆ South Korean court recognises spousal coverage of state insurance for same-sex couple -Yonhap
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Tuesday recognised spousal coverage of state health insurance for a same-sex couple in a landmark verdict, overturning a lower court's ruling that said the union cannot be considered a common law couple under current law, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. The plaintiff, So Sung-wook, filed a suit against the National Health Insurance Service in 2021 after the state health insurer denied his rights to receive spousal coverage despite granting such rights to other common law couples. But the appellate court said the spousal coverage system under the state health insurance scheme is not just for families as defined by law, and not granting the rights to same-sex couples was discrimination, Yonhap reported. Protecting the rights of minorities is the "biggest responsibility" of the court as the "last bastion" of human rights, the court added. Telephone calls by Reuters to the National Health Insurance Service seeking comment went unanswered.

☆ Stigma and poverty stymie cancer treatment as rates rise in Kenya
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Like many people in Kenya, Sperenza Maina went into denial when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer, hiding it from her family for months and delaying important treatment. As in much of Africa, most cancer cases in Kenya are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited and families make huge sacrifices by selling assets or borrowing money, according to a World Bank report. As the country gets wealthier, cancer diagnoses are on the rise; annual incidence increased by almost 30% between 2012 and 2018, data from the health ministry shows. Women in Kenya often fear seeking diagnosis for some of the most common and deadly cancers in Kenya such as cervical and breast cancer, said Bridget Nyabuto, a doctor at the Nairobi Radiotherapy and Cancer Centre. Having cancer is not a death sentence, you have to live to tell the story," she said.

☆ First raise for Japan day labourer in 20 years, but McDonald's out of reach
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Elaine Lies | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Masami Fujino got his first raise in 20 years recently, but it's still not enough to let the Tokyo day labourer treat himself to plain McDonald's hamburgers as much as he used to. "Last year, I finally got a bit of a raise at one place," said the 54-year-old, who works for a moving company and in construction. "It brought me up to minimum wage there at last," 1,072 yen ($8.31) an hour in Tokyo. But many of the small and midsize firms that employ the vast majority of Japanese workers cannot keep up. When they raise pay for their salaried workers, they need to cut back in other places.

☆ Chinese hospital says half of its staff got Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Locals line up for medical treatment at the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine on June 1, 2022. CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — About half of the nearly 2,000 workers at the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine got Covid-19 during the latest wave, director Liu Qingquan said Wednesday. Liu told reporters the workers all recovered by taking traditional Chinese medicine. China has encouraged the use of traditional Chinese medicine alongside Western treatment for Covid. Rather than pharmaceutical drugs, traditional Chinese medicine relies on herb-based remedies and natural methods to help the body heal itself.

☆ A couple spent $40,000 to convert a van into a luxury tiny home where they live and work while traveling the world — see inside
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Lisa Dittrich | Nathan Rennolds | Business Insider Deutschland | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Jan and Marie Koza are a couple who spent 60,000 euros buying and converting a Citroën Jumper van. They now live, work, and travel the world in the van, aiming to spend 1,000 euros a month each. "We paid 20,105.38 euros for it, which included the registration fee and some other little things," Marie told Insider. They spend most of their money on gas and provisionsIn the Canary Islands, the couple spent 173.03 euros on gas and 870.39 euros on provisions each month, they said. In total, the couple said they spent 2,621.16 euros in the Canary Islands on "variable costs," including tolls and ferry fare.

☆ This 35-year-old left the U.S. for Croatia: 'I live on $47 a day — here’s a look at how I spend my time'
▼ + stars: | 2021-08-21 | by ( Steve Tsentserensky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The average rent for a one-bedroom in Jersey City, for example, is $2,779 (not including utilities), according to rental listing website RentCafe. I'm renting directly from the owner for $540 (including utilities) per month. Marmontova Ulica, a busy street in Split filled with several shops and restaurants. Photo: Steve TsentserenskyI spend an average of $47 a day. Photo: Steve TsentserenskyThe pace of life in Croatia is dramatically different — and much more my speed — than in New Jersey.

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