Author: completebodyneeds

Russian attacks on commercial vessels off the Black Sea’s western coast are on the rise, threatening to add strain to already-choked trade flows in the region. “Commercial ships — and innocent crews — are being targeted, with lives already lost at sea,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X on Tuesday. Two general cargo ships were hit by air and naval drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone overnight, Prime Minister Rumen Radev told reporters on Tuesday. A commercial vessel loaded with rapeseed oil was also damaged by a Russian drone strike that killed one…

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Russia should share more information about the death of a plague laboratory worker who died last week, an incident which he said Washington was watching “very closely.” “I think it’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” Rubio told reporters in Iceland. “We’re watching it very closely, hour by hour.” A laboratory worker at Siberia’s plague research institute fell ill and died in undisclosed circumstances on Friday, prompting authorities to quarantine dozens of people, and sparking public health fears on social media. (Editor’s note: The plague…

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday over a measles outbreak, the first such declaration by a U.S. state since cases began surging in 2025. The state also expanded the pool of health professionals allowed to administer measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines as cases rise in rural communities. “No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease,” Hochul said in a statement. New York has reported 108 measles cases this year through October 3, including 92 since July 15 in under-immunized rural communities across 18 counties, well above typical annual levels, according to the…

Pennsylvania’s health department reported 1,004 measles cases as of Monday, as the state grapples with a fast-growing outbreak. Five Pennsylvania residents have died after contracting the highly contagious disease, as cases in the US reach their highest level in more than three decades. The Pennsylvania measles cases include 198 hospitalizations, according to the health department’s website Lancaster county remains the hardest-hit area in the state with 391 cases All five people who have died from the disease in Pennsylvania this year were unvaccinated The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed only two measles-related deaths in the country…

ASOS Plc shares slumped the most in a year after users of its shopping app received a notification indicating its systems were hacked. The notification, seen by Bloomberg and widely reported on social media, appeared to refer to the British online shopping platform’s data protection officer, as well as the Snowflake Inc. online data platform. (Editor’s note: London-based ASOS is an online fast-fashion and cosmetic retailer.) “Dear Asos DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance,” the notification said, alongside a link to a Telegram chat. “Engage with us, or we will leak it.” A spokesperson for ASOS…

ICW Group Insurance Companies is launching five commercial lines for California businesses to complement the company’s workers’ compensation offering. The company is now accepting submissions for policies effective Jan. 1, 2027, and beyond. The new offerings include commercial property, general liability, commercial auto, inland marine and excess liability. The California launch is focused on middle market accounts, with plans to expand the new lines into additional states over time. ICW Group is a national, multi-line property/casualty insurer representing a group of carriers, including Insurance Company of the West, Explorer Insurance Co. and VerTerra Insurance. Topics California Commercial Lines Business Insurance…

Andrew Yazmer PhiloSmith & Co., headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, promoted Andrew Yazmer to partner and managing director. Yazmer joined PhiloSmith in 2019 after working as an actuary at John Hancock and as an investment banker at Sandler O’Neill. Since joining PhiloSmith, he has advised insurance brokerages, carriers and services companies, as well as various other financial services businesses, on numerous M&A and strategic advisory assignments. PhiloSmith is an independent advisory and investment firm specializing in the insurance and financial services industry. Was this article valuable? Yes No Here are more articles you may enjoy. The most important insurance news,in your…

L’Oreal has engaged restructuring advisers to explore options for rising US legal liabilities linked to its use of talc and other chemical ingredients in some of its cosmetic products, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The cosmetics maker’s US unit is working with restructuring counsel Weil Gotshal & Manges and investment bank Ducera Partners to address lawsuits from individuals alleging the talc products caused illness, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. L’Oreal said in its latest half-year report that about 760 US proceedings over the alleged presence of asbestos particles in some talc-containing cosmetic products were…

New USPTO findings give brokers and businesses a timely reason to examine how they would fund an intellectual property dispute. LOUISVILLE, Ky., October 6, 2026. Intellectual Property Insurance Services Corporation (IPISC) is encouraging insurance brokers and businesses to give intellectual property litigation exposure a defined place in commercial insurance reviews. The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently released a report titled Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy in 2024. It found that 128 industries identified as intensive users of patents, trademarks or copyrights accounted for $11.4 trillion, or 44 percent, of private sector gross domestic product in 2024. These…

San Diego County has filed a lawsuit against mobile advertising technology company AppLovin Corp., alleging that it bypassed parental controls to serve ads for adult dating services, alcohol, vaping and graphic sexual content in games played by children. AppLovin, which helps developers find users and sell advertising in their apps, collected sensitive data from children’s devices even when parental controls and ad-tracking opt-outs were enabled, according to the complaint. This included “information precise enough to pinpoint where kids live, where they study and whether they are sleeping,” according to the complaint, filed with the San Diego Superior Court. Related: The…