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Hi all, In today's bulletin: Contentious tone in US-China meeting not surprising , experts say; Defence Secretary Austin on mission to deepen India-US ties ; Crackdown triggers exodus from Myanmar's Yangon as more deaths reported; Covid-19 has pushed 32 million Indians out of middle class ; Hong Kong’s fragile coral reefs boosted by 3D printing ; and more. Reading this on the web or know someone who might enjoy receiving Asian Insider? Our sign-up page is here . US-China Alaska meeting: Contentious tone not surprising, experts say If Beijing went into its talks with the United States in Anchorage, Alaska, seeking a reset in their relationship after years of fraught ties and a bruising trade war under the Trump administration, the hard line adopted by Biden administration officials in the opening minutes of their meeting quickly made it clear that was not going to happen . The contentious tone - with Chinese officials accusing their American counterparts of ... » Learn More about Asian Insider, March 19: Contentious tone in US-China meeting; Lloyd Austin to deepen India-US ties

NEW YORK: In 1995, few could imagine that the modest online bookstore built by Jeff Bezos would turn into a $1.7 trillion behemoth that sells everything from diapers to sofas, produces movies, owns a grocery chain and provides cloud computing services to businesses all over the globe. Amazon has become all of that and more, and now it will be up to Andy Jassy to lead the company forward as CEO. On Tuesday, Amazon announced that Bezos would step aside this summer and assume the role of executive chairman so he can focus on new products and early initiatives being developed at Amazon. Although Bezos is expected to still play a big role at the company, it is Jassy who will inherit the many challenges born from Amazon’s meteoric rise. Here are some of them: Tech giants for decades have enjoyed light-touch regulation and star status in Washington, but calls for greater scrutiny have been growing. The U.S. government has already slapped two Big Tech companies — Google and Facebook — ... » Learn More about 5 daunting tasks await new Amazon CEO

NEW DELHI: India's antitrust body on Friday told a court that a Reuters report showing Amazon.com Inc gave preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its India platform corroborated evidence it had received and which had triggered an investigation of the U.S. e-commerce giant. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) announced in January 2020 that it was investigating Amazon and Walmart Inc's Flipkart following a complaint from a trader group that they were promoting preferred sellers. But the probe into alleged violations of competition law was put on hold as the two firms mounted a court challenge. While arguing on Friday for restarting the probe, Madhavi Goradia Divan, an Additional Solicitor General of India representing the CCI, read parts of the Reuters report to the judge in the Karnataka High Court, saying it "corroborates what was said" in the original complaint. The Reuters story, which was published last month, was based on internal Amazon documents ... » Learn More about India antitrust body says Reuters story corroborates evidence in probe of Amazon

SINGAPORE - Many students use vacation jobs to earn pocket money. Classmates Ben Lin and Eugene Tay, though, parlayed their holiday job peddling fragrances in a mall into a multi-million-dollar beauty business that seems to be pandemic-proof. Despite having to close their four Novela stores during the circuit breaker, the co-founders accelerated plans to move the business online. In less than four weeks, Mr Lin, 35, and Mr Tay, 31, launched an e-commerce website in May last year. Their move to Kaola, a cross- border digital shopping platform owned by the Alibaba Group, in January last year also proved fortuitous. Novela achieved more than 10 million yuan (S$2 million) in sales from that source alone, about half of which was achieved on the wildly popular shopping day known as Double Eleven Singles' Day on Nov 11. It is looking to double that figure this year. Its sales in China bumped up its total revenue last year to $18 million, which pipped 2019's $13 million, ... » Learn More about Prospering in the pandemic: Home-grown beauty chain targets the big boys

Sunday hikers watch the lava flowing from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano. FAGRADALSFJALL, Iceland: Thousands of curious onlookers have flocked to an erupting volcano in Iceland to marvel at the hypnotic display of glowing red lava, the bravest of them grilling hot dogs and marshmallows over the smoldering embers. The eruption of a fissure near Mount Fagradalsfjall, which began late Friday, was the first in the same volcanic system in about 900 years. The volcano is located only about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik and can be reached after a 90-minute hike from the nearest road. "It's absolutely breathtaking," says Ulvar Kari Johannsson, a 21-year-old engineer who spent his Sunday visiting the scene. "It smells pretty bad. For me what was surprising was the colours of the orange: much, much deeper than what one would expect," he tells AFP. The incandescent lava bubbles and spurts from a small cone in the Geldingadalur valley, piling up in the basin ... » Learn More about Thousands flock to Iceland’s erupting volcano

REUTERS: After almost four months of phone calls and emails to GameStop Corp complaining about the slow shipping of an order, New Jersey teacher Steven Titus received a late night call in early March: from a director on the video game retailer's board. On the line was Ryan Cohen, the billionaire co-founder and former chief executive of online pet supplies retailer Chewy who is now leading GameStop's push into e-commerce. Cohen was responding to an email Titus had sent 12 hours earlier to more than two dozen GameStop executives and board members. "NOBODY has attempted to respond except a muddled voicemail with no distinguishable callback number or extension. E-commerce requires a customer support team and processes that are responsive," Titus wrote. "I just got your email, I'm so sorry this happened. Let me get to the bottom of this," Cohen told Titus. Cohen then asked GameStop's new customer service chief Kelli Durkin, who spearheaded initiatives at Chewy that included ... » Learn More about From pet food to video games: inside Ryan Cohen’s GameStop obsession

REUTERS: Although Emily Stone's employment at an Amazon.com Inc warehouse ended on Feb. 1, she still received a ballot for her former company's union election in the weeks following her departure and a text asking her to vote no. The union "will make a lot of promises, but have they delivered on those promises?" read another text alert she got from the Bessemer, Alabama warehouse's management, seen by Reuters. She recalled thinking, "I can't figure out how to get them to stop sending me messages." Stone, 25, said she decided against returning the ballot because she no longer worked for Amazon. The company had declined to extend her paid leave after she contracted COVID-19 in November, which sent her to the hospital, she said. She is not alone. Reuters spoke or texted with 19 people Amazon listed to receive a ballot for the election even though they now no longer work at the company. At least two of them already voted, they told Reuters. Election terms, however, stipulate ... » Learn More about In Amazon union election, votes cast by some ineligible ex-employees could swing outcome

REUTERS: Shares of Reddit-favorite GameStop Corp fell nearly 18per cent on Wednesday, a day after the videogame retailer said it might cash in on a meteoric rise in its share price to fund its e-commerce expansion. GameStop shares have surged nearly 900per cent so far this year as retail investors have acted in concert on Reddit forums to bid up prices of heavily shorted stocks. The company said on Tuesday after reporting quarterly results that it has been considering since January whether to increase the size of the US$100 million share sale that it originally announced in December. GameStop had previously decided against the move as it was restricted under U.S. financial regulations from selling shares because it had not yet updated investors on its earnings. The stock sale program was assigned to Jefferies, whose research arm on Wednesday raised its price target by a whopping US$160 to US$175, but kept its rating at "hold". That is much higher than the median price ... » Learn More about GameStop tumbles as Reddit darling mulls share sale

REUTERS: Shares in GameStop and other so-called meme stocks popular among members of Reddit's WallStreetBets forum jumped on Thursday as investors bought shares whose prices tumbled in the previous session. Shares in video-game retailer GameStop were last up 32.1per cent at US$159.02 with brisk trading volume, erasing much of the previous session's 33.8per cent decline after the company said it was evaluating the possibility of a share sale. Volatility has spiked this year in GameStop shares, which have risen from just US$18.84 at the end of 2020 and reached a record high of US$483 in late January before falling sharply and then kicking off another rally in late February. The company has benefited from a push by retail investors such as Reddit members to drive up prices of heavily shorted stocks. Investors have also been eyeing efforts by billionaire investor and Chewy Inc co-founder Ryan Cohen, who is on GameStop's board, to transform the retailer into an e-commerce firm ... » Learn More about GameStop soars 32per cent, leads meme stocks higher with Koss, AMC surging too

PHOTO: France 24 US President Donald Trump and wife Melania have sent “heartfelt thoughts and prayers” to the families and friends of victims in one of two mass murder gun attacks in the past 24 hours. About 20 people were killed and 26 injured in a shooting rampage at a Walmart and neighbouring stores in El Paso, Texas on Saturday afternoon (August 3). A 21 year old male suspect, Patrick Crusius, has reportedly been taken into custody and is being questioned. The latest shooting incident sent shoppers racing for cover amid chaotic scenes and prompted a massive police and medical response, local authorities and government officials said. At least 23 are still being treated in hospitals, according to the latest reports. The governor of Texas confirmed that 20 people had been killed in the shooting. US President Donald Trump condemned the killings via Twitter. “God be with you all.” Meanwhile, the FBI is assisting Dayton police in a second shooting incident. The ... » Learn More about US President shares “thoughts and prayers” over Texas shooting while a second mass shooting happens in Ohio