Business

JAKARTA/SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - A plan by the Group of Seven nations to counter Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative has been welcomed by countries in China’s immediate orbit of influence but will need to overcome doubts about Western commitment to emerging market projects.

The Build Back Better World initiative, or (B3W), was promoted at last week's G7 summit in the UK but remains light on details and is not expected to become a reality for some years.

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 4 million people say they fear being evicted or foreclosed upon in the coming months, just as two studies released Wednesday found that the nation’s housing availability and affordability crisis is expected to worsen significantly following the pandemic.

The studies come as a federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of the month. The moratorium has kept many tenants owing back rent housed.

16 June 2021; MEMO: The Israeli aviation authority has rerouted flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport away from the Gaza Strip, fearing missiles fired in response to the provocative right-wing Flag March organised by extremist Jewish settlers in Jerusalem yesterday, the Times of Israel has reported.

After much hesitation, the new Israeli government approved the march, but police insisted on a different route to avoid places where settlers might be expected to clash with Palestinians.

GENEVA, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin square up on Wednesday for their first meeting since Biden took office with deep disagreements likely and expectations low for any breakthroughs.

Both have said they hope their talks in a lakeside Geneva villa can lead to more stable and predictable relations, even though they remain at odds over everything from arms control and cyber-hacking to election interference and Ukraine.

14 June 2021; MEMO: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with US President Joe Biden in a closed-door meeting on Monday during the NATO summit in Brussels, Anadolu Agency reported.

The one-on-one meeting at the NATO headquarters lasted for 45 minutes. The two leaders met for the first time since Biden took office in January.

Meetings between the delegations started following the meeting of two leaders.

15 June 2021; MEMO: Zara under fire as Head Designer Vanessa Perilman attacks Palestinian model Qaher Harhash on Instagram.

New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Retail sales in India slipped 79 per cent in May compared to pre-COVID sales in the same month of 2019, as businesses across states were closed due to the second wave of the pandemic, as per a survey by Retailers Association of India (RAI).

The decline in sales was the steepest in West and North India, which witnessed an 83 per cent dip last month as compared to May 2019, RAI said in a statement.

Eastern region saw a decline of 75 per cent, while South was relatively better with degrowth of 73 per cent as compared to the same month in 2019.

Dubai, Jun 15 (AP-PTI) The Middle East's largest airline, Emirates, announced on Tuesday a net loss of USD 5.5 billion over the past year as revenue fell by more than 66% due to global travel restrictions sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dubai-based airline said revenue had declined by USD 8.4 billion, largely due to the suspension of passenger flights at its hub in March 2020 and ongoing restrictions on travel.

New Delhi, Jun 15 (PTI) Serving alcohol at bars in hotels, clubs and restaurants in the city is not yet allowed, the Excise Department has clarified, stretching the wait for those counting the days till they can enjoy a drink at their favourite watering hole.

With a significant improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the national capital, liquor shops and restaurants that were closed after the imposition of lockdown in April have reopened now.

New Delhi, June 14 (PTI) Billionaire Gautam Adani's group on Monday said accounts of three Mauritius-based funds that own the port-to-energy conglomerate's stocks were not frozen and any reports suggesting the contrary were "blatantly erroneous and misleading".

Shares of Adani group companies plunged on Monday after reports that the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) froze the accounts of the three foreign funds that are among the top stakeholders in the firms.