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Oil Tankers Transiting Strait of Hormuz Since Start of Iran War

Article 0 Comments The U.S. has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran lifted and then reimposed its own blockade on marine traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Here’s a look at some of the non-Iranian oil tankers that have passed through the strait since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, listed by cargo destination, according to data from LSEG and Kpler. JAPAN Very large crude carrier (VLCC) Eneos Endeavor, managed by Japanese refining group Eneos and carrying 1.2 million barrels of Kuwait crude and 700,000 barrels of Emirati Das Blend oil, exited the strait as of May 14. The tanker loaded in late February and is expected to arrive in Japan on June 3, according to Kpler. The first VLCC to exit, the Idemitsu Maru carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil, will arrive at Nagoya in Japan on May 25. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES VLCC Basrah Energy loaded 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co’s (ADNOC) Zirku terminal on May 1 and exited the Strait of Hormuz on May 6, Kpler data showed. It offloaded...

Cyber risk tops the global people risk agenda: Marsh 2026 People Risks report 0

Cyber risk tops the global people risk agenda: Marsh 2026 People Risks report

New York, NY (Apr. 29, 2026) – Organizations and their people are operating under sustained uncertainty because of rising cyber threats, rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), and skilled labor shortages, according to the 2026 People Risks report released by Marsh, a global leader in risk, reinsurance and capital, people and investments, and management consulting. Drawing on insights from more than 4,500 HR and Risk professionals across 26 markets, the report highlights that technology disruption is driving the top people risks, the workforce-related factors that can amplify or mitigate enterprise risk and impact organizational resilience and performance. Companies that actively manage these risks are better positioned to gain a competitive edge. When asked about the positive outcomes organizations realized by successfully managing and mitigating people risks, 40% of respondents said they increased workforce productivity and efficiency, and 36% said they achieved faster progress on strategic initiatives such as AI adoption. “People risks cannot be secondary concerns, as they impact the health and well-being of the workforce and the business,” said Hervé Balzano, Mercer’s President of Health and Benefits and Mercer Marsh Benefits’ Global Leader. “In 2026, resilience depends on how well organizations invest in their people: building the right skills,...

Canadian Insurance Regulators Partner with OmbudServices, Industry to Update Consumer Dispute Resolution Framework 0

Canadian Insurance Regulators Partner with OmbudServices, Industry to Update Consumer Dispute Resolution Framework

Toronto, ON (Apr. 29, 2026) – The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) has published an updated Insurance OmbudServices Cooperation and Oversight Framework. CCIR worked closely with the OmbudServices for Life and Health Insurance (OHLI), the General Insurance OmbudServices (GIO), the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) over 18 months to update and enhance the Framework for the first time since it was published in 2015. The Framework describes the ongoing cooperation between the insurance sector OmbudServices and CCIR to ensure there is effective consumer dispute resolution in the Canadian Insurance Market. The Framework works in conjunction with other applicable documents, including each OmbudService’s Terms of Reference and by-laws, and CCIR’s Conduct of Insurance Business and Fair Treatment of Customers Guidance. “The OmbudServices are a crucial component of a well-functioning consumer protection policy framework,” said Patrick Déry, Chair of CCIR and Superintendent, Financial Institutions at the Autorité des marchés financiers. “CCIR Members are committed to ensuring insurance customers are treated fairly and that includes access to an effective consumer dispute resolution service.” Updates to the Framework include more regular meetings between regulators and the OmbudServices’ leadership and Boards, as well as enhanced...

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City of Austin to Pay $35M to Men Wrongly Accused in Yogurt Shop Murders

Article 0 Comments The city of Austin will pay $35 million to three men and the family of a fourth who were wrongly accused of the 1991 rape and murder of four teenage girls at a yogurt shop, a case that initially sent one of the men to death row and another to life in prison, under a tentative settlement reached Tuesday. Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce had all insisted they were innocent of one of the city’s most notorious crimes. They were finally declared innocent by a judge in February after investigators determined the crime was committed by a suspect who died in 1999. The settlement must still be approved by the city council at a later date. Details of the payments to the men and their families were not released. “This settlement closes the final chapter of a devastating story in Austin’s history,” Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with those who were wrongly accused and wrongly convicted in this case and hope that this settlement brings a sense of closure to everyone affected by this horrific event.” Scott and his attorney Tony...

Ontario Auto Insurance Changes Coming July 1st 0

Ontario Auto Insurance Changes Coming July 1st

More choice, more control: Ontario’s auto insurance reforms put you in the driver’s seat Belleville, ON (July 7, 2025) – Starting July 1, 2026, Ontario is making auto insurance more flexible. Some accident benefits that were previously included in every auto insurance policy will become optional, giving you more choice to select coverage that fits your needs. What are Statutory Accident Benefits? Statutory Accident Benefits (SABs) can provide financial support if you are injured in a car accident. These benefits can be available regardless of who caused the accident and can cover things like medical treatment, rehabilitation and income if you can’t work because of your injuries. What’s staying the same? Standard medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits will continue to be included in all auto insurance policies. These benefits help cover essential recovery support after an accident. You still have the option to purchase additional or increased benefits and coverages, such as supplementary medical, rehabilitation and attendant care, dependant care and indexation benefits. What’s becoming optional? The following auto insurance accident benefits will become optional: Income replacement: Helps replace income you or another covered person may lose because of an auto accident. Non-earner: If you or another covered person...

Drivers use their cellphones more when speeding, telematics data show: IIHS 0

Drivers use their cellphones more when speeding, telematics data show: IIHS

Washington, DC (Apr. 28, 2026) – Drivers are more likely to use their phones while speeding, a tendency that increases crash risk by combining two dangerous behaviors, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Until now, safety experts believed drivers used their cellphones most at slower speeds,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “But data from safe-driving apps show that, in free-flowing traffic, the opposite is true.” Excluding time spent stopped at intersections, mired in traffic and driving small neighborhood streets, the amount that drivers handled their phones increased the more they exceeded the speed limit, a nationwide analysis of cellphone data showed. On limited-access roads, the share of driving time spent handling a phone rose by 12% for every 5 mph drivers went over the local speed limit. Limited-access roads are freeways and other roads where vehicles enter and exit only via on- and off-ramps. On other roads, such as arterials and routes that connect towns, every 5 mph over the local limit was linked to a smaller 3% increase in phone handling. These roads often have traffic lights, intersections, roundabouts and stop signs that require drivers to take action periodically, even when traffic is...

New Platform From Resilience Brings Portfolio-Level Cyber Risk Visibility to Complex Organizations 0

New Platform From Resilience Brings Portfolio-Level Cyber Risk Visibility to Complex Organizations

Resilience Arc continuously monitors and quantifies cyber exposure for multi-entity corporations, private equity firms, and other complex companies, connecting aggregate risk insights directly to insurance decisioning San Francisco, CA (May 14, 2026) – Leading cyber risk solutions company Resilience today announced the launch of Resilience Arc, a new cyber risk management platform purpose-built for multi-entity organizations. With Arc, organizations managing complex portfolios (including multinational corporations, conglomerates, private equity firms, and other parent companies) can standardize risk management across every entity, quantify exposure in financial terms, and connect portfolio-level insights directly to insurance decisioning – all in a single, continuously updated platform. As organizations grow through mergers, acquisitions, and global expansion, cyber risk spreads across the business and becomes harder to measure. Security teams are left managing inconsistent controls across business units with little ability to calculate compounded exposure enterprise-wide. This creates an accountability gap where parent organizations bear the financial consequences of an incident without a clear view of where risk lives or how it connects between entities. Traditional assessment approaches–often manual and point-in-time–only widen that gap. Arc closes it by making aggregated risk continuously visible and translating those insights into clear, prioritized actions, enabling CISOs to make more informed...

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Dallas Exurb Hits Pause on Data Centers in Rare Texas Rebuke

Article 0 Comments A small Texas county outside Dallas approved a one-year moratorium on new data center and energy storage developments, pushing back against the growing number of large-scale projects fueling the artificial-intelligence boom across the state. Hill County had been approached by several data center builders in recent weeks, and feared the potential impact to local water supplies and quality of life, County Commissioner Jim Holcomb said in a meeting Tuesday. The County Commissioners Court passed the pause after hours of negative testimony from people at the meeting. “The data center folks have found a sweet spot in a state that has limited regulations, limited enforcement, limited code, and they’re coming faster than we can keep up with,” Holcomb said during the proceedings. “This is a public health, public safety matter that the Commissioners Court needs to take on.” The moratorium amounts to a rare rebuke in growth-friendly Texas as lawmakers and Governor Greg Abbott position the state as a leader in the data center boom. OpenAI’s and Oracle Corp.’s flagship Stargate campus is being built in Abilene, adjacent to a 700-megawatt data center that will be leased by Microsoft Corp. Hill County’s move appears to be a first...

Introducing IBM Bob: AI Development Partner that Takes Enterprises from AI-Assisted Coding to Production-Ready Software 0

Introducing IBM Bob: AI Development Partner that Takes Enterprises from AI-Assisted Coding to Production-Ready Software

80,000+ IBM employees currently using IBM Bob; surveyed users report average 45% productivity gain Multi-model orchestration automatically routes each task to a suitable model based on accuracy, performance, and cost Goes beyond code generation to automate full software development lifecycle workflows Governance, compliance, and security controls built into every step Armonk, NY (Apr. 28, 2026) – IBM is pleased to announce the global availability of IBM Bob, an AI-first development partner built for enterprise teams. Bob doesn’t just help developers write code fast. It works across the full software development lifecycle (SDLC), from planning and coding to testing, deployment, and modernization, with the governance and security controls enterprises need. AI is changing how software gets built. But for most enterprises, that speed is running headfirst into decades of accumulated complexity: legacy systems, hybrid environments, compliance requirements, and the very real cost of getting it wrong. Fast AI without the right guardrails is not progress. It is just faster risk. IBM Bob is designed to close that gap. It’s built on a structured framework that embeds Bob into every role across the development process – including persona-based modes, enforced standards, reusable playbooks, tool calling, and human-in-the-loop governance – so teams can...

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Typhoon Season in Northwest Pacific Seen Most Active in a Decade

Article 0 Comments Typhoon activity in the Northwest Pacific Ocean is expected to be the highest this year since 2015, according to commercial forecaster Tropical Storm Risk. The projection for 2026 is 25% above the historical average, driven by an emerging El Niño and stronger-than-normal westerly winds, the London-based group said in its first outlook for the season published this week. It forecast 18 typhoons forming, of which 11 will be intense, higher than the 10-year average of 14.2 and 8.4, respectively. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is also predicting an above-normal number of tropical storms in the Northwest Pacific this summer. In contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is expected to see a relatively quiet storm season — though a lower number of hurricanes can still wreak havoc on infrastructure. The outlook comes after a below-average 2025 season, with typhoon activity roughly 35% below the historical average, according to Tropical Storm Risk. Nevertheless, it still saw powerful storms like Typhoon Ragasa, which lashed the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong, causing extensive damage and dozens of fatalities. Asia’s typhoon season typically runs from June to October, though the destructive storms can also form in other months. Typhoons, known as hurricanes...