LONDON: European stock markets slid yesterday, despite bumper Asian gains, as a surge of the coronavirus Delta variant fanned fresh fears about the global economic recovery. 

BEIJING: China’s top leaders plan to redistribute wealth, “adjust excessive incomes” and crack down on illicit gains in a bid to tackle inequality that could dent the fortunes of its richest, state media reported yesterday. 

LONDON: Britain’s annual inflation rate slowed sharply last month as clothing retailers slashed prices in the pandemic-hit sector, official data showed yesterday, but economists warned it will likely rise again. 

KUWAIT: The Cabinet allowed residents who have received unapproved vaccinations outside the country – namely Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik V – to enter the country provided they take one more dose of one of the four approved vaccinations in Kuwait – Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

LOS ANGELES: A huge reservoir that supplies water to tens of millions of people in the Western United States is at such low levels that populations it feeds must reduce their useage next year, the government said Monday. 

NEW YORK: Walmart lifted its full-year forecast yesterday following another solid performance at its US stores in the second quarter even as e-commerce growth slowed compared with earlier in the pandemic. 

NEW YORK: Purchases of vehicles plunged in July, sending US retail sales down sharply, as American shoppers pulled back on buying an array of goods, the government reported Tuesday. 

BANGKOK: Thailand downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2021 yesterday as it battles its worst COVID-19 wave, which has brought record numbers of new infections and deaths. 

NEW YORK: US safety officials opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot after identifying 11 crashes involving the driver assistance system, officials said yesterday.