The Suez Canal, a critical waterway connecting the Mediterranean...
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Germany is launching a six-month trial of 4-day work week from Feb 1
A six-month programme starting from Feb 1 will grant a day off...
Hong Kong court orders property firm China Evergrande to liquidate after plan for $300B debt fails
China Evergrande Group is one of the biggest of a series of Chinese...
Aviva’s new CEO to cut focus on Asia and Europe
Blanc took over last month to become the insurance company’s third chief executive in less than two years. Analysts have said the insurer is operating in too many countries and sectors, and its shares have lagged rivals.
Aviva will instead focus on Britain, Ireland and Canada, the company said.
S.African regulator working to clarify companies’ rights in pandemic insurance claims
Several lawsuits have been filed by individual firms, mostly in tourism and hospitality, after they were told by insurers that their policies did not cover coronavirus lockdowns.
US lifts Covid-19 travel advisory;urges citizens not to visit India, China
India remains on the Level 4 of the travel advisory along with more than 50 countries, including China. This means that the US urged its citizens not to travel to India due to the increasing coronavirus cases.
Container ships sent to Tripoli to keep Lebanon supply lines running
Ship insurer Gard said: “According to our correspondents, the port of Beirut is closed for a minimum period of 14 days which could be extended until port facilities have been restored.”
The International Transport Workers’ Federation, which represents seafarers, quoted its representatives in Lebanon as saying at least 12 dockers and seven separate seafarers had been killed in the port. The figure could not be independently confirmed.
Lebanon, which imports almost all it uses, relies on container ships to bring in everything from refrigerated food cargoes to clothing and other consumer goods.
There is no firm date for Beirut port to re-open, and this is a strain on supply chains.
Robots running the industrial world are open to cyber attacks
Robots are often connected to networks and run via software, according to the report, and previously unknown vulnerabilities could allow hackers to hide malicious code in them and other automated, programmable manufacturing machines.
The researcher found flaws in software produced and distributed by the Swedish-Swiss multinational ABB Ltd, one among world’s largest industrial robot maker. They also found other vulnerabilities in one of industry’s most popular open-source software called “Robot Operating System Industrial”, or Ros-I, adapted for ABB and for Kuka AG, a German robot maker.
Morgan Stanley launches Property & Casualty insurance for high net worth clients
Through this new arrangement, HUB International, Marsh Private Client Services, and Willis Towers Watson will assist Morgan Stanley clients in assessing their risk exposures and provide solutions to help them protect their assets. The insurance brokers will leverage their deep relationships with a vast array of insurance companies and their global footprint of dedicated specialists and in-house resources
Beirut devastating explosion to weigh on Lebanon’s challenged insurance sector:AM Best
Insurance penetration rates in Lebanon generally are low and property insurance represents only a small fraction of the Lebanese insurance industry, which is dominated by three segments: life, medical and motor. Based on the latest available data, together these segments accounted for almost 85% of Lebanon’s gross written premium (GWP) in 2018.
Global recovery could be faster if COVID vaccine made available to all:WHO chief
“Sharing vaccines or sharing other tools actually helps the world to recover together. The economic recovery can be faster and the damage from COVID-19 could be less,” World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus .
“Vaccine nationalism is not good, it will not help us,” he said in an allusion to the competitive scramble of nations and pharmaceutical researchers to come up with an effective vaccine and order as many doses as possible in advance.
It’s not for me:speed of COVID-19 vaccine race raises safety concerns
Regulators around the world have repeatedly said speed will not compromise safety, as quicker results would stem from conducting in parallel trials that are usually done in sequence.
However, these reassurances have failed to convince many, including in Western countries where scepticism about vaccinations was already growing before the pandemic.
Preliminary results of a survey conducted over the last three months in 19 countries showed that only about 70% of British and U.S. respondents would take a COVID-19 vaccine if available, Scott Ratzan, co-leader of ‘Business Partners to CONVINCE’, told Reuters.
10 countries account for 80% of Africa COVID-19 testing:Africa CDC
COVID-19 confirmed cases across Africa have accelerated and are close to hitting a million this week, and experts say low levels of testing in many countries means infection rates are likely to be higher than reported.