🌍 An unhealthy UK gig

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Here’s what you need to know

Liverpool has a new minority investor. Dynasty Equity, a New York-based investment firm, is reportedly injecting at least $100 million in the Premier League club.

The US accused China of manipulating global media. In a report published yesterday, the US State Department outlined the ways in which it believes China curtails freedom of expression.

Evergrande’s chairman was accused of committing crimes. Details of the alleged wrongdoings weren’t released by the struggling property developer or authorities, but it’s yet another setback for the company.

Oil prices hit their highest point in a year. The hike is inventory-driven, as crude stock at a key storage hub in the US neared its operational minimum.

Taiwan crossed a military milestone. A homegrown submarine called Narwhal will strengthen the island’s defense in 2025 in a flex against the Chinese navy.

Women pay a lot more for healthcare than men in the US

Pregnancy and pharmaceutical costs aside, women in the US still spend $15 billion more per year than men on out-of-pocket healthcare costs:

As Quartz’s Clarisa Diaz explains, the financial discrepancy is only intensified by persistent gender wage gaps in the US. The onus then is on businesses to work with insurance companies to address the disparity.

Indian care workers are finding exploitation in the UK

Across the pond, hundreds of Indian nurses flocked to the UK after the covid pandemic to fill a care worker shortage, hoping to go on to work in the country’s National Health Service. But brokers and placement agencies have been ripping them off and exploiting them.

Quartz’s Samanth Subramanian tells the story of one migrant nurse, Maria, as part of our new series Merchants of Care, published with support from the Pulitzer Center and in partnership with Type Investigations. Read why Maria’s experience left her wondering if she should have ever left India for the UK.

Quotable: The sketchy business of life coaching

“When you’re a dentist, you don’t get one degree and then just stay a dentist forever—you have to go to continuing ed. You have to continue to learn about your trade, and you have to stay up to date with the latest thinking on things. There’s nothing like that in life coaching; you’ll never get sued for malpractice or lose your license. And you can be teaching some really damaging techniques to people.”—Journalist Jane Marie, host of the podcast The Dream

Making a living off telling people how to live has been scammers’ delight for centuries. Napoleon Hill, for one, wrote Think and Grow Rich in the thick of the Depression. But is it all snake oil? Quartz’s Gabriela Riccardi sat down with Jane Marie to talk about the bad actors of life coaching and what she found when she dove deep into the industry: It kind of worked.

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Surprising discoveries

Earth’s eighth hidden continent has been mapped. It’s almost completely underwater, but Zealandia has nearly 2 million square miles of landmass (for comparison, Australia has 2.9 million).

A fire-safe fuel was made. It’s a form of liquefied salt, and only ignites when it comes into contact with electric current. 

Microplastics were found in clouds. “Plastic rainfall” could be contaminating just about everything we eat and drink.

A new species of electric blue tarantula was discovered in Thailand. Blue is one of the rarest colors in nature, and this spider’s hue comes from how light reflects off its hairs.

An Airbnb in the Scottish Highlands is an exact replica of Shrek’s home. Get in me swamp!

Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, tickets to Zealandia, and waffles made by Donkey to [email protected]. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.