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air pollution. Some regions of Europe face far higher pollution risks than others, making them less ideal destinations for travellers. In 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated its air quality guidelines, lowering the recommended threshold for annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) such as dust, smoke, and soot from exhaust. ALSO READ: Why applying for a Schengen visa is 'humiliating' for Indians

Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to spiritual leader and social reformer Swami Vivekananda on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Modi said Vivekananda is an eternal inspiration for the youth. The spiritual leader was born in 1863 and founded the renowned Ramakrishna Mission.

Edwin Castro, who made headlines after winning the world’s largest-ever Powerball jackpot worth $2.04 billion, has seen his luxurious Malibu beachfront home completely destroyed by the Palisades fire. According to The New York Post, the fire left only the concrete pillars and charred remains of what was once a $3.8 million property. Images obtained by The US Sun show the desolation left behind, with just the foundations and planks of wood visible where Castro’s mansion once stood. What was once a high-end retreat now lies in ruins after the fire tore through the region. After his record-breaking win in November 2022, Castro, 31, made several luxury property acquisitions. The Malibu property was just one of them. He also purchased a $25.5 million mansion near the iconic Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, a $47 million Bel Air estate, and a $4 million Japanese-style home in Altadena, located around 25 miles from Los Angeles.

Union Budget: As India plans to work towards being a viksit nation by 2047, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has put forward a 10-point specific suggestion before Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for the upcoming Budget 2025 to enable ease of doing business. As per the industry body, all regulatory approvals — central, state and local levels — must mandatorily be provided only through the National Single Window System (NSWS), which they believe will help bring about transparency and speed in the processes. In the first stage, CII suggested that it should be completed for all central ministries within the next six months, followed by bringing on the platform, states, in a phased manner. A dedicated central budget could be allocated for the purpose, especially from the point of view of incentivizing states to shift completely to the portal. Read More: Budget 2025 can position India as the world’s China Plus One hub with manufacturing prowess

National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed a plea to stay the insolvency proceedings against debt-ridden thermal power producer Indrajit Power. The appellate tribunal said «no error has been committed» by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), while admitting the plea to initiate insolvency proceedings against the Maharashtra-based company on February 1, 2024, filed by Yes Bank. The said order passed by the Mumbai bench of NCLT was challenged by Rajiv Munjal, a director from the suspended board of Indrajit Power, before the NCLAT. However, NCLAT upheld the NCLT order observing that it admitted the insolvency plea after finding debt and default which is not even questioned in the appeal filed by the suspended board.

Sanjay Raut on Sunday said his party wants to go solo in the local bodies polls to strengthen its base and has never called for dissolution of the opposition INDIA bloc or the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Raut's remarks came a day after he cited the lack of opportunities for workers of respective parties in an alliance and the right to organisational growth as the major considerations for contesting solo, which raised a question mark over the opposition bloc's unity. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Raut said, «The MVA was formed for the assembly polls and INDIA bloc for the Lok Sabha elections. The local body elections are meant to empower party workers and strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level.» «I or my party have never said that the INDIA bloc or the MVA should be dissolved,» the Rajya Sabha member added.

Elon Musk has called on the people of Germany to «say no» to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His statement comes after Germany's ruling Social Democrats (SPD) on Saturday announced Scholz as the party's candidate for federal elections set to take place on December 23. Musk made the statement on X in response to two news reports — one about SPD nominating Scholz for German Chancellor again and another June 24 report that said that a woman convicted of «offending» migrant gang rapists receives longer prison sentences than the rapists. In response to the two posts shared on X, Elon Musk wrote, «Sag Nein zu Scholz!» which translates to «Say No to Scholz» in English.

Indiabulls Real Estate (IBREL) and Embassy Group, the appellate tribunal NCLAT has sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation to merge both the real estate firms after setting aside the NCLT order stalling the process. «We set aside the impugned order of NCLT, Chandigarh and allow the prayer to sanction the scheme of amalgamation between the appellants (Indiabulls Real Estate, Embassy one & NAM Estates),» said a two-member NCLAT bench. The merger was on hold for the last 18 months, as the Chandigarh bench of the NCLT had withheld its permission in May 2023, despite all regulatory clearances from the CCI, bourses, RoC and approval from respective shareholders and creditors. The appellate tribunal said the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) should not have interfered in the valuation done by the experts using one of the standard prescribed valuation methods.

«The price gouging is going haywire, it's obscene,» the 50-year-old stylist told AFP. «I can't find anywhere for us to go.»

Kotak Mahindra Investment Bank. Domestic corporates played a substantial role, with their deal contribution almost doubling to $48 billion in CY24, up from $26 billion last year. Notable deals include the merger of Viacom and Disney, Aster DM and Quality Care, and Bharti Group's acquisition of a stake in BT Group. After a brief slowdown last year, Indian conglomerates are driving significant activity across sectors, focusing on diversification and strategic expansion. Major M&A deals in CY24 include Adani Group's buyouts in industrials and infrastructure, Birla Group's acquisitions in industrials, and Reliance's acquisitions in TMT and infrastructure, it said.

Kolkata has overtaken Bengaluru to become India's most congested city according to the 2024 TomTom Traffic Index. It is the world's second slowest moving city trailing only behind Barranquilla. Bengaluru and Pune follow at third and fourth spots, respectively. Dutch technology firm TomTom annually evaluates traffic conditions in major cities worldwide. Kolkata's average speed was 17.4 kmph, taking 34 minutes and 33 seconds to complete 10 kms. Bengaluru drivers took 34 minutes and 10 seconds to complete a similar journey. Commuters in Pune took 33 minutes and 22 seconds to travel 10 kms on an average.

Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2025 at Bharat Mandapam. During his visit, PM Modi interacted with the participants and saw their projects. The Department of Youth Affairs successfully kicked off the two-day Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi On Saturday. The event began with a grand inaugural session attended by Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Raksha Khadse, Anand Mahindra, Palki Sharma, S Somnath, Pawan Goenka, Amitabh Kant and Ronnie Screwvala. The ceremony opened with the traditional lighting of the lamp, followed by a floral tribute to Swami Vivekananda, whose enduring ideals continue to inspire the nation's youth.

Realbotix unveiled Aria, an AI-powered robot marketed as a life-like companion. With its price set at ₹1.5 crore ($175,000), Aria is engineered to provide meaningful interactions and emotional support. Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Realbotix, described the company’s mission to Forbes: “We’re taking it to a different level that nobody else is really doing. It can be like a romantic partner. It remembers who you are. It can act as a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you ever saw that movie Her, we’re trying to do that.” The robot’s ability to mimic human expressions comes from its 17 motors, enabling realistic mouth and eye movements. Aria can also recognise and adapt to changes in its appearance, thanks to RFID tags embedded in its design.

Tata Consultancy Services expects its retail and manufacturing clients in North America to step up spending on tech, following a similar upturn in its banking and financial services segment, a top executive of the nation's No. 1 software-services exporter, said. «We have heard about good holiday season sales (in the U.S.) that should boost consumer sentiment and manufacturing has some of the labour issues behind them,» CFO Samir Seksaria told Reuters. «If these three verticals (along with banking) improve overall, we should see a good recovery,» he said.

IRCTC) website is reportedly facing issues. On Sunday, many users took to the microblogging site X to report the outage with downdetector reporting outage faced by several users. The outage was also faced by users on Saturday. Last month, IRCTC faced similar outage twice, once on December 26 and again on December 31.

Emmanuel Macron, as per a report by local media house Le Point. «It has damaged our reputation and image without significantly improving our effectiveness,» he admitted. However, he added, «That doesn't mean we should move toward laxity. We must maintain a strict policy, but one that allows us to intelligently condition and simplify our visa policy.» The acknowledgement of failure stems from the report by Paul Hermelin, submitted to the Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs in April 2023, says Le Point.

Infosys, has revealed his reasons for resigning from the company, accusing the tech giant of systemic flaws, regional bias, and a toxic work environment. Despite being the sole earner in his family, Vishwakarma made the difficult decision to leave the organisation without securing another job offer. His open LinkedIn post has sparked debates about corporate culture and the treatment of employees in the tech industry.

Novak Djokovic has revealed a new secret weapon that he credits with helping keep him healthy and prolong his career — a green "energetic disc". Known for his new-age spiritual interests, the Serbian star is in Melbourne hoping to wind back the clock and win an 11th Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam singles title. To help achieve the feat, he has a device made by an engineer in Serbia he claims has helped him deal with several ailments.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO has recently taken to raising billions in cash piles instead of investments, which is not very common coming from him. Buffett sold a bulk of his shares in Apple, which came as a surprise especially after the fact that this stock has been one of the biggest frontrunners at Wall Street in 2024, being the highest valued company in the world. Many are even claiming that Buffett is able to see what others are not able to., and that there are chances a stock market pinfall may be incoming. Warren Buffett has a major knack of accurately understanding market behavior, based on his decades of experience. Therefore, his sudden shares dumping activity has raised alarms at the highest levels of Wall Street, as per reports.

IMD has issued a warning of a wet spell in the city, with thunderstorms and hail expected later in the day. Visuals from India Gate showed near-zero visibility in the national capital, with people seeking refuge in night shelters in Safdarjung to escape the harsh weather.

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has not historically paid much attention to energy companies. But there were signs of a shift at this year's Las Vegas event, as the tech sector begins to confront its substantial energy needs, which are certain to grow as cloud computing and artificial intelligence advance. «If you'd asked me to do CES five years ago, I wouldn't necessarily have seen the point,» said Sebastien Fiedorow, chief executive of the French start-up Aerleum, which manufactures synthetic fuel from carbon dioxide (C02).