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International News

NY to set workplace safety standards for Airborne Diseases

Employers in New York will have to come up with safety plans that comply with the yet-to-be written state standards and provide them to workers. Employers who don’t comply could face fines.

Workers could also sue for up to $20,000 from employers who don’t follow safety standards or retaliate against workers for reporting non-compliance.

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Crypto crime down in 2021 through April, but ‘DeFi’ fraud at record -CipherTrace

Globally, crypto criminals ran away with $432 million as of end-April, according to the CipherTrace report. About 56% of that, or $240 million were DeFi-related, a record peak.

For the whole of 2020, losses in the crypto sector through fraud and crime were $1.9 billion. In 2019, crypto crime losses hit a record $4.5 billion.

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UK to speed up vaccinations, warns Indian variant may delay full reopening

Britain put India on a travel “red list” in April, meaning all arrivals from India – now suffering the world’s worst wave of COVID-19 – would have to pay to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.

Media reports at the time suggested that, because the quarantine requirement was announced four days in advance, many people had sought to fly beforehand. Britain has a large South Asian community.

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COVID-19: Wealthy nations urged to delay youth vaccines, donate to solidarity scheme

“In a handful of rich countries, which bought up the majority of the vaccine supply, lower risk groups are now being vaccinated”, he said.

“I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to COVAX.”   

Tedros reported that vaccine supply in low and lower-middle income countries has not been sufficient to even immunize health and care workers.

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Mass shooting insurance in high demand as U.S. emerges from lockdown

Client inquiries for what the industry calls active shooter policies have risen 50% year on year in the past six weeks, said Tarique Nageer, Terrorism Placement Advisory Leader at Marsh, the world’s biggest insurance broker.

Such policies gained popularity in recent years following a spate of school shootings. They typically cover victim lawsuits, building repairs, legal fees, medical expenses and trauma counseling.

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U.S. SEC chair planning new workforce data disclosures for public companies

He said staff would propose a new rule on disclosing the workforce or “human capital” metrics. Those disclosures could include data on issues such as workforce diversity, part-time versus full-time workers, and employee turnover, according to advocacy groups that have been pushing for the new rules.

“This is one of my top priorities and will be an early focus during my tenure at the SEC,” Gensler told the gathering.

The SEC is ramping up its ESG agenda to execute on Democrats’ priorities to address issues such as climate change and social injustice.

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Adani and other Australian coal miners flag finance, insurance difficulties

The withdrawal of global insurers risks making even some ancillary business unviable, said contractor BMD Constructions Pty Ltd, which is building a section of a 210 km (130 mile) rail line to service Adani’s Carmichael mine in northern Queensland state, which is due to start operating this year.

The coal miners argued that Australia’s high-energy coal offers a comparatively lower emissions alternative to export markets compared with coal from other regions. They say coal also provides billions of dollars to government coffers and supports regional jobs.

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