Traffic in the Panama Canal, a major shipping waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, has been suspended temporarily due to heavy rains, the canal authority said Wednesday. “We are taking steps to normalize traffic operations in the coming …
President Barack Obama should intervene to stop the $20 billion BP oil spill compensation fund from depriving claimants of their rights, Alabama Governor Bob Riley said Monday, calling the way the fund was operating “extortion.” The fund, set up by …
A major developer on the Alabama coast will receive $37.2 million from oil giant BP to settle claims over the impact the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster had on the company’s large beachfront luxury condominium development. The deal came after …
A French court on Monday found Continental Airlines and a mechanic at the airline guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their role in the 2000 Concorde crash that spelled the end of the supersonic airliner. The airline, now United Continental Holdings …
In its latest monthly assessment of the world’s catastrophes for November Aon Benfield highlights the first winter weather event of the season across Europe with “notable affects.” the report, published by the company’s Impact Forecasting team, who evaluate global natural …
The current spell of freezing weather throughout the UK threatens to be quite costly. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) warns that damages from burst pipes and leaking water could top “£7 million [app. $11 million] every day this winter.” …
A huge forest fire killed about 40 people in Israel on Thursday, including young prison guard cadets trapped in a bus while heading to help inmates flee the flames, officials said. More than 12,000 people were evacuated from towns and …
A bulletin from Aon’s London office notes that the “Big Freeze in the UK shows no signs of abating.” It therefore is advising UK “businesses affected by the snow to constantly evaluate whether their business continuity plans, if they have …
To mark the end of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Risk (TSR), which provides resources for predicting and mapping tropical storm activity worldwide and is co-sponsored by Aon Benfield, has issued a series of reports summarizing the 2010 …
Massey Energy chief Don Blankenship is expected to testify Dec. 14 in the probe of an April explosion that killed 29 men in West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine. The state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training has reached …
