Latest news with #BeachRaider
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Denmark's largest construction company returns keys of Tesla cars, says: We as a company have chosen to ...
A Danish construction company, Tscherning, has returned its entire corporate fleet of Tesla vehicles, citing Elon Musk as the reason, a report claims. The company's decision reportedly reflects a trend of declining Tesla sales and brand damage in Europe linked to the Tesla CEO's political involvement. Consumer concerns have allegedly increased following the world's richest man's political inclination. This has led to both reduced sales and even current Tesla owners returning or selling their vehicles to distance themselves from the brand. Corporate sales, which are a major source of sales for the EV maker in Europe, are also reportedly affected by this trend. Tscherning, similar to the European pharmacy chain Rossmann, which sold its Tesla fleet last year, electrified its corporate fleet with Tesla vehicles. Recently, the company announced that it has now returned all of them and even shared a video showing the same. What Tscherning said about returning all its Tesla vehicles In a statement to Electrek, Tscherning said: 'At Tscherning, we not only decide how we drive, but also who we drive with. That's why we've chosen to hand over the keys to our Tesla company cars – not because Tesla has become a bad car, but in light of Elon Musk's political commitment and the opinions he has publicly expressed (and which are increasingly hard to overlook), we as a company have chosen to say 'thank you for the ride.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like My Stepdad Demands I Pay Him Rent On My 18th Birthday. He Doesn't Know I Own The House So I Did This Beach Raider Undo The company stated that it doesn't want to be 'associated with the values and political direction that currently accompany the Tesla brand.' Instead, it will purchase 'European alternatives' to Tesla vehicles. The Electrek report also claims that Tesla's situation in Europe is not sustainable, and there may be layoffs and store closures. Although the new Model Y was available throughout the quarter, Q2 results are similar to Q1, which saw a 40% year‑over‑year decline. The Q1 and Q2 2025 figures are lower than every quarter in the past three years, the report shared this graph to claim. Image credit: Electrek Meanwhile, with corporate fleets being returned and current owners selling their cars, purchasing a used Tesla may be more cost‑effective given the current pricing, the Electrek report adds. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
For Trump, adulation and no risk of protests made the Gulf a dream trip
In Saudi Arabia, he received a standing ovation from business elites as he announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria. In Qatar, he took home an investment pledge of billions of dollars in American goods and services. In the United Arab Emirates, he was awarded the country's highest civilian honor. 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Husband Sold Son's Car After Bad Grades. Parents Turned Pale When He Did This As Revenge Beach Raider Undo If President Donald Trump has been dogged at home by backlash over his tariff policies, protests over his immigration crackdown and questions over his ethics, a week in the Arabian Peninsula produced nothing but wins for the president. "The last four days have been really amazing," Trump said Thursday, as he was leaving a palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he had just been feted. He added, looking rueful, "Probably going back to Washington, D.C., tomorrow." Live Events On Friday, the president reflected on his trip on Air Force One: "The respect shown to our country was incredible. Nobody's treated like that. Nobody's treated well like that." At every step of Trump's whirlwind tour of the Middle East, he was treated with the kind of honor and respect he has long desired. Escorts of fighter jets. Extravagant welcoming ceremonies. Red and lavender carpets. Arabian horses. Glitzy chandeliers. Camels. Sword dancers. White marble palaces. In the United Arab Emirate of Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, lit up with an image of the American flag. All in his honor. "As a construction person, I'm seeing perfect marble. This is what they call perfecto," Trump said at one point, admiring the royal court in Doha, the capital of Qatar. "We appreciate those camels. I haven't seen camels like that in a long time." Such a welcome would have been unlikely in most other corners of the world, where governments, including the United States' closest allies, are reeling from Trump's aggressive tariffs and bellicose rhetoric toward Canada, Greenland and Panama. But in the Gulf, Trump's every move was lauded. Trump was able to announce what he said was more than $2 trillion in economic investments between the United States and the three nations he visited: Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, each longtime purchasers of American military equipment. Trump said that the investments from those three nations could reach as high as $4 trillion -- roughly the size of all their sovereign wealth funds combined. While much of that total comes in the form of long-term pledges that may or may not materialize and counts some deals that were already underway, leaders of the Gulf nations were all too happy to supply Trump with the eye-popping figures. At a business event in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Trump was treated to a tour of deals underway between American and Emirati companies, including purchases of Boeing jets and General Electric engines. Trump marveled at the wealth of his hosts, who can pay upfront for whatever deals they undertake. "They don't say 'subject to financing,'" Trump said. "They have no problem." At each step of the trip, Trump surrounded himself with friendly audiences and often turned his events -- such as a stop at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East -- into campaign-style rallies: blasting his favorite playlists ("Gloria," of course), bashing Democrats and falsely claiming he had won the 2020 election. Speaking to U.S. troops as their commander in chief, he was greeted with chants of "USA." "We won three elections, OK? And some people want us to do a fourth. I don't know. I'll have to think about it," Trump told the troops, yet again floating the idea of an unconstitutional third term in office. "The hottest hat is, it says, 'Trump 2028.' We're driving the left crazy." If Trump hoped to avoid controversy about his family's business dealings in the region, the Gulf leaders helped with just that -- highlighting deals with private firms that are unrelated to Trump's personal business interests. There was no visit to the site of the Trump Organization's deal with a Saudi real estate company to build a residential high-rise in Jeddah; no presentation of a $400 million luxury jet that Trump is seeking as a gift from Qatar; and no promotion of the Abu Dhabi-backed fund that is making a $2 billion business deal using the Trump firm's digital coins. On Air Force One, taking questions from reporters, Trump denied knowledge of the crypto deal. "I really don't know anything about it," he said. "But I'm a big crypto fan, I will tell you." If a Democratic president did what Trump has done -- praising a former jihadis, welcoming Qatar's friendship with Iran and accepting a "gift" of a $400 million airplane -- Republicans would have been howling in protest and ordering up congressional investigations. What transpired, instead, was mostly an uncomfortable silence. A few Trump allies, like Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and far-right activist Laura Loomer made clear they did not like the plane gift, but contorted themselves to express their discomfort in ways that would be least likely to offend Trump. Loomer preceded her criticism by saying she would "take a bullet" for the president, and Hawley avoided the implication of corruption and simply said he would prefer "if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America -- that would be ideal." Trump's declaration that the United States was shifting its policy toward the Middle East away from judgment and confrontation toward peace and profit was praised repeatedly. "It's crucial for the wider world to note this great transformation has not come from Western interventionists or flying people in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs," Trump said at a gathering of Saudi royalty and business elites in Riyadh. Even back home in the United States, Democrats and Republicans approved of Trump's announcement that he was removing sanctions from Syria in an effort to give the war-torn country a fresh start. "We commend President Trump's decision to lift all sanctions on Syria," the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said in a joint statement. The trip was intended to deliver a series of economic, diplomatic and public relations wins for the countries involved, said Andrew Leber, an assistant professor at Tulane University in Louisiana, who focuses on the U.S.-Saudi relationship. Saudi Arabia got the opportunity to highlight the changing nature of its society and economy, and present itself as a leader in global affairs, both in terms of business opportunities and diplomacy. Trump got a trip that essentially could not go wrong for him, Leber said. "This was the one place that's guaranteed to give him a very enthusiastic, warm and tightly controlled welcome," Leber added. "If he went anywhere in Latin America, there would be protests. If he went anywhere in Europe, there would be protests. This is a place that's going to speak with him and deal with him on very transactional terms, that's going to put on a big show and where there's not going to be any domestic protests whatsoever." That was indeed the case, as Gulf leaders adopted Trump's favorite phrases. Each nation talked about their trade deficits with the United States and how they buy more from the United States than they sell -- a favorite topic of the president's. At a business forum in Saudi Arabia, panelists talked of "making aviation great again," playing off Trump's campaign theme. At the meeting in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Trump walked into a large rotunda where five large screens showed various kinds of investment -- starting with "Making Energy Great Again." There, he was gifted a box containing a drop of oil. In Doha, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, adopted Trump's energy slogan, "Drill, baby, drill." "The U.S. and Qatar are feeding and fueling the world," the emir said, before turning to Trump. "Glad to have you back on board." Trump is also a relief for Gulf leaders: They now have a U.S. president who breezes past their human rights records as he chases high-dollar deals. "Governments and publics throughout the Gulf like Trump a lot," said Jon B. Alterman, a global security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "They feel Western liberals want to shame them on their domestic issues, everything from LGBT rights to abuse of migrant workers," Alterman added. "While there certainly are rising liberal voices in the Gulf, most people there see Trump as a common-sense, like-minded leader." As he ended his trip in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Trump worried aloud to the news media that whoever becomes president after him would get credit for the deals once they reach fruition. "I'll be sitting home, who the hell knows where I'll be, and I'll say, 'I did that,'" he said. "Somebody's going to be taking the credit for this. You remember, press," he said, pointing to himself, "this guy did it." This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India logs record outbound travel in 2024, driven by middle class and global connectivity
India posted the country's highest number of outbound travelers on record in 2024, as per Travel Trends 2025, the annual Mastercard Economics Institute (MEI) report released Thursday. As per the report, Indian tourists are exploring a 'broad mix' of destinations—the top three being Abu Dhabi, Hanoi, and Bali—with growth supported by expanded direct flight connections and a rapidly growing middle class that is eager to travel. Together, the two markets continue to play an outsized role in shaping global travel flows, stated Mastercard. As per the report, Asia-Pacific is home to eight of the world's top 15 trending summer travel destinations. While exchange rates and geopolitical dynamics can influence behavior, the report highlights that passions and purpose-driven motivations remain strong drivers shaping the travel industry. Tokyo and Osaka are the world's #1 and #2 top trending destinations for summer travel (between June-September 2025), with the two largest increases in tourism demand relative to previous levels. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Rich Man Keeps Annoying Royal Guard, But He Didnt Expect This To Happen Beach Raider In 2024, Japan's capital city climbed from the number two spot that it held in 2023 to lead global travel demand heading into the peak summer season, reflecting its continued appeal. Meanwhile, Nha Trang in Vietnam made a surprise entry into the list, climbing in popularity thanks to its beautiful beaches, enviable coastline and vibrant nightlife. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) The report stated that Chinese Mainland retained its position as the world's largest outbound travel market in 2024. Chinese travelers are increasingly prioritizing value and visa-friendly destinations including Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Interest in Central Asian destinations such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan is also increasing. Live Events David Mann, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Mastercard said the Asia-Pacific region continues to set the pace for global travel, with buzzing destinations like Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, and Singapore capturing the imagination of travelers around the world. "Even as economic uncertainty persists, travel remains a bright spot—driven by people seeking meaningful, value-driven experiences. From exchange rates to regional accessibility, travelers are making smarter, more intentional choices about where they go and why, with a clear shift toward more personal, purposeful journeys," he added. As per the report, a weaker yen throughout much of 2024 played a significant role in boosting Japan's inbound tourism, making the country a compelling destination for visitors in search of value. Notably, a 1% depreciation of the JPY against the RMB is associated with a 1.5% increase in tourists from the Chinese Mainland. However, visitors from New Zealand and the U.S. rose only around 0.2% in response to the same degree of depreciation relative to their currencies. In 2024, the number of Singaporean visitors to Japan hit record highs — thanks to a 40% rise in the Singapore Dollar (SGD) vs. Japanese Yen (JPY), even as airfare and hotels got pricier. The report stated across Asia-Pacific, travelers are prioritizing dining, nature, and wellness as key motivators for travel, seeking meaningful moments over traditional sightseeing. Destinations like Gianyar in Bali, Indonesia, known for its iconic Babi Guling spit-roasted pork, and Queenstown in New Zealand—where restaurants welcomed tourists from 44 countries in 2024—are standing out as globalized culinary hotspots. The rise of sports tourism continues, with major events like the Australian Open tennis tournament and Baseball World Series in Los Angeles drawing significant international spend. Shohei Ohtani's World Series debut saw spending by Japanese visitors surge by 91%, six times the broader cross-border boost, highlighting how sporting events are proving to be powerful travel catalysts for fans.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ivory Coast opposition rallies to support barred candidate
File Photo: Tidjane Thiam ABIDJAN: Thousands of supporters of Ivory Coast's opposition candidate Tidjane Thiam gathered in Abidjan on Saturday to protest against his exclusion from the west African country's presidential vote. A court in Abidjan struck Thiam off the electoral list on April 22, arguing the 62-year-old politician had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987. Other opposition figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, have also been excluded from the presidential race due to judicial convictions. Thiam is currently in France but top figures in his Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) in Abidjan on Saturday called for national protests against his exclusion. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Remember Tiger Woods Ex wife Try Not To Smile When You See Her Now Beach Raider Undo "Let us have courage, arm ourselves with courage and determination to push back against this blatant injustice in our country, this tyranny and fear," said Noel Akossi Bendjo, the PDCI's vice-president, addressing "all Ivorians". "Are you afraid now? Get rid of your fear. It is because you are afraid that they continue to do what they do, to crush us," he said. Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam acquired French nationality in 1987 but renounced it in March in order to run for president, as candidates are not allowed to hold dual citizenship. The Abidjan court however based its ruling on article 48 of the nationality code, dating from the 1960s, which states that acquiring another nationality means foregoing Ivorian citizenship. The PDCI "loudly proclaims that... Thiam is Ivorian and his nationality is beyond dispute," said his party's vice-president, addressing supporters chanting "Titi, president", using Thiam's nickname. "Thiam is the PDCI's sole candidate for the presidential election," he added. On April 25, a call by Thiam's party for protests outside courts had drawn only a few hundred supporters. Meanwhile, the ruling party has yet to reveal its candidate. Current President Alassane Ouattara, 83, in office since 2011, has said he is eager to "continue serving my country".
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Time of India
3 members of family among 4 killed in separate accidents
Pilibhit: Four people, including three members of a family, were killed in two separate accidents within 24 hours in Pilibhit district. The first incident occurred around 8pm on Monday, when a speeding tractor-trolley ran over three family members travelling on a bike. The accident took place on Bhind-Lipulekh NH 731 near Jyoraha Kalyanpur village in Barkhera, as the family was heading to Daulatpur village in Bisalpur. According to eyewitnesses, the tractor-trolley was being driven in an "uncontrolled" manner, raising suspicions of drunk driving. By the time locals and police reached the spot, the driver had fled with the vehicle. The deceased have been identified as Pancham Lal, 50, his wife Sunita Rani, 45, and their son Amar Singh, 24. All three were taken to the nearest community health centre, where Lal and his son were declared dead. Rani, who was critically injured, was referred to the autonomous state medical college in Pilibhit but died en route. Originally from Naugwan Nabi Nagar village in Pilibhit, the family had moved to Rudrapur in Uttarakhand a few years ago, where Lal worked at an agricultural farm. Barkhera SHO Pradeep Kumar Vishnoi said an FIR would be lodged over the accident once a written complaint is received. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like My Stepdad Demands I Pay Him Rent On My 18th Birthday. He Doesn't Know I Own The House So I Did This Beach Raider Undo The second accident took place around 9.30am on Tuesday, when a 45-year-old man from Deuni Kesarpur village was crushed by a passenger train heading to Tanakpur from Pilibhit Junction. The man, identified as Ram Singh, was crossing the railway tracks when the train hit him, dismembering his body. All four bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination.
