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International News

Aviva sells Polish business to Allianz for $2.9 billion

Allianz, which first entered the Polish market in 1997, ranks as Europe’s biggest insurer and while it has no plans to grow its life insurance operations, it sees the deal as a springboard to further expand across lucrative central and eastern European markets, sources told Reuters.
Aviva’s boss Amanda Blanc has been selling assets at pace to focus on the life and general insurer’s core businesses of Britain, Canada and Ireland. Aviva also has joint ventures in China and India.

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Software vendors would have to disclose breaches to U.S. govt users under new draft order: Report

The proposed order would adopt measures long sought by security experts, including requiring multi-factor authentication and encryption of data inside federal agencies.

The order would impose additional rules on programs deemed critical, such as requiring a “software bill of materials” that spells out what is inside. An increasing amount of software activates other programs, expanding the risk of hidden vulnerabilities.

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Stranded Suez ship’s owner, insurers face millions in claims

The ship’s owner, Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, and its insurers could face claims from the SCA for loss of revenue and from other ships whose passage has been disrupted, insurers and brokers said.
Container ships of this size are likely insured for hull and machinery damage of $100-140 million, insurance sources say. The ship was insured in the Japanese market, two of the sources said.

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Climate change set to drive more deadly heat in South Asia

If warming hits 2C, the number of South Asians exposed to unsafe temperatures could rise two-fold, and nearly three times as many people could face lethal heat, the study said. In a region home to a quarter of the world’s population that could have a big impact on the ability of workers to produce crops in breadbasket regions such as West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh in India and Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan, study authors said.

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