Business

New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) IndiGo has decided to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, its CEO Ronojoy Dutta said on Monday.

"From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain our business operations," Dutta said in a statement.

New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) The free trade agreements (FTAs) that India entered into over the years have not been able to largely serve the country's economy well in terms of building its capacities, though all such pacts are not the same, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.

The external affairs minister said there are ways of engaging the world which do not necessarily have to be "FTA-centric".

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A year ago, Cijay Brightman was doing sound and lighting for a Madonna performance in Israel. Now, after the coronavirus wiped out live events, he’s making sandwiches, slicing cheese and serving customers at a Tel Aviv deli.

Brightman spent the last 15 years perfecting his craft and doing what he loves as a stage technician. But in the wake of the pandemic, he has been forced to abandon his passion and profession — like thousands of others in Israel — and find any job that will pay the bills.

20 July 2020; MEMO: Turkey has suspended flights to Iran and Afghanistan as part of measures against the coronavirus outbreak, the Transport Ministry said on Sunday.

New York, Jul 20 (AP/PTI) Organisers of a national workers strike say tens of thousands are set to walk off the job Monday in more than two dozen US cities to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that has only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dubbed the Strike for Black Lives, labor unions, along with social and racial justice organisations from New York City to Los Angeles, will participate in a range of planned actions.

19 July 2020; MEMO: Zawqan Abdelkhalek, a nurse at the American University of Beirut’s (AUB) medical centre since 2012, was laid off on Friday along with hundreds of colleagues as even hospitals buckle under the weight of Lebanon’s economic collapse.

19 July 2020; MEMO: Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Washington and Baghdad, renewed their full support for the project to link GCC and Iraqi power grids, and invited participants of the International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq to fulfil their pledg

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A United Nations agency acknowledged Sunday that a U.S.-sought oil tanker “hijacked” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates after allegedly smuggling Iranian crude oil is back in Iranian waters.

The International Labor Organization said that the MT Gulf Sky was hijacked July 5, citing its captain. That mirrors earlier reporting by The Associated Press.

“The vessel was taken to Iran,” the ILO said.

New Delhi, Jul 19 (PTI) Three of the 10 most valued companies added a total of Rs 98,622.89 crore to their market valuation last week, led by stellar gains in IT major Infosys.

Seven companies from the coveted list witnessed a decline in their market valuation last week, but their cumulative loss of Rs 37,701.1 crore was less than the total gain made by three firms -- Reliance Industries Limited, Hindustan Unilever Limited and Infosys.

New Delhi, Jul 19 (PTI) The financial condition of Hindustan Copper is in "dire straits" primarily due to the dismal performance of the PSU in 2019-20, a top company official said while asking the employees to brace up for tough times ahead.

The Chairman and Managing Director of the PSU, Arun Kumar Shukla, in an article published in the house journal of Hindustan Copper, exhorted company employees to focus on making up for the production shortfall in 2020-21 for the survival of the PSU.