In the latest diktat against women in Afghanistan, the Taliban is set to close women's beauty salons in the next ten days. The regime has also ordered a ban on women working in malls. Watch to know more.

WION Dispatch: Taliban bans women from working in shopping malls

A massive fancy shopping mall, i.e., the falcon mall in Karachi has now become a major source of embarrassment for the Pakistani military. Pakistan's Supreme Court has come down heavily on the country's military establishment, pointing out that land meant for defence purposes was being misused for commercial activities. The three-judge bench belonging to the country's top court was hearing a case relating to the illegal use of cantonment board lands in Karachi.

Pakistan's Supreme Court comes down on military for misusing land

Is Pakistan military trying to hoodwink courts?

Rio de Janeiro on Saturday reopened its stores, hairdresser's and beauty saloons after more than 100 days of shutdown to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rio de Janeiro reopens all stores, saloons

A token system for regulated entry and no physical offerings like prasad' at temples will be some of the norms as shopping malls, religious places, hotels and restaurants are set to reopen in most states from Monday after over two months that could pose new challenges to check the spread of the coronavirus.

As India prepares for a calibrated exit from the lockdown by easing more restrictions, Unlock-1 kicks in at a time when the country recorded a daily jump of COVID-19 cases by over 9,000 for the fifth straight day on Sunday and also crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time. It is the first of the three-phase plan for reopening of prohibited activities in non-containment zones with a stringent set of Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs) which will be in place till June 30.

India registered its highest single-day spike of 9,971 new infections taking the total to 2,46,628 and 287 deaths in the 24 hours since Saturday morning, the Union Health Ministry said. The death toll stood at 6,929, it said.

According to a PTI tally based on reports from states, the daily rise crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time to touch 10,218.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,20,406 while a total of 1,19,292 people had recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry added. Around 48.37 per cent of the patients have recovered so far, a senior ministry official said.

The new phase is especially challenging for the five worst affected states, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the total coronavirus cases, and nearly 78 per cent of the deaths.

A visit to the shopping malls, hotels and restaurants and religious places will no longer be the same like before the lockdown imposed on March 25 after the Union Health Ministry issued the SOPs for strict adherence to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In the malls, cinema halls, gaming arcades and children play areas will continue to be in the prohibited segment.

The SOPs are advisory in nature and the Centre has left it to the states to finetune the details.

The Punjab government for example provides for a token-based entry to malls as part of its guidelines.

In Gujarat, some of the religious places have decided to organise prayers in shifts and even start a token system to specify time slots to devotees for visits in a bid to maintain social distancing and avoid crowding,

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the hospitals run by the Delhi government and private entities will only treat Delhiites during the coronavirus crisis while the city's borders with UP and Haryana will be reopened from Monday.

Addressing an online media briefing, Kejriwal said hospitals run by the Centre will have no such restriction, and if people from other states come to the national capital for specific surgeries, they can also get medical treatment at private hospitals. 
He also said hotels and banquet halls will remain closed as the authorities may need these facilities to convert them into hospitals.

The Centre, meanwhile, defended the timing of the imposition of the lockdown and rejected as "baseless" media reports expressing concern that it did not take inputs from technical experts while drawing up its COVID-19 strategy.

Asserting that coronavirus is a "new agent" about which not everything is known, the Health Ministry also said it is "fine-tuning" its strategy based on emerging knowledge and experience on the ground. 
In a statement, the ministry said there was all round consensus on the lockdown among all the state governments.

The government has already shared the information on the impact of lockdown and other restrictions on averting lakhs of infections and thousands of deaths, it added.

"The doubling rate of cases had dropped to a low level, pointing toward a dangerous trajectory of high case load and high mortality, as experienced by many western countries. The possibility that our health systems could soon be overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, seemed to be real."

A token system for regulated entry and no physical offerings like prasad' at temples will be some of the norms as shopping malls, religious places, hotels and restaurants are set to reopen in most states from Monday after over two months that could pose new challenges to check the spread of the coronavirus.

A token system for regulated entry and no physical offerings like prasad' at temples will be some of the norms as shopping malls, religious places, hotels and restaurants are set to reopen in most states from Monday after over two months that could pose new challenges to check the spread of the coronavirus. As India prepares for a calibrated exit from the lockdown by easing more restrictions, Unlock-1 kicks in at a time when the country recorded a daily jump of COVID-19 cases by over 9,000 for the fifth straight day on Sunday and also crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time. It is the first of the three-phase plan for reopening of prohibited activities in non-containment zones with a stringent set of Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs) which will be in place till June 30. India registered its highest single-day spike of 9,971 new infections taking the total to 2,46,628 and 287 deaths in the 24 hours since Saturday morning, the Union Health Ministry said. The death toll stood at 6,929, it said. According to a PTI tally based on reports from states, the daily rise crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time to touch 10,218. The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,20,406 while a total of 1,19,292 people had recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry added. Around 48.37 per cent of the patients have recovered so far, a senior ministry official said. The new phase is especially challenging for the five worst affected states, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the total coronavirus cases, and nearly 78 per cent of the deaths. A visit to the shopping malls, hotels and restaurants and religious places will no longer be the same like before the lockdown imposed on March 25 after the Union Health Ministry issued the SOPs for strict adherence to contain the spread of COVID-19. In the malls, cinema halls, gaming arcades and children play areas will continue to be in the prohibited segment. The SOPs are advisory in nature and the Centre has left it to the states to finetune the details. The Punjab government for example provides for a token-based entry to malls as part of its guidelines. In Gujarat, some of the religious places have decided to organise prayers in shifts and even start a token system to specify time slots to devotees for visits in a bid to maintain social distancing and avoid crowding, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the hospitals run by the Delhi government and private entities will only treat Delhiites during the coronavirus crisis while the city's borders with UP and Haryana will be reopened from Monday. Addressing an online media briefing, Kejriwal said hospitals run by the Centre will have no such restriction, and if people from other states come to the national capital for specific surgeries, they can also get medical treatment at private hospitals. He also said hotels and banquet halls will remain closed as the authorities may need these facilities to convert them into hospitals. The Centre, meanwhile, defended the timing of the imposition of the lockdown and rejected as "baseless" media reports expressing concern that it did not take inputs from technical experts while drawing up its COVID-19 strategy. Asserting that coronavirus is a "new agent" about which not everything is known, the Health Ministry also said it is "fine-tuning" its strategy based on emerging knowledge and experience on the ground. In a statement, the ministry said there was all round consensus on the lockdown among all the state governments. The government has already shared the information on the impact of lockdown and other restrictions on averting lakhs of infections and thousands of deaths, it added. "The doubling rate of cases had dropped to a low level, pointing toward a dangerous trajectory of high case load and high mortality, as experienced by many western countries. The possibility that our health systems could soon be overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, seemed to be real."

Malls, hotels, religious places set to reopen on Monday amid sharp uptick in coronavirus cases

Global impact of the brute called Covid-19

E-commerce in India has been booming and online giants like Amazon are spending big bucks on the world&#39;s fastest growing major economy. Yet some investors are pouring money into retail mainstays of a bygone era &ndash; shopping malls. 
 
Private equity investors like Blackstone and Rothschild-backed Xander Group are looking for malls in India, betting that people will flock to stores as more foreign brands open and online retailers ease their aggressive discounting. 
 
Indian malls, which are evolving from ramshackle collections of stores to modern plazas complete with air conditioning and family entertainment centres, are seen as a gateway to brands that a growing middle class aspires to own. 
 
The rise of the mall in India, at a time when many in the United States are becoming debt-ridden white elephants, has been helped by a flurry of new regulations that are encouraging investors to take a fresh look at traditional retail. 
 
They include easing foreign investment rules for single-brand retailers, longer shopping hours and a new framework for establishing real estate investment trusts (REITs). 
 
&quot;Almost every retailer would like to be here, and as they come they need quality space,&quot; said Siddharth Yog, chairman of Xander, whose Virtuous Retail arm owns five million square feet of operational and under-development malls in India. 
 
Xander is looking to buy and build new malls in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, said Yog, as the outlook for physical retail stores brightens in India. 
 
Online retailers under pressure 
 
Investors had long shied away from shopping malls in India, amid weak consumer spending and deep discounts by online retailers like Amazon and local rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal. 
 
Now, online business players are under pressure from investors to produce returns, and this, combined with government regulation to ease online discounts, is reducing their advantage. 
 
With consumer spending in India set to top $3.6 trillion by 2020, and brands like Ikea, H&amp;M, Aeropostale and GAP planning forays into a country where new rules allow shops to remain open 24 hours a day, private equity firms see strong potential. 
 
&quot;With the same mall space generating more footfalls and revenues ... it&#39;ll definitely make organised retail properties enticing for investors,&quot; said Anuj Puri, chairman and country head at real estate consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), India. 
 
Puri expects mall valuations and yields from retail properties to rise and attract investor interest, especially as REITs offer them a clear exit path. 
 
&quot;There&#39;s definitely a revival in interest in shopping malls and that&#39;s more to do with improved outlook for returns from these investments on the back of a revival in economic growth,&quot; said a Mumbai-based industry banker. 
 
The banker added that funds like Blackstone, Brookfield and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) were looking at the sector from a medium to long term return standpoint. 
 
Quality space scarce 
 
A major challenge for retailers is the lack of high quality malls to house incoming brands, partly because the economic slowdown of 2011-2012 forced debt-laden developers to revise or abandon projects. 
 
Consulting firm AT Kearney estimates that India has just one-tenth of the mall space of the US market, despite having a population four times larger.&nbsp;For investors, the dearth of malls and growing demand from retailers means faster rental growth and higher yields.&nbsp; 
 
Retail rents in some malls have risen by as much as 20 per cent over the past year, and shopping centre yields in India are at about 11 per cent compared with 4.9 per cent in Singapore and 4 per cent in London, according to JLL. 
 
This also means the race to buy assets could be frenetic, with only about 20 per cent, or 39 million square feet of existing malls, being investment-worthy.&nbsp;Thus far in 2016, investors have spent $397 million on just two deals to buy malls in India, said JLL, compared with negligible investment in recent years. 
 
Blackstone, which has invested $2.7 billion in Indian real estate, mainly office buildings, is now in advanced talks to buy one million square feet of retail space from Larsen &amp; Toubro in suburban Mumbai, two people familiar with the deal said.&nbsp;A Blackstone spokesman declined to comment. 
 
The surge in investment could revive India&#39;s sluggish real estate market and kick start projects, say developers.&nbsp;&quot;Money is fungible and developers can use it to invest in other projects or reduce borrowing in existing ones,&quot; said Sriram Khattar, head of Indian developer DLF Ltd&#39;s rental business. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Private firms are looking to buy up retail spaces, anticipating high rentals when more foreign brands open stores

E-commerce in India has been booming and online giants like Amazon are spending big bucks on the world's fastest growing major economy. Yet some investors are pouring money into retail mainstays of a bygone era – shopping malls. Private equity investors like Blackstone and Rothschild-backed Xander Group are looking for malls in India, betting that people will flock to stores as more foreign brands open and online retailers ease their aggressive discounting. Indian malls, which are evolving from ramshackle collections of stores to modern plazas complete with air conditioning and family entertainment centres, are seen as a gateway to brands that a growing middle class aspires to own. The rise of the mall in India, at a time when many in the United States are becoming debt-ridden white elephants, has been helped by a flurry of new regulations that are encouraging investors to take a fresh look at traditional retail. They include easing foreign investment rules for single-brand retailers, longer shopping hours and a new framework for establishing real estate investment trusts (REITs). "Almost every retailer would like to be here, and as they come they need quality space," said Siddharth Yog, chairman of Xander, whose Virtuous Retail arm owns five million square feet of operational and under-development malls in India. Xander is looking to buy and build new malls in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, said Yog, as the outlook for physical retail stores brightens in India. Online retailers under pressure Investors had long shied away from shopping malls in India, amid weak consumer spending and deep discounts by online retailers like Amazon and local rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal. Now, online business players are under pressure from investors to produce returns, and this, combined with government regulation to ease online discounts, is reducing their advantage. With consumer spending in India set to top $3.6 trillion by 2020, and brands like Ikea, H&M, Aeropostale and GAP planning forays into a country where new rules allow shops to remain open 24 hours a day, private equity firms see strong potential. "With the same mall space generating more footfalls and revenues ... it'll definitely make organised retail properties enticing for investors," said Anuj Puri, chairman and country head at real estate consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), India. Puri expects mall valuations and yields from retail properties to rise and attract investor interest, especially as REITs offer them a clear exit path. "There's definitely a revival in interest in shopping malls and that's more to do with improved outlook for returns from these investments on the back of a revival in economic growth," said a Mumbai-based industry banker. The banker added that funds like Blackstone, Brookfield and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) were looking at the sector from a medium to long term return standpoint. Quality space scarce A major challenge for retailers is the lack of high quality malls to house incoming brands, partly because the economic slowdown of 2011-2012 forced debt-laden developers to revise or abandon projects. Consulting firm AT Kearney estimates that India has just one-tenth of the mall space of the US market, despite having a population four times larger. For investors, the dearth of malls and growing demand from retailers means faster rental growth and higher yields. Retail rents in some malls have risen by as much as 20 per cent over the past year, and shopping centre yields in India are at about 11 per cent compared with 4.9 per cent in Singapore and 4 per cent in London, according to JLL. This also means the race to buy assets could be frenetic, with only about 20 per cent, or 39 million square feet of existing malls, being investment-worthy. Thus far in 2016, investors have spent $397 million on just two deals to buy malls in India, said JLL, compared with negligible investment in recent years. Blackstone, which has invested $2.7 billion in Indian real estate, mainly office buildings, is now in advanced talks to buy one million square feet of retail space from Larsen & Toubro in suburban Mumbai, two people familiar with the deal said. A Blackstone spokesman declined to comment. The surge in investment could revive India's sluggish real estate market and kick start projects, say developers. "Money is fungible and developers can use it to invest in other projects or reduce borrowing in existing ones," said Sriram Khattar, head of Indian developer DLF Ltd's rental business. (Reuters)

In India, old-school shopping malls find a new lease of life

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