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• Salaha Ashraf spent her last few years of medical school feeling stressed and anxious.
• She said hospital wards were under-resourced and busy, and she knew she wanted to quit. 
• After graduating, she applied for a corporate grad scheme, embarking on a new career path.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Salaha Ashraf, 28, from Bolton, a town in the northwest of England. Ashraf went to medical school in 2014 but pivoted into a corporate career after deciding she didn't want to be a doctor. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

There wasn't a defining moment when I decided to go into medicine. I sort of fell into it. In my South Asian culture, medical professions are highly regarded. Plus, my siblings worked in the medical field, and I could see them doing well.

During my time working in hospitals for my medical degree, I experienced a lot of anxiety and stress. I was working long shifts and felt like I was being thrown into the deep end.

I decided to leave the medical field in 2020 after finishing my degree. I got on a corporate graduate scheme at 25 and now have a 9-to-5 in HR. I've never looked back.

I struggled with the UK's understaffed hospital environment during my studies

I started my five-year medical degree in 2014 at a university in northwest England.

The first two years of my course were focused on learning theory about anatomy and physiology and the last few years were spent in hospitals, learning the skills and techniques I'd need to be a doctor.

I enjoyed the first few years, but I began to struggle in my third year when it became more hospital-based. In a lecture theatre, I was shielded from the realities of being a doctor.

The NHS has been under increasing pressure. When I worked in hospitals, the wards were understaffed, under-resourced, and extremely busy because of a lack of government funding. It was a tough environment to learn and practice skills. Doctors were being pulled in all directions. Finding one with the time to watch me practice and teach me was hard.

I also had reservations about junior doctors' salaries. Junior doctors in the UK have been striking for years over low pay. My peers had such a passion for medicine that they were willing to be doctors no matter what. I didn't feel I had enough passion to compensate for the lack of fair pay.

I found a new passion for business management but decided to finish my medical degree before switching career path

I dreaded going into my fifth year of medicine and decided to take a year out and do a master's in business management. I wanted to explore areas outside the medical field.

I felt more passionate about business management after one year compared to four years of medical school. I attended lectures because I wanted to, not because I had to.

I knew I wanted to quit medicine, but I was so close to the finishing line after passing my fourth-year finals before taking a year out. Logically, it made sense to finish my medical degree. I was meant to graduate in the summer of 2020, but it was brought forward to April because the pandemic hit.

In the UK, we have graduate schemes that help you get your foot in the door at an industry

During my fifth year, I started applying to graduate schemes. I'd heard about The Times newspaper's book of top 100 graduate employers. I looked through it and applied to a range of companies. My choices were mainly based on location, as I wanted to stay in the north of England, close to my parents.

The application process was harder than I expected. I didn't realize there were various stages, like personality and situational judgment tests. I messed up the first video interview I did. But my technique improved after a few other interviews.

I made it to a final interview with an aerospace company and got offered a remote job as a graduate commercial officer, managing contracts for the company. I started in January 2021.

There was a cohort of around 30 of us on the grad scheme.

I was 25 at the time, and many of the other grads were younger than me. I felt behind and like I should be further in my career at this stage, but I had to remind myself I had the maturity and professionalism that the 21-year-olds didn't have.

I learned a lot about communication while training to speak with patients as a doctor.

The perks of a 9-to-5 job are great

The scheme officially ended after 18 months, and I was given a permanent role in contracts. The company let me pivot into HR six months later because I wanted to do something that would incorporate my people skills.

I felt my medical background made me suitable for HR work. Doctors improve patient's lives, and in HR, I'm improving employee's lives. I left that company in September 2023 and now work in HR at a pharmaceutical company.

In a corporate role, I get my weekends off and have more control over my annual leave. I take an hour lunch break, whereas when I worked in a hospital, I would skip meals to keep up with the workload. I also work from home at my current job, which allows me to spend time with my family.

I feel I'm in the right career for me.

I don't wish I was a doctor

I try to look back at medical school in a positive light. I'm glad I did it because it taught me useful skills, like how to communicate clearly.

If I truly asked myself at 18, "What do I actually want to do?" I probably wouldn't have enrolled in medicine. If I felt empowered to follow my passion, maybe I would have studied psychology, which I found interesting at school. I'm glad I'm thinking about what I want now — better late than never.

I don't for one-second wish I was a doctor. I greatly respect people who are, but I strongly believe it's the passion that drives them — and that's something I ultimately never had.

In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, an NHS spokesperson said:

"There are more doctors working in the NHS than ever before, with more than twice as many people joining the medical register as leavers, but we know there is more work to do to retain our hardworking staff. As part of delivering our NHS Long Term Workforce Plan we've taken action to improve working conditions and improve retention, including increasing choice and flexibility in rotas and reducing duplicative inductions and training so clinicians can spend less time on admin and more time treating patients. At the same we are continuing to expand education, training and recruitment, including a 25% increase in medical places and an expansion of specialty training places, to ensure we have the staff we need to meet the changing needs of the population."

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• At least nine retail brands have said they're closing US stores in 2024, totaling some 1,280 locations.
• Family Dollar is the largest chain on the list, planning to close at least 600 stores this year.
• Other companies, like Walmart and TJX,  are closing a few stores while opening many more.

A Business Insider tally of disclosures from nine retail chain brands finds as many as 1,290 stores have closed or are set to close across the US in 2024.

The number is down considerably from prior years, including last year when the collapse of Bed Bath & Beyond contributed to a total of more than 2,800 locations shuttering.

Analysts at UBS expect the total number of US retail closures could reach 45,000 across the next five years, led largely by smaller stores going out of business, even as larger firms like Walmart, Costco, Target, Home Depot, and other established players continue to expand.

Topping this year's list is Dollar Tree-owned Family Dollar, which is set to close at least 600 locations, with more to come as leases expire.

Some companies, like Express and Foxtrot, are in dire financial straits. Others, like Walmart and TJX, have plans to expand by more stores than they close. Still others, like Foot Locker and Macy's, are shifting their strategies as shopping patterns change.

See the full list below:

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• Lindsey and David Barber save 75% to 80% of their income for retirement and their son's future.
• Despite having enough to retire early, the millennial couple plans to keep working.
• They said they've worked too many long days to just sell their businesses and retire.

Lindsey Harrison Barber, 34, and her husband, David Barber, 35, have enough to retire early, but neither intends to slow down.

Lindsey owns a marketing agency, while David owns an insurance agency, which bring in a combined eight figures in top-line revenue. They put aside six figures for retirement and their son each year, saving about 75% to 80% of their income, according to financial documents shared with Business Insider. Though they have the means to retire and travel, both said retiring would be antithetical to everything they've worked toward over the last decade.

"We are very intentional about the flexibility that we have and because of that, there really isn't a need for us to retire because we're able to enjoy the life that we've created that fits now because of the hard work that we put in 10, 15 years ago," Lindsey said.

Neither are bound by the 9-to-5 corporate lifestyle, and they make time for a personal trainer, eat lunch together, and spend time with their son between work hours. They're not working toward a bigger house, and they said they see little reason to jump to the next big thing when they're content with what they have.

"I almost feel like to some degree we're living like we're retired because we've got the flexibility and the freedom, but at the end of the day we're not; we're still putting in the work," Lindsey said.

Many Americans are working toward achieving financial independence, often defined as when you have enough money to cover all of your living expenses without having to work again. Some are part of the FIRE movement — financial independence, retire early — though others are moving away from early retirement, whether to continue building generational wealth or transitioning to lower-stress roles that still give them something to do.

Growing their agencies and wealth

David grew up lower-middle class. His dad was a manager at a retail store, and his mom stayed home to care for the kids. The family moved to North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, and Ohio for his dad's job. His dad eventually moved into insurance and raised his kids with the philosophy of living frugally.

David said he's worked since he was 16, starting at a grocery store between 25 to 30 hours a week during high school. He also got his insurance license in college so he could work part-time. He paid his way through college with a small contribution from his parents and graduated debt-free.

Lindsey, who grew up middle class, said her mother, who worked for a drug addiction nonprofit, was her role model for working hard and making an impact. Her dad traveled frequently for work and eventually opened a lawn mower business on the side.

Throughout college, she held internships at marketing and PR agencies, and right out of college, she landed a communications role. She leveraged her contacts to open her own full-service marketing agency in 2014.

Lindsey said that even though she was making good money on the leadership team of her past company, she wanted to take a big risk. She began with one client paying her $1,400 a month and slowly built her client base. Eventually, she shifted from just social media marketing to a full-service agency within the first five months.

Lindsey said her goal was to achieve stability as quickly as she could so she could help her husband get his foot in the ground with his new insurance agency. Sometimes, they would stay up until 3 a.m. working, though both have achieved a stronger work-life balance.

"I wanted him to be able to grind without feeling I was in the way and vice versa," she said. "We had a really good balance with that at the beginning of our businesses, which really afforded us the flexibility now to spend more time with our son and not necessarily have to go in at 8 a.m. and grind for 90 hours."

Although he didn't generate much revenue for the first few years, he grew his client base through word of mouth and referrals. His agency now employs eight people.

"It was a lot of 70, 80, 90-hour workweeks of grinding since the agency was started from scratch; it was $0 premium when we started, and we have worked it up over the 11 years since it opened to the size that it is now," David said.

Achieving financial independence

At the beginning of their financial independence journeys, Lindsey and David lived well below their means, spending just on essentials and investing in their companies. Both knew they wanted to have a robust nest egg by their 30s so they could theoretically retire or take on fewer responsibilities at work.

The couple bought a home in 2016 and recently purchased an eight-bedroom beach house in North Carolina, which they manage as a short-term rental. David said they were lucky to have bought their homes when they did, as both have nearly doubled in value, though they attribute their luck partly to how fast they committed to homebuying.

Despite the success of their businesses, both said their philosophy on saving hasn't changed much. They said they're not even thinking of retiring until their mid-40s, and even then, they expect to continue working in consulting or financial advising.

They have no debt beyond their primary home and beach rental property and locked in low mortgage rates on both.

"Buying real estate has been a big boost in our ability to be where we are, but I do think to be fair, we were very strategic about grinding, putting our heads down, and being very intentional about how we were spending money in the early years," Lindsey said.

The two still maintain some of their savings strategies, like cutting coupons to save on coffee and groceries. Lindsey said she'll still catch herself from buying a $30 purse if she doesn't need it.

"We see people a lot online flaunting their stuff and talking about how much money they make and throwing out these arbitrary numbers, and it makes us laugh because we easily could do that but we just don't," Lindsey said.

Still, they'll spend on big purchases that have a personal meaning to them, such as an "astronomical amount" on seeing the North Carolina State Final Four game. They try not to sacrifice the quality of food purchases, and they invest in their long-term health.

"It's just interesting how we'll walk in somewhere clipping coupons, but if there's something that could be a life experience, we don't even think twice about it," she said.

Are you working toward or have achieved financial independence? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@insider.com.

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• The Senate passed a $95 billion spending package that included aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
• The aid, particularly for Ukraine, could boost the US economy and create American jobs.
• Cities in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois, and Florida, among other states, could see increased spending

On April 23, the Senate passed a $95 billion spending package that included foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

That funding could also soon provide a boost to the US economy — and help create American jobs.

That's because much of the military aid — particularly the money allocated for Ukraine — could flow back to US defense manufacturers. In fact, an analysis of financial aid to Ukraine published in October by the website Breaking Defense found that a majority of the billions of dollars in Ukraine aid Congress had approved to date was ultimately spent in the US.

A Washington Post analysis published in November identified more than 100 production lines in roughly 30 states and 70 cities where US workers were producing weapons systems for Ukraine — including California, Arizona, Alabama, and Texas. US aid to Ukraine has created thousands of jobs across at least 38 states, Time reported in February.

In recent years, some lawmakers have argued that the US should scale back the money it's providing to Ukraine — and that the funds would be better spent on domestic problems. To the extent foreign aid benefits US-based businesses and workers, the political calculus could change for some in Congress.

To be sure, some Americans may wish these funds were being directed to other priorities, like making housing and childcare more affordable for citizens. Others may be concerned about the ways defense companies, through lobbying efforts, could be influencing legislation that benefits the industry.

What cities and states could benefit from the new aid bill?

The spending package, which President Joe Biden intends to sign, would provide about $61 billion for Ukraine to aid its war effort against Russia and $26 billion for Israel, which is engaged in a war with Hamas in Gaza. An additional $8 billion would go to Taiwan to help it counter threats from China. The Senate approved the spending package with a 79 to 18 vote — the House approved it on April 20.

Roughly $1 billion of the aid could soon be making its way to Ukraine, which the Biden administration says is in urgent need of support as it struggles to combat the advances of Russian forces. The Ukraine aid is expected to be used to provide ammunition, artillery rounds, armored vehicles, and other weapons, the Associated Press reported. The rest could be doled out in the weeks ahead.

While it's unclear exactly which cities and states will benefit from the latest foreign aid funds, some candidates are more likely than others.

In its analysis, The Washington Post pointed to cities like York, Pennsylvania — where British multinational aerospace, defense, and information security company BAE Systems produces tactical vehicles — and Troy, Alabama, where Javelin antitank missiles are manufactured, as places that have produced weapons for Ukraine. Peoria, Illinois; Aiken, South Carolina; Elgin, Oklahoma; Niceville, Florida; and Endicott, New York were also mentioned.

Weapons production can require more than one city to work in tandem. Manufacturing artillery ammunition, for example, can involve a Scranton, Pennsylvania factory producing empty projectiles and then sending them to Iowa, where they are filled with explosives, The New York Times reported.

In June, the defense company General Dynamics is set to open a new factory in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, where artillery casings will be produced. The factory, which is expected to employ 150 people when it opens, is expected to benefit from foreign aid to Ukraine.

Are you working for a defense company? Has your company increased hiring in recent years? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@businessinsider.com.

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• Cherie Tobias, 48,  lives above the poverty line but struggles to afford necessities, like food.
• She's considered an ALICEs  — asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed.
• Tobias makes $25,064 as an Applebee's server but can't pay for medicine and electricity.

Cherie Tobias, 48, hasn't been grocery shopping in over a year because she can't afford it.

She's a server at an Applebee's in Hastings, Michigan, and works at least 40 hours a week for $25,064 annually, per documents viewed by Business Insider. Still, Tobias said people "aren't tipping like they used to," and most of the time, she can only afford one meal a day.

As the main income earner for her household, Tobias works to support her 19-year-old son, her fiancé, and her fiancé's mother. She struggles to pay her bills and typically is only able to eat something when she uses her employee discount at Applebee's or has enough money to buy a few stand-alone ingredients at a time from the store.

Tobias said her financial situation makes her feel "hopeless, desperate, defeated, and ready to give up." Still, because her income technically places her above the federal poverty line, she doesn't qualify for government assistance.

"I make too much to get help," she told Business Insider.

Tobias is one of a growing number of Americans who are ALICEs — people who are asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed. Many ALICEs make too much money to qualify for government assistance programs like SNAP benefits but don't make enough to afford daily life in the US comfortably.

The federal poverty line is $20,440 a year for a family of two, and is not adjusted to reflect cost-of-living differences in individual cities or states. Many ALICEs live paycheck to paycheck.

About 29% of US households are ALICEs, compared to 13% of Americans who live below the federal poverty level, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey data and cost-of-living estimates analyzed by United Way's United For ALICE program.

And, guaranteed basic-income programs — which are being tried in cities across the US — typically only apply to families living below the poverty line.

For Tobias, her economic position feels like being stuck in a cycle of asking for help that never arrives.

"I don't want to be rich," she said. "I just want to be able to get by comfortably without the stress."

Tobias works full-time but struggles to afford utilities and healthcare

Electricity and mortgage bills are Tobias' top expenses. Her fiancé is disabled, and all of his disability payments go toward paying for the couple's house.

Tobias said she is responsible for covering her family's other needs, and she just received a "shutoff notice" for her electricity in the mail. She's hoping to file for state emergency relief so she can keep her lights on.

Because of a car accident a few years ago, Tobias also has health issues. She has Medicaid, but her income level means she doesn't qualify for strong coverage.

And, any financial assistance she had from pandemic relief funds is no longer available, she said.

Applebee's doesn't provide Tobias with health insurance and she can't afford her own plan — she estimates she spends $2,000 on out-of-pocket healthcare costs a month, which includes buying prescription medications. On her last trip to the pharmacy, Tobias said she was only able to afford one of the three prescriptions she needed.

Soon, if she can afford it, Tobias hopes to move her family out of Michigan and find stability somewhere else. She has a college degree and has submitted almost 50 job applications but hasn't been hired yet.

Stability for Tobias would mean opening the cupboard knowing there's food there for the day, she said. She would also be grateful to go to the pharmacy and pick up all of her necessary medicine in one trip.

She wishes there was more support for people in economic positions like hers.

"We need help, especially those of us that are trying to go to work every day," Tobias said. "No matter how we feel, no matter how much pain we're in, we're going to try to push through to provide — but we go home defeated."

Are you making above the poverty line but still struggling to afford daily life? Reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@insider.com.

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• A UK couple found a trove of 17th-century coins during a home renovation.
• The collection includes Elizabeth I silver shillings and Charles I gold coins.
• More evidence that a home might be hiding an amazing and valuable secret.

A UK couple's home renovation project turned into a profitable venture when they discovered a $75,000 treasure trove under their kitchen floor.

Robert and Betty Fooks were renovating their farmhouse in southern England when they found a valuable collection of 17th-century coins concealed beneath their kitchen.

Fooks' South Poorton Farm is a 17th-century cottage located in a small hamlet in West Dorset.

The couple purchased the long house in 2019 and removed the modern concrete floor during their extensive renovation.

The coins were discovered while digging down two feet to expand the downstairs area.

The discovery is the latest in historic and valuable discoveries made accidentally in people's backyards, basements, underfloors, behind walls, and in attics, and evidence that your home could be hiding an amazing secret.

Betty Fooks, an NHS health visitor, told the Guardian: "It is a 400-year-old house, so there was lots of work to do. We were taking all the floors and ceilings out and took it back to its stone walls.

"One evening, my husband was digging with a pick ax when he called to say they've found something. He put all the coins in a bucket. If we hadn't lowered the floor, they would still be hidden there," she said.

The collection was handed to the British Museum for identification and cleaning.

Dukes Auctioneers said on its website that the British Museum believes the coins were deposited on one occasion around 1642-4. The English Civil War began around this time, and the area around Poorton experienced much conflict.

The "Poorton coin hoard" comprising 1,000 coins went under the hammer on April 23 at Duke's Auctioneers.

The collection, which includes Elizabeth I silver shillings, Charles I gold unite coins, James I silver sixpence coins, and more, was estimated to have a value of £35,000, or $43,600, before the auction.

However, the cache surpassed expectations when it sold for £60,000 ( $75,000), the BBC reports.

The Fooks couple said the money would help pay off their mortgage, per the BBC.

Business Insider contacted Duke's Auctioneers for comment.

Spectacular discoveries

In 2019, a similar discovery was made by another couple in England.

A hoard of 264 coins English gold coins from 1610-1727 was unearthed by an unnamed couple digging up their kitchen floor.

The trove was believed to have been once owned by a family of traders who made their fortunes in Baltic trading.

The collection sold at auction in 2022 for £754,000, or $842,330.

Small and easy to hide, coins feature in many of the secret troves unsuspecting homeowners have stumbled upon. Other lost artifacts have ranged from first editions of superhero comics to rare vintage cars.

But one of the most spectacular discoveries was an Italian Renaissance 16th-century masterpiece hidden under an old matress in an attic in France in 2014.

The "Judith Beheading Holofernes," believed to be a canvas by Caravaggio, was later sold for $170 million.

The unnamed family who shared the astonishing windfall speculated that work may have been spirited out of Italy by an ancestor who fought in Napoleon's army in the early 19th century, reports say.

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• Corey Griffin landed a job as a software engineer at Apple after showcasing his side hustles.
• He worked for Apple Music but left to pursue his business this year.
• Griffin said he left because he wanted more control over his schedule to spend time with his kids.

This is an as-told-to conversation with Corey Griffin, a 31-year-old former Apple employee and entrepreneur from Los Angeles. Business Insider has verified their employment and income. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I started coding when I was 14. I made animations for games and learned how to make my own website for my games.

I studied computer technology at college. While studying, I worked freelance for record labels, helping them make their marketing websites.

In 2014, I was hired by an agency to make marketing websites after college. There, I learned software engineering.

I knew I wanted to work for Apple or another Big Tech company, but I felt like I was at a disadvantage because I didn't get into software engineering before college or go to a school like Stanford or Harvard.

I tried to make up for it by working as a software engineer for many different companies and getting a lot of experience, including Rotten Tomatoes, Vox, and Shopify.

I found my niche working in marketing engineering, which included SEO implementation, making logo generators and domain name generators.

I freelanced on the side, building marketing websites and doing graphic design. I started my own media company, CG3, and launched a directory for Black-owned businesses and a service similar to Linktree called Hyper Link.

In January 2019, I launched a free teleprompter product called teleprompt.me, which I later renamed to Speakflow. I turned it into a subscription service, and it gained over 1,000 subscribers in a year from 2020 to 2021.

I applied for a job at Apple 4 times

I landed a job as a software engineer at Apple in August 2021. I'd applied three times before.

Having lots of side projects helped me land the job.

Most of my side projects are now inactive, but, at the time, I was able to showcase them on my résumé and talk about them in my interview. One of the interviewers had heard of Speakflow, which was still doing well.

A lot of my work in previous jobs was under an NDA, so I couldn't discuss them in the interview. I could show my wide skillset through my side projects, including graphic design, animation, marketing, and coding. I also had clients in a range of industries, such as the music industry and small technical clients. We talked a lot about that in the interview process.

I left my Apple job after 2 years

I worked on software for the Apple music team, including radio and podcasts. I started fully remote and then worked a hybrid pattern that included going to our office in Culver City, California.

I really enjoyed the work, and the office was cool. I worked hard to get that job.

I never imagined I'd leave within two years.

I wanted more freedom over my schedule

I have two kids, and I wanted to have complete control over my schedule.

I figured I could probably replace my Apple salary with my media business, especially Speakflow, which made six figures in revenue in the last year. The side project had been live in the background while I was at Apple.

I'd had some family members who were sick and others who passed recently. Mortality was on my mind. Working for myself full-time was a big life goal. It seemed like the right time to make the jump.

I left Apple in December 2023 to pursue my media business full-time, particularly the Speakflow product. I wasn't sure it was the right decision and it felt risky, but I wanted to take a gamble on myself.

I have so much more flexibility now. I can drop my kids off at school every day and pick them up.

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• Malaysia may add a casino to Forest City, a mega-development that has turned into a ghost town.
• The casino, which would be the second in the country, could rejuvenate the struggling property.
• The move may attract Singapore tourists, who pay a daily tax to gamble at home.

Malaysia's Forest City mega-development started with big ambitions and big money.

Announced in 2006, the luxury housing project in the south — easily accessible from Singapore — would house 700,000 people and feature a waterpark and hotels. The whole project cost its developers $100 billion.

But, eight years after construction began, only a few thousand people live there. The project has turned into a ghost town — and a major liability for its developer, which is facing sizable financial issues elsewhere.

Now, Malaysia is in talks with several high-profile investors to add a casino to Forest City, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

The southeast nation's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with the heads of a Malaysian property development firm and a resort company at Forest City last week. A representative of Malyasia's billionaire king, Ibrahim Iskandar, also attended, the people told Bloomberg.

King Ibrahim owns more than 20% of Forest City as part of a joint venture with Chinese real estate developer Country Garden, Bloomberg reported. The king took the throne in January for his five-year term and said last month he is ready to "begin my real way of ruling." The other partner, Country Garden, is facing significant financial issues from China's floundering property market and had nearly $200 billion in liabilities at the end of last June.

The two tycoons who met with the prime minister last week own some of Malaysia's most prominent businesses. One of the companies is Genting Group, a resort and theme park operator that owns Malaysia's only casino, located in a central Malaysian hill town. Genting operates other casinos in Singapore, the US, and the UK. The other, Berjaya Corp., runs hotels and develops properties, among other businesses.

The casino talks are in early stages and it is unclear if Prime Minister Anwar will allow such a business. Malaysia has a Muslim-majority population and those following Islam are prohibited from gambling.

Forest City did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.

Expensive, empty apartments

A casino — which would only be the second in Malaysia — could help struggling Forest City.

While advertised as a "popular short-haul tourist destination," the complex, which includes apartments, hotels, a waterpark, and a mall, only sees a few dozen visitors each day, Business Insider reported in April. Those who do come are typically on a budget and don't spend much.

As of last year, only about 15% of the planned property had been completed, local media reported.

Most apartments look like they've never been lived in, a BI reporter who visited earlier this year observed. They're almost twice the price of other apartments in the city, and wealthy people prefer to buy single-family homes, BI reported in April.

A new casino could attract tourists from Singapore. Singapore's government disincentivizes gambling by taxing residents 150 Singapore dollars, or $110, to enter local casinos. Singapore is connected by a one-kilometer bridge to the state of Johor, where Forest City is.

Cities around the world are similarly looking to add casinos to boost tourism.

The United Arab Emirates, another majority-Muslim country, is betting big on gambling. Earlier this year, it launched a federal-level gaming authority, and plans are in place to create an "Arabian Strip," an Emirati version of the Las Vegas Strip of hotels and casinos on the island of Al Marjan.

New York City is also looking to cash in. In April last year, the state government authorized up to three casino licenses for downstate New York, which includes the city and surrounding counties.

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• In March, Russia dealt with its highest-ever number of AWOL cases since the war began, Mediazona reported.
• Russian courts issued a daily average of 34 AWOL sentences in that month alone, per the outlet.
• Almost all of the cases in March were related to those conscripted in the September mobilization.

Russian courts assessed 684 absences without leave in March, the highest-ever monthly count since the war in Ukraine began, independent Russian media reported.

Citing public records, independent outlet Mediazona reported on April 12 that a daily average of 34 AWOL sentences were carried out in military courts that month.

Mediazona reported that almost all of the cases were related to men recruited in Russia's mobilization, which began in September 2022 and saw some 300,000 men conscripted to fight in Ukraine.

The independent report was cited in a UK Defence Ministry intelligence update on Wednesday.

"Russian soldiers, including those forcibly recruited during the September 2022 partial mobilization, are required to remain in military service indefinitely, with little prospect of release," the update said.

Men found guilty of going AWOL were typically handed suspended sentences to allow them to return to their units, some of which are on the front lines, Mediazona reported.

At least some of these AWOL cases played out over the last year, including the unauthorized absence of a contract soldier who returned home in May 2023 and was later diagnosed with a mental disorder, per Mediazona.

Russian courts have dealt with some 2,300 AWOL cases since the start of 2024, and about 7,400 total cases since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to Mediazona.

Moscow was the region with the most such trials, with 496 cases, per Mediazona.

The Russian Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular hours by Business Insider.

The Kremlin's partial mobilization in 2022 was deeply unpopular, sparking an exodus of affluent Russians and protests in Moscow.

Thousands of draftees were sent to combat units and were widely reported to have initially received little training and equipment. Some died in their first month of deployment.

Grueling conditions on the front line and heavy fighting in the summer of 2023 slammed Russian morale, with multiple reports and rumors of infighting, desertion, and malingering.

But Russia's all-out push to boost its numbers appears to be taking effect. Its army has grown by about 15% since the war in Ukraine started, according to an estimation on April 10 by US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

This spring, Russia is set to call up some 150,000 men for routine, statutory military service, which typically lasts about one year. These men are not legally obliged to fight outside the country.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has also struggled to replenish its hard-hit forces, with thousands of military-age men trying to flee the country or hide from Kyiv's military draft.

To shore up its manpower, Ukraine's parliament on April 2 lowered its draft age for males from 27 to 25. On Tuesday, the country's foreign ministry also announced that it was temporarily suspending issuing passports to Ukrainian military-age men abroad, requiring them to return home to renew their documents.

Russia has slowly been making gains in Ukrainian territory since the start of 2024, with Ukraine saying its troops are struggling without vital ammo and weapons previously supplied by NATO. After stalling in Congress for months, about $60 billion in US assistance to Ukraine was approved on Wednesday.

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• Jefferies CEO Rich Handler sold $65 million in company stock to buy a luxury yacht.
• He's buying a Westport 164 from his friend and Jefferies client Tilman Fertitta.
• Handler isn't planning any more stock sales, he said on Wednesday.

Jefferies CEO Rich Handler sold $65 million of his stock in the company to buy himself a gift — a luxury yacht.

Handler sold 1.5 million shares, or 7% of his holdings, to purchase a "personal boat and to pay tax obligations," the investment bank said in a Wednesday statement.

"My sale of shares today was a gift to myself and my family, and I do not intend to sell any further shares," Handler said in the statement. "I remain extremely bullish on Jefferies."

The boat is a Westport 164 yacht and was purchased from Jefferies client and Handler's longtime friend Tilman Fertitta, the Financial Times reported.

Fertitta is the billionaire CEO of hospitality company Landry's and owns the Houston Rockets, an NBA team. The two men jointly own Lancadia Holdings, a blank-check company.

Handler, who has been with the bank since 1990, has received about 70% of his pay in the form of company shares, Jefferies said in the statement. He has previously sold shares only for tax purposes and charity, the bank said.

Jefferies did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Investors often view executives' stock sales as a signal about lack of company confidence, so any sales are carefully messaged.

In October, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said he would sell 1 million of his 8.6 million shares, his first sale since becoming CEO in 2006. The filing announcing the planned sale said Dimon chose to sell the stocks "for financial diversification and tax-planning purposes" and that he "continues to believe the company's prospects are very strong." He sold the first of the sets of shares in February for $150 million.

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