Category:

Risk Management

Climate Change means more Weather Disasters every year

The 2020 State of Climate Services report, compiled by 16 international agencies and financing institutions, calls on governments to put more money into early-warning systems that can improve countries’ ability to prepare for, respond to and mitigate the impact of such natural disasters.

“While COVID-19 generated a large international health and economic crisis from which it will take years to recover, it is crucial to remember that climate change will continue to pose an on-going and increasing threat to human lives, ecosystems, economies and societies for centuries to come,“ said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

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 Asia-Pacific countries begin to ease pandemic-related travel bans, but hurdles remain

For now, few people are likely to travel because of testing and insurance requirements, and in some cases the need to quarantine upon return home, meaning the deals offer limited hope for airlines and the tourism industry.

A Singapore-Indonesia deal announced on Monday for essential business and official travel will require an application and COVID-19 swab tests both before and after travel.

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A collapse of global tax talks could cost $100 billion, says OECD

The aim is update international tax rules for the age of digital commerce, in particular to discourage big Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon from booking profits in low-tax countries like Ireland regardless where their customers are.

In the absence of a new international rulebook, a growing number of governments are planning theirIn the absence of a new international rulebook, a growing number of governments are planning their own digital services taxes, which has prompted threats of trade retaliation from the Trump administration.

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GoAir pilots shut down P&W engine mid-air, even after fixes: Report

India last month ordered GoAir to ground jets that hadn’t had their Pratt engines modified to the specifications mandated by the DGCA.
India, where the most popular narrow-body market is dominated by the A320neo, mandated in 2019 that all engines must modify that particular component with a different material “less susceptible to impact damage.” Without that tweak, such as was implemented on the GoAir jet, pilots are at risk of one or more engines failing, losing control or worse, crashing the aircraft, according to the DGCA.

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Facebook will ban ads discouraging people from getting vaccines

Facebook is working with public health partners like the World Health Organization and UNICEF on messaging campaigns to increase immunization rates, they added.

Anti-vaccine content and misinformation about the new COVID-19 vaccines have flourished on social media platforms including Facebook during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers told Reuters earlier this year.

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Asia Pacific health care benefit cost expected to jump by 8.5% in 2021, Willis Towers Watson survey

The 2021 Global Medical Trends Survey, the largest of its kind, found that medical insurers in APAC project health care benefit costs will take a sudden drop in 2020 before rebounding to 8.5% in 2021, up from 6.2% this year and 7.5% in 2019.

Markets including China (9.3%), India (10%), Indonesia (12%), Malaysia (12.5%), New Zealand (20%), Philippines (8.8%), Singapore (8.2%), Thailand (8%) and Vietnam (10.2%) will see an increase in excess of  8%  next year.
According to the study, cancer (79%), cardiovascular diseases (76%), and conditions affecting musculoskeletal and connective tissue (42%) are the top three conditions currently affecting medical costs in APAC, with cancer and cardiovascular diseases expected to remain so in the near future.

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