Iran has started charging transit fees on some commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, another sign of Tehran’s control over the world’s most important maritime energy channel. Payments of as much as $2 million per voyage are being sought on an adhoc basis, effectively creating an informal toll on the waterway, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive dealings. Some vessels have made the payment, though the mechanism wasn’t immediately clear — including the currency used — and it doesn’t appear to be systematic, the people said. The payments show Iran’s influence…
Author: Awais
Key Takeaways With the recent explosion of consumer artificial intelligence (AI) tools and chatbots, KFF’s latest Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds about a third (32%) of adults are turning to AI for health information and advice. This includes about three in ten (29%) who say they’ve used AI tools in the past year for information or advice about their physical health, and one in six (16%) who’ve used them for mental health information or advice. AI use is on par with the share who say they turn to social media for health information, but lags behind the…
A system designed to help air-traffic controllers monitor vehicles and airplanes on the ground failed to alert personnel at LaGuardia Airport before an Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck late Sunday evening, killing the two pilots. An analysis found the system, known as ASDE-X, issued no alert to the two controllers in the tower due to “the close proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway,” US National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a press conference on Tuesday. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey fire truck involved in the crash…
Farmers Insurance Appoints Pham as Chief Strategy & Risk Officer John Pham John Pham joined Farmers Insurance as chief strategy and risk officer, reporting to Farmers Group CEO Raul Vargas. Pham joins Farmers from GEICO, where he most was recently head of strategic business initiatives, responsible for operational shared services. In prior roles at GEICO, including chief information officer, Pham led large business units with P&L responsibility and implemented new initiatives to drive growth and improve customer service. Farmers is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California. Alliant Private Client Adds Yoshida as SVP Nancy Yoshida joined Alliant Insurance Services as senior…
Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes on Wednesday, as Iran’s military rejected President Donald Trump’s assertion the U.S. was in negotiations to end the war which has roiled energy and financial markets, saying the U.S. is negotiating with itself. The rejection of negotiations by the unified command of the Iranian Armed Forces, which is dominated by the hardline elite Revolutionary Guards, comes amid reports the U.S. has sent a 15-point plan for discussion to Tehran. “Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you (Trump) negotiating with yourself?” the top spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command, Ebrahim Zolfaqari,…
Iran-linked hackers have stepped up cyberattacks on Israel since the war began, wiping the data of over 50 small businesses and compromising dozens of security cameras, according to an Israeli official. Yossi Karadi, the director-general of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, told reporters on Tuesday that Iran had not infiltrated or disrupted critical infrastructure such as energy grids, banks or hospitals. Israel, the US and Iran have for years been engaged in covert cyber operations designed to collect sensitive data or sabotage infrastructure. While Iran rarely acknowledges any impact, its energy minister this week said water and electricity facilities were…
A new survey finds that property/casualty insurers in North America that invested more resources in advanced analytics and AI achieved greater profitability and premium growth, according to global broker WTW. Insurers using more sophisticated analytics achieved combined ratios six percentage points lower and premium growth three percentage points higher compared to slower adopters between 2022 and 2024, according to the WTW 2026 Advanced Analytics and AI Survey. Larger insurers, along with those focused on personal lines, demonstrated greater use of advanced analytics, while smaller and specialty-line insurers showed less progress in specific areas. While specialized segments showed much slower adoption…
Crunchyroll, a subscription-based anime streaming service, is probing a data breach after hackers claimed to have stolen personal information of nearly 6.8 million people, BleepingComputer reported on Monday. “We are aware of recent claims and are currently working closely with leading cybersecurity experts to investigate the matter,” Crunchyroll, owned by Sony Group Corporation, told technology specialist site BleepingComputer. The statement came after a threat actor contacted BleepingComputer last Thursday and claimed they breached Crunchyroll on March 12, at 9 p.m. ET, after gaining access to the Okta SSO account of a support agent working for Crunchyroll, the report said. The…
They include a new president of retail distribution and a new CIO
Independent agency network Renaissance said it made a major enhancement to its member platform, calling it the industry’s only fully integrated, artificial intelligence-enabled ecosystem built specifically for independent agencies. “Independent agencies are being asked to compete in a modern market with outdated tools. At Renaissance, agencies have an operating system that unifies their data, their workflows, and our network services into one intelligent platform,” said Tess Mintzer, chief product officer at Renaissance. “Our new AI products leverage that foundation to give agencies speed, insight, and a competitive edge they simply can’t get anywhere else.” Redesigned from the ground up with…
It’s hard to imagine a more devastating diagnosis than blindness, but that is a danger for the 37 million Americans who have diabetes and are at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy (DR), a complication of diabetes and the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. The condition is entirely preventable when caught early.Leaders at community health centers (CHCs) across the country are addressing this public health challenge by leveraging new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that can screen and detect DR in less than 15 minutes, without a specialty eye center or a trained ophthalmologist.This is especially important for at-risk communities…
Nephila Capital’s Lloyd’s Syndicate 2357, which is the flagship syndicate run by the dedicated investment manager focused on the insurance-linked securities (ILS), weather and catastrophe reinsurance space, reported a meaningful increase in profits for 2025, while it utilised legacy reinsurance deals to close out risks from prior underwriting years.Due to the legacy arrangements that Nephila Capital has utilised to close down exposure to prior underwriting years the Syndicate 2357 results are distorted and suggest underwriting declined in 2025. Syndicate 2357 reported gross written premiums of almost $465 million for 2025, down from almost $610 million in 2024, with less capacity…
Six people were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries after a floor collapsed at a wedding venue in Tamworth, New Hampshire, around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office said. The collapse happened while a wedding party of about 140 people were present, according to a joint release from the Tamworth Fire/Rescue Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The office confirmed there were no fatalities and said late Saturday that four of the people treated at the hospital had already been released. A phone call to the venue, the Preserve at Chocorua,…
Zoox, Amazon’s self-driving unit, said on Tuesday it will expand its robotaxi service in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and begin testing its purpose-built robotaxis in Austin and Miami, marking its broadest push yet into the U.S. autonomous ride-hailing market. Alphabet’s Waymo leads the robotaxi market, while Tesla has the financial resources and manufacturing scale to expand its limited service in Austin, Texas, and plans to ramp up rapidly across the United States this year. Related: Uber And Motional Launch Commercial Robotaxi Service in Las Vegas Meanwhile, Zoox plans to significantly grow its footprint in San Francisco, focusing on dense,…