Business

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Italy, Monaco and France from March 21 to 26, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced Monday.

Xi was invited by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Head of State of the Principality of Monaco Albert II and French President Emmanuel Macron, Lu said.

New Delhi March 17, 2019 PTI/GANASHAKTI: State-owned telecom firm BSNL will approach National Company Law Tribunal this week to recover dues of about Rs 700 crore from Reliance Communications, according to official sources.

Earlier, debt-ridden RCom in its plea before the NCLAT said that it wants to voluntarily go back into the insolvency process, as it will help selling its assets in a time bound manner.

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Cash-strapped Jet Airways Monday said it has grounded four more planes, taking the number of aircraft that are non-operational due to non-payment of lease rentals to 41.

Grappling with financial woes, the carrier has been looking at ways to raise fresh funds.

MILAN (AP) — The directors of Italy’s premier opera house, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, are meeting to decide whether to accept controversial funding from Saudi Arabia.

The meeting Monday came amid media reports last weekend that at least some of the 15 million euros ($17 million) had been deposited into an escrow account pending approval of the funding.

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at General Motors (GM), pressuring the auto giant to reopen an Ohio plant, whose closure has put 1,700 people out of work.

"Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors about the Lordstown Ohio plant ... I asked her to sell it or do something quickly," Trump tweeted Sunday.

"She blamed the UAW (United Automobile Workers) Union -- I don't care, I just want it open!" the tweet reads.

Male, Mar 17 (PTI) India and the Maldives on Sunday discussed measures to strengthen bilateral ties and collaborate in the fields of defence, development cooperation, capacity building and health as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with the country's top leadership, including her Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid.

Swaraj arrived here on Sunday on a two-day visit, the first full-fledged bilateral trip from India to the island nation after the government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came to power in November last year.

17 Mar 2019; DW: A "Leave Means Leave" pro-Brexit march to London began its two-week, 435-kilometer (270-mile) journey from Sunderland on Saturday.

The group of about 100-200 hardcore Brexiteers was led by former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, who has accused politicians of "betraying the will of the people."

HOUSTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The fast-growing U.S. oil and natural gas industry, which is seeking export markets around the globe, are overshadowed as sticky trade tensions have added uncertainty and costs to U.S. businesses.

BUCHAREST, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The European People's Party (EPP) will fight for the same living standard all over Europe, said Manfred Weber, EPP candidate for the presidency of the European Commission(EC), here on Saturday.

16 Mar 2019; DW: US carmaker Ford will shed 5,000 workers in Germany, it announced on Friday.

Ford hopes to save at least $500 million (€441 million) with the measures, according to a letter from executives to employees.

"This is part of a restructuring operation for Ford in Europe that was already announced in January with the goal of getting back being a profitable business," a spokesman said.