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Hard Numbers: Iran’s imprisoned Peace Prize winner, China’s inadequate insurance, Poland boots PiS, Ohtani makes the big bucks
Kiana and Ali Rahmani, children of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2023, receive the award on behalf of their mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway December 10, 2023.
2: Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi’s twin children accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf in Oslo as she serves a 10-year sentence for “spreading propaganda.” Mohammadi was awarded the prize for her battle against the oppression of women in Iran; in a speech smuggled from prison and read out by her children, she maintained, “The Iranian people, with perseverance, will overcome repression and authoritarianism.”
19 million:China’s state-subsidized health insurance system saw a drop in enrollment of 19 million people in 2022. Over 1.3 billion policies are still in force, the minimum premium has doubled since 2018, and limited coverage and declining incomes forced many Chinese, notably farmers and migrant workers, to drop their coverage.
8: And the winner is … Donald Tusk. This week, it is expected that after 8 years, Poland’s populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) will hand the reins of power to Tusk and his Civic Platform Party, representing a more moderate, pro-EU position. While the PiS won the most seats in last month’s election, it was unable to put together a ruling coalition.
700 million: Japanese baseball superstar Shohei “Sho-Time” Ohtani is set to become the highest-paid MLB player ever. Last week, the 29-year-old phenomenon signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a contract reportedly worth $700 million over 10 years – on top of his multi-million dollar endorsement deals with brands like New Balance. Chris Davis, the shoemaker’s chief marketing officer and the son of its billionaire chairman, Jim Davis, described Ohtani as “a once-in-a-lifetime-type player.” Sho-Time, indeed!