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RSF fighters ambush a Sudanese village, killing 7 and burning homes

RSF fighters ambush a Sudanese village, killing 7 and burning homes

Associated Press12 hours ago
CAIRO (AP) — A notorious paramilitary group ambushed a village in south-central Sudan, looting and burning several houses, a medical group said Wednesday. At least seven people, including two children, were killed, it said.
Tuesday's attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the village of al-Ghabshan al-Maramrah, an agricultural community in North Kordofan province, also wounded 13 others, said the Sudan Doctors Network, a group of medical professionals tracking the Sudanese civil war.
The group said RSF fighters looted properties, burned several houses as well as the village's sole health care center, and 'stole the medical supplies stored there.'
The RSF did not respond to an Associated Press inquiry about the attack.
The attack on the Kordofan village came as the RSF attempted to seize control of the crucial, oil-rich region following a series of battlefield setbacks earlier this year in its war with the Sudanese government. The military kicked the RSF out of major cities in the first half 2025, including Khartoum and its sister city of Omdurman.
Last month, RSF fighters rampaged through the village of Shaq al-Num and the surrounding area in Kordofan, killing more than 450 civilians, including 35 children and two pregnant women, according to UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency.
Sudan plunged into chaos when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in April 2023 in Khartoum and elsewhere.
The fighting has turned into a full-fledged civil war that killed tens of thousands of people, displaced over 14 people out of their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine.
The devastating conflict has been marked by atrocities including mass killings and rape, which the International Criminal Court is investigating as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, meanwhile, said Tuesday it suspended its activities in the main hospital in RSF-controlled Central Darfur province in western Sudan following an armed attack on the facility.
The attack happened after two people, one of them dead from a gunshot wound, were brought to the MSF-supported hospital Saturday night. Armed relatives stormed into the facility and tensions escalated among those accompanying the casualties, who reportedly sustained their wounds in a looting incident in a nearby camp, it said.
'Suspending our activities and evacuating our teams is a decision no medical organization wants to make, but our staff cannot risk their lives while providing care,' Marwan Taher, MSF's emergency coordinator in Darfur, said.
The group said its operations can't be resumed until it receives 'clear security guarantees to protect staff and patients.'
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Cheetah cubs rescued before they are lost to illegal trade
Cheetah cubs rescued before they are lost to illegal trade

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Cheetah cubs rescued before they are lost to illegal trade

Ten cheetah cubs, held captive since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets, have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. Despite being severely undernourished and limping from months of being tied in captivity, the cubs are now in a stable condition, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) which is providing care. Laurie Marker, founder of the CCF, detailed the harrowing state of the animals, reporting that one 8-month-old cub was "unable to walk after been tied up for six months," while a 5-month-old was "very malnourished (a bag of bones), with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the skin." Marker stressed the delicate recovery process, adding: "But with cubs like this, we need to start them onto on food slowly due to refeeding syndrome, similar to people in starvation." Two individuals found in possession of the cubs were arrested on 14 August in the northern Sallahley District, with authorities urging the public to report any suspected wildlife trade activities. Somaliland is a major transit hub for the illegal wildlife trade, with hundreds of cheetahs and leopards from the Horn of Africa transported to Gulf countries through the Gulf of Aden. Abdinasir Hussein Said, Director of the Environment Ministry, told journalists that these ten cheetah cubs join a larger group of 109 others rescued in similar operations. He highlighted that possession of wildlife is illegal in Somaliland, where police frequently crack down on suspected traders. Mr Hussein appealed to the public to protect the region's wildlife, stating: "We encourage the people of Somaliland to protect wildlife in their natural habitats, as their best interests lie there. We can imagine the distress of a mother being separated from her young. These animals are currently suffering due to being separated from their mothers, which may lead to the mothers experiencing stress and potentially dying. Once again, we emphasize the importance of protecting wildlife in their habitats." Conservationists in the Horn of Africa have previously expressed significant concern over the escalating demand for exotic pets in Gulf countries. This demand fuels the illegal trade, severely impacting the delicate ecosystems of nations across the Horn of Africa. ——- Associated Press journalist Mohamed Sheikh Nor contributed to this report from Mogadishu, Somalia

What Is Your Health Record Worth? The Unseen Economics Behind Your Medical Data
What Is Your Health Record Worth? The Unseen Economics Behind Your Medical Data

Forbes

time7 hours ago

  • Forbes

What Is Your Health Record Worth? The Unseen Economics Behind Your Medical Data

Two thousand years ago, physicians in Egypt documented their patients' symptoms and treatments on papyrus scrolls. These early medical records served a simple, localized purpose: they supported direct care, were referenced in case discussions, and played a role in medical education. For most of human history, medical documentation was a tool for the physician, with little utility beyond the immediate circle of care. But in the modern era, as records have gone digital, they have transformed into something else entirely: a commodity. Today, medical records are exchanged, aggregated, analyzed, and monetized at a scale unimaginable in the paper era. Governments, researchers, and corporations alike are tapping into their value. Yet, for all the headlines about billion-dollar data deals and the promise of AI-driven breakthroughs, the average American remains largely unaware of what their medical data is worth—or how little control they have over it. In fact, the reality of the health data economy may surprise many. While one survey suggests that 70% of Americans would only be willing to share their records for more than $1,000, the actual price those records fetch is often far lower. For instance, despite claims that hackers can sell health data for $250 per record, consider last year's Change Healthcare hacking episode. A security breach compromised the data of over 190 million Americans at the company, which is a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary. UnitedHealth Group reportedly paid the hackers $22 million in ransom—an implicit valuation of just 11.5 cents per record. More challenging still, individuals are rarely in a position to benefit from the emerging market for health data in any meaningful way. The Evolution of the Medical Record Historically, the medical record was a tool of practice and pedagogy. In the 19th and 20th centuries, hospitals and teaching institutions developed increasingly sophisticated case files, supporting diagnoses, treatments, and post-mortem reviews. But the paper record had limits: it was static, siloed, and difficult to scale. Its value was largely confined to the provider who created or maintained it. This began to change with the advent of electronic health records (EHRs), especially following the 2009 enactment of the HITECH Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The federal government allocated billions to incentivize the adoption of EHR systems, explicitly aiming to create a "learning healthcare system" that could generate insights from aggregated clinical data. Digitization brought tremendous promise. Actual medical records, with discrete and detailed clinical data, could now be searched, shared, and studied. Health systems could coordinate care more effectively. Researchers could analyze trends across populations. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to report and track public health data in real time became critically important. But digitization also created new opportunities—and incentives—for data monetization. Who Buys Health Data, and Why? Health data is now big business, with most estimates pegging the market between $2B and $8B. And for good reason: the ability for researchers to investigate vast de-identified digitized datasets to understand how both individuals and therapies behave and respond in the real world (known as Real World Data or RWD), versus the rigid confines of clinical trials, holds the promise of increasing the pace and lowering the cost of medical discovery. In many ways, de-identified health data is nothing new: researchers and others have had access to some data for decades, thanks to medical claims data created by billing and reimbursement between providers and health plans. Claims data, however, can be thought of as a mile wide, an inch deep: it can tell the journey of patients, but isn't sharp on the details. What is new, then, is the depth and robustness of health records themselves: clinical notes, lab values, procedures, outcomes, etc. Pharmaceutical companies now buy RWD to identify candidates for clinical trials and assess treatment effectiveness. Health insurers analyze it to manage costs and stratify patient risk. Startups and AI firms use it to train algorithms, while public health agencies rely on it to monitor disease patterns. Despite these widespread uses, there's still little transparency around what health records are actually worth. That question is further complicated by ethical and legal considerations, which shape not only the price of data but who gets to profit from it. The Ethics and Regulation of Health Data Sharing A recent glaring example of the public's unease with health data and big tech is the story of Project Nightingale. In 2019, Google and Ascension Health launched a partnership to analyze millions of patient records. Both organizations acted within legal boundaries: HIPAA allows patient data sharing for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations purposes. Nonetheless, a whistleblower raised concerns, and public backlash was swift. Critics argued that the scale of the data sharing and the lack of transparency violated patient trust. Healthcare data can be used for other purposes (including research, analytics and/or commercial purposes), but must first be deidentified. The process of deidentification, defined by HIPAA, requires the removal of 18 types of identifiers or an expert determination that the risk of reidentification is very low. But deidentification isn't foolproof, especially with advanced re-identification techniques. And even when the rules are followed, public sentiment may differ from regulatory interpretations. The Project Nightingale controversy illustrates a central tension: legal permissibility does not always equate to ethical acceptability. As data sharing scales and becomes more commercialized, that distinction becomes increasingly salient. What Does The Data Say About The Value Of Health Data? So what is the value of a medical record? According to conversations with several industry experts, the answer depends on several factors. And for people interested in the value of their own health data, it may be disappointing. In general, records of healthy individuals or those with common, well-managed conditions tend to be worth very little. Their data is often less useful for clinical research, predictive modeling, or training AI models. On the other hand, records associated with specific diseases, especially rare or complex conditions, can command far higher value. This is particularly true when the data includes structured lab results, imaging, medication histories, and genomic information. For example, primary care records may be valued as low as 50 cents per patient. Medical imaging data (from MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds or X-rays) may be worth $30, depending on the underlying medical condition, purpose and location of the scan. In contrast, oncology medical records can be worth between $950 and $2,000 per patient, and genomic data alone can command $1,700 to $5,000. When genomic data is linked with phenotypic data, a combination prized by precision medicine companies, the value can exceed $6,000. Also worth noting is that these figures tend to represent value, not prices. Value in this context refers to the revenue a record holder can generate over time from selling data to multiple customers, rather than the price they might get from an individual buyer. For instance, while Tempus AI, a genomic lab company, realized an average of $1,899 in revenue per de-identified record, this was over a five year time horizon. Further data from Tempus suggests that health data may be subject to normal economic laws: as supply increases, prices may come down. Its revenue generated per record for new patients has decreased over successive years, from $502 per record in 2019 to $128 per record in 2023 (based on the author's firm's analysis). Further, the price a data broker or pharmaceutical company is willing to pay varies depending on the specific use case they are focused on, the supply and availability of similar data, and the ease of acquisition. Why It's Not Easy To Cash In There are several reasons why individual Americans can't easily profit from the value of their health data. First, while federal law (via HIPAA) guarantees a right of access to one's medical records, most patients do not have a comprehensive or consolidated copy. Health data is often fragmented across hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, labs, and insurers. Second, even with digital access, which most providers are now enabled (and effectively mandated) to make available, individual patients lack the market power or technical means to sell their data. The demand side of the data economy (e.g., pharmaceutical companies) generally needs hundreds or thousands (or more) records to suit their research purposes. Aggregated datasets are more valuable and easier to use than individual records. As a result, natural aggregators like hospitals, health systems, and EHR vendors are better positioned to meet that demand. Third, most individuals lack the necessary tools to de-identify their data or license it for specific purposes. While some technology companies are attempting to create platforms for personal data monetization, these remain nascent and face significant adoption and regulatory hurdles. There are companies out there seeking to change this paradigm. San Francisco-based Evidation Health has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to create a technology platform to help consumers aggregate their health and wellness data and enable them to participate in sponsored research. 'Individuals' data has value, and we believe they should share in that value,' notes Evidation's CEO Leslie Oley Wilberforce. Despite Evidation's progress - the company raised more capital in 2024 to accelerate growth - consumer awareness and adoption of these types of platforms remains nascent. The result is a market that extracts value from consumers without empowering them to participate. Americans may believe their data is worth hundreds of dollars, but without access, infrastructure, or market presence, they remain on the outside looking in. Case Study: 23andMe Perhaps no example better encapsulates the promise and peril of consumer health data than 23andMe. Once a darling of the direct-to-consumer genomics boom, the company amassed genetic data from more than 15 million people. It offered inexpensive at-home DNA tests, promising ancestry insights and health risk predictions. But the real business model was always data. 23andMe struck multiple deals with pharmaceutical companies, including a major collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline. These agreements were designed to monetize its enormous trove of genomic and phenotypic data for drug discovery and clinical research. Yet by 2025, the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Just weeks later, it was acquired by Regeneron for a mere $256 million—a dramatic fall from its $6 billion valuation just a few years prior. The decline was accelerated by a 2023 data breach affecting 6.9 million users, and growing public unease over privacy practices. The 23andMe story is a cautionary tale. Consumers willingly handed over their most intimate biological data, only to see that data become an asset in corporate transactions they had no control over. Even if Regeneron maintains 23andMe's stated privacy policies, the legal and ethical framework governing genetic data in the U.S. remains weak and fragmented. Conclusion: A Market With Limited Participation We began this story on papyrus scrolls, when medical records served the care of a single person and had little value beyond their immediate use. Today, we live in an age where those records are digitized, replicated, analyzed, and sold, often without the knowledge or benefit of the people to whom they pertain. So what is your health data worth? The disappointing answer is: it depends, but don't quit your day job, because you likely can't capitalize on it yet anyway. As the health data economy matures, we must grapple with fundamental questions: Who benefits? Who decides how data is used? And how can patients be treated not just as data points, but as participants in a system built on their personal information? In the next article in this series, we'll explore how health data is actually priced: who pays what, for which kinds of data, and what that tells us about the real value of your medical record.

RSF fighters ambush a Sudanese village, killing 7 and burning homes
RSF fighters ambush a Sudanese village, killing 7 and burning homes

Associated Press

time12 hours ago

  • Associated Press

RSF fighters ambush a Sudanese village, killing 7 and burning homes

CAIRO (AP) — A notorious paramilitary group ambushed a village in south-central Sudan, looting and burning several houses, a medical group said Wednesday. At least seven people, including two children, were killed, it said. Tuesday's attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the village of al-Ghabshan al-Maramrah, an agricultural community in North Kordofan province, also wounded 13 others, said the Sudan Doctors Network, a group of medical professionals tracking the Sudanese civil war. The group said RSF fighters looted properties, burned several houses as well as the village's sole health care center, and 'stole the medical supplies stored there.' The RSF did not respond to an Associated Press inquiry about the attack. The attack on the Kordofan village came as the RSF attempted to seize control of the crucial, oil-rich region following a series of battlefield setbacks earlier this year in its war with the Sudanese government. The military kicked the RSF out of major cities in the first half 2025, including Khartoum and its sister city of Omdurman. Last month, RSF fighters rampaged through the village of Shaq al-Num and the surrounding area in Kordofan, killing more than 450 civilians, including 35 children and two pregnant women, according to UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency. Sudan plunged into chaos when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in April 2023 in Khartoum and elsewhere. The fighting has turned into a full-fledged civil war that killed tens of thousands of people, displaced over 14 people out of their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine. The devastating conflict has been marked by atrocities including mass killings and rape, which the International Criminal Court is investigating as war crimes and crimes against humanity. The medical charity Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, meanwhile, said Tuesday it suspended its activities in the main hospital in RSF-controlled Central Darfur province in western Sudan following an armed attack on the facility. The attack happened after two people, one of them dead from a gunshot wound, were brought to the MSF-supported hospital Saturday night. Armed relatives stormed into the facility and tensions escalated among those accompanying the casualties, who reportedly sustained their wounds in a looting incident in a nearby camp, it said. 'Suspending our activities and evacuating our teams is a decision no medical organization wants to make, but our staff cannot risk their lives while providing care,' Marwan Taher, MSF's emergency coordinator in Darfur, said. The group said its operations can't be resumed until it receives 'clear security guarantees to protect staff and patients.'

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