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Mercedes-Benz's core car sales fell in 2024, a tough year for the auto industry marked by waning demand in a weak economy, especially in key market China, the German luxury carmaker said on Friday. It sold 1,983,400 cars during the year, down 3% versus 2023, weighed down by a 7% drop in China and a 3% decline in Europe. Annual sales of battery-electric cars (BEV) dropped by 23% to 185,100 vehicles, adding pressure on the carmaker as new, harsher EU CO2 emission reduction targets take effect this year, which could potentially mean costly pooling deals or hefty fines for Mercedes if the BEV sales don't pick up.

Henley Passport Index of the year 2025 has crowned Singapore as the most powerful passport of the world while granting its citizens visa free access to 195 out of 227 global destinations, reported CNBC Travel. This achievement actually marks a pretty significant milestone in global mobility while demonstrating the diplomatic and international standing of Singapore. According to CNBC Travel, Japan actually closely follows in second place with 193 visa free destinations while Finland, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain share third place together whereas each country is offering access to 192 destinations. The rankings actually highlight the continued dominance of Asian and European nations in international travel freedom. The United Arab Emirates emerged as a notable climber while rising 32 places to enter the top 10 with access to 185 destinations, asserted CNBC Travel. At the same time, on the other hand, the US eventually experienced a significant decline while dropping seven places to ninth position.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Angela Merkel wrote a 736-page memoir to secure her crumbling legacy. The effort is backfiring.

Annapurna Studios in collaboration with Dolby has launched India’s first Dolby certified post production facility for cinema and home. The facility was unveiled by the renowned filmmaker S S Rajamouli in the presence of the celebrated actor Nagarjuna Akkineni, Vice Chairman of Annapurna Studios. Interestingly, Rajamouli’s Academy-award-winning film RRR was the first-ever Indian film to be released in Dolby Cinema. A special footage of the film was played at the grand event. SS Rajamouli said, «During the time of RRR, when we wanted to grade the film in Dolby Vision, we had to travel all the way to Germany. It was a bit disheartening that I couldn’t experience my film in Dolby Vision within my own country. But today, I’m thrilled to see a Dolby Vision grading facility right here at Annapurna Studios.» He added, «Even more exciting is the fact that, by the time my next film releases, there will be multiple Dolby Cinema across India.: He said, „Watching a film in Dolby Vision is an entirely different experience—the crystal-clear clarity and the way it enhances the nuances of every frame take storytelling to a whole new level. I can’t wait for audiences to experience it!”

Elon Musk's expected hosting of Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, for a discussion on his X platform on Thursday was being watched by the European Commission to check for any spreading of misinformation before next month's German election. The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) is intended to address illegal content such as hate speech and intentional manipulation to influence elections. X has been under investigation under the DSA since 2023 over suspected dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of its measures to combat information manipulation.

Los Angeles plunged into its worst natural disaster in decades as wildfires driven by hurricane-strength wind gusts tore through prosperous neighborhoods, killed at least five people and forced more than 100,000 residents to flee.

average selling price of Mercedes Benz India models in 2024 rose 6% to Rs 95 lakh over Rs 89 lakh in 2023 as buyers lapped up its top end models—those priced at Rs 1.5 crore and above, at a faster pace compared to the year before. Sales of such models that include the Maybach S Class, AMG, GLE to name a few, advanced 30% year-on-year.

Indian artisanal gin, single malt and coffee liqueur brands are planning to ramp up exports this year by debuting in new markets and categories.

Fresh from pouring his money and energies into helping Donald Trump win reelection, Elon Musk has trained his sights on Europe

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Honda and Nissan recently announced plans to merge by 2026. Unthinkable 10 years ago, the merger is intended to keep the companies competitive as the automobile industry makes a transition to electric vehicles.

Bitcoin's price has fallen sharply over the past 24 hours, down 3.6% to just above $94,000 (€89,000) at 5.30am CET. The retreat appears to be driven by profit-taking as the post-Trump rally stalled, lacking a fresh catalyst for bitcoin investors to propel the world's largest cryptocurrency past the key physicological barrier of $100,000 (€95,400).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Planet Earth completed a revolution around the sun and we all celebrated it with gusto, calling it a New Year. As the planet embarks on its next revolution around the sun with about 8.2 billion human inhabitants, let us go ahead with the annual ritual of crystal-ball gazing into what lies ahead during the next 12 months.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk leveraged his influence on X (formerly known as Twitter) to engage in provocative political commentary while specifically targeting British politics, reported The Washington Post.

Olaf Scholz. But last week, he said something truly worthy of Confucius: 'Don't feed the troll.' Elon Musk has been on a spree of insults targeting him ('fool', 'Oaf Schitz') and other fellow Social Democrat politicians in Germany. Yes, surprise, surprise, Trump's CEO isn't a big fan of centre-left thinking and has been voicing/X-ing support for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Ruja Ignatova, who is also known as a 'cryptoqueen', who ran the initiative known as Onecoin, and is responsible for duping billions from people who invested in it. Bulgarian-born Ignatova disappeared in 2017 simply disappeared from the face of the Earth since 2017 and has ben untraceable since then.

Mayank Kumar, cofounder of edtech company Upgrad and Ayush Mathur, formerly president, Europe at hospitality and traveltech firm OYO have come together as cofounders to launch BorderPlus, a talent mobility platform dedicated to connecting blue-collar workers with global opportunities.

According to abrdn's Tell Sid and tell him again report, only 8% of wealth held by UK adults is in equities and mutual funds, four times lower than in the US, excluding pensions (33%). Instead, a vast amount of wealth held by adults in the UK is tilted towards property and cash compared to other G7 countries, with half of personal wealth tied up in housing, slightly below Germany's 57% and France's 52%. Lack of clarity keeps retail investors from getting on board with SDR labels According to the report, the UK ranked third among the G7 countries with the highest proportion of ...

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The factory floor of Schneider Electric’s plant in Conselve, Italy, hums with urgency. Workers at the power-equipment company’s facility, which is in the midst of a major expansion, are busily assembling advanced cooling systems for the data centres underpinning the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

BEIJING — Chinese robot vacuum cleaner company Roborock revealed a new model on Monday that comes with a folding arm for removing socks and other obstacles — a feature powered by artificial intelligence.