PRESS RELEASE: Global Finance Names The World’s 50 Safest Commercial Banks 2026 - Global Finance Magazine

For decades, researchers judged cycling helmets on how well they protected against direct impacts. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) still does, even though research shows the danger isn't just how hard your head hits the ground, but how violently it twists. That rotational movement can make the brain twist and stretch inside the skull, increasing the risk of concussion and other brain injuries. Not waiting for the CPSC to catch up, the cycling industry got to work. Multidirectional Impact Protection System, or MIPS, hit the market in 2007 and is now a common feature on premium helmets. At the same time, Virginia Tech turned helmet safety into something of a competition for manufacturers. In 2018, it launched helmet STAR ratings (Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk), testing beyond the legal minimum and measuring both linear and rotational impacts. Only four of the first 30 helmets earned five stars, but by 2025, 167 of 272 achieved five stars, and Virginia Tech had to tighten its grading. That only drove competition and improved helmet technology. Suddenly, hitting the number one spot was good for business and brains.

(Screengrab from footage shared on social media)Apple's iPhone 18 smartphones are being advertised in Tehran at unusually low prices as “war booty”, with sellers claiming the devices were recovered from a cargo ship that sank near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran International reported on Saturday. The advertisements surfaced after a container ship reportedly sank near the strategic waterway on October 13. Videos circulating on social media purportedly showed shipping containers floating in the sea, with iPhones and expensive perfumes scattered in the water as people aboard small boats collected the goods. According to a report by Ynet News, footage circulated by media outlets across the Arab world on Thursday evening showed people retrieving objects from the water. One boat appeared to be carrying boxes of iPhones, with one report claiming that the devices were Apple's latest iPhone 18 models. The identities of those seen collecting the goods remain unclear. There has been no official confirmation of the incident. Iran's cyber police have warned prospective buyers against paying deposits or advance fees before inspecting the products and verifying sellers' identities.

Israeli settlers have attacked European diplomats, including a French mayor, near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank. The delegation was visiting Palestinian olive harvesters on Saturday when the Israeli attackers confronted the group. The attack comes a day after settlers assaulted a US journalist north of Ramallah. In Saturday’s incident, the settlers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said. “A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged,” Prevot said, linking the attack to what he called Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” and pledging to push for further European Union sanctions. French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was assaulted, told the AFP news agency that the violence suggests that “there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government” towards settler violence. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said the settlers surrounded the diplomats’ vehicles, pelted them with stones and smashed their windows.

AtlanticNova ScotiaNew BrunswickPrince Edward Island Newfoundland and LabradorCalgaryLethbridgeKitchenerGuelphNorthern OntarioSudburyNorth BaySault Ste. MarieTimminsOttawaKingstonBrockvillePembrokeReginaYorktonSaskatoonPrince AlbertTorontoWatchWeatherPeelHamiltonDurhamYorkHaltonNiagaraQueen's ParkToronto City HallIn PicturesVancouverVancouver IslandCanadaLocal SpotlightRoyal FamilyPoliticsNanosPower PlayQuestion PeriodFederal Election 2025WorldMideast ConflictRussia-Ukraine WarWatchLatestCaptured on CameraPoliticsLifestyleConsumerHealthExplainedEntertainmentTechnologyDeception DecodedAutosEnvironmentBusinessInflationReal EstateAutos