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BEIJING, June 21 (APP): A total of 27 projects would be initiated in six sectors in the less-developed parts of the country under the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Chairman, Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said.

With a focus on socioeconomic development, six areas have been identified for people-centric investment: health, education, agriculture, water and irrigation, poverty alleviation, and vocational training, he told chinadaily.com.cn.

MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/: Moscow keeps a close watch on the current tensions in the Persian Gulf and over Iran and calls on everybody to display restraint, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday.

"Tensions in the Persian Gulf are high and they cause extreme concern," he said when asked about another spiral of tensions between Iran and the United States.

"We keep a close watch on the situation and call on all countries concerned to display restraint," Peskov said.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are underlining that their divorce agreement with Britain cannot be renegotiated regardless of who becomes the next prime minister there.

At a summit of EU leaders Friday, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the current Brexit agreement “is the best possible deal.”

With Boris Johnson favorite to become next prime minister, Bettel says it makes no difference who takes office.

He says “it’s not possible (that) because you change the leader in the U.K. that we need to postpone decisions.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Major airlines from around the world on Friday began rerouting their flights to avoid areas around the Strait of Hormuz following Iran’s shooting down of a U.S. military surveillance drone there, as America warned commercial airliners could be mistakenly attacked.

21 June 2019; DW: The race for Britain's next prime minister narrowed down to two candidates on Thursday, with former London Mayor Boris Johnson set to face off against Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

21 June 2019; DW: Leaders of the European Union's member states on Thursday struggled to break the deadlock over the bloc's key leadership positions.

Heads of government were gathered to decide on five top jobs — most notably who should succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission, the EU's executive branch.

But despite talks extending into the early hours of Friday, the leaders deferred any decision on the posts until June 30.

21 June 2019; DW: Austria's Tyrol province announced on Thursday that it would restrict access to country roads for vehicles seeking to avoid its highways. The move has drawn the ire of officials in the state of Bavaria, which borders the western Austrian province, as the ban would affect southern Germany's summer cross country travelers.

Mumbai, Jun 20 (PTI) Jet Airways Thursday became the first domestic airliner to go into bankruptcy as the NCLT admitted an insolvency petition filed by State Bank on behalf of 26 lenders, sending its share price soaring a whopping 150 percent after having plumbed life-lows for many days.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. on Friday barred American-registered aircraft from flying over parts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman amid heightened tensions after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. military drone.

United States is considering caps on H-1B work visas to about 15% of the quota for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally.

The warning comes as trade dispute between the US and India has resulted in a recent tit-for-tat tariff actions. India has imposed higher tariffs on some U.S. goods from Sunday in an apparent response to Washington’s withdrawal of a key trade privilege for New Delhi, and a higher tariffs on its steel and aluminum export.