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With flagship electric car, Mercedes takes fight to Tesla

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(Last Updated On: April 16, 2021)

Daimler AG, a German multinational automotive corporation, Thursday unveiled the electric “sibling” of its flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan, taking the fight to market-leader Tesla Inc in the battle for market share as electric car sales take off.

The EQS is the first in a family of Mercedes-Benz cars built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform built from the ground up. It will go on sale in Europe and the United States in August, then in China in January.

Sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the European Union almost trebled to over 1 million vehicles last year, accounting for more than 10% of overall sales.

“We set the bar very high,” with this car, Daimler Chief Executive Ola Källenius told reporters. “Customers in this segment expect a blend of hi-tech innovation and modern luxury… and that’s what we’re trying to achieve with the EQS.”

Daimler has not revealed pricing yet for the EQS, saying that will come in the summer closer to the launch date.

In interviews and conference calls on Thursday Källenius

avoided making any comparisons with Tesla, whose market cap of more than $700 billion dwarfs all other carmakers.

But with a range of up to 770 kilometers (478 miles) and a new display screen that will cover almost the entire dashboard – an optional feature – analysts see an effort to seize the initiative from Tesla, which had a head start over other carmakers and boasted a longer battery range and hallmark touchscreen infotainment system.

In a client note earlier this week, Deutsche Bank referred to the EQS as “Mercedes’ Tesla fighter” and said the car “will likely set the benchmark in terms of technical features, as well as design and quality,” for both traditional carmakers and newer entrants like Tesla.

Källenius said he expects more than 50% of customers will pay extra to get the display screen, which Mercedes-Benz unveiled in January.

At 56 inches (142 cm) the new “Hyperscreen” – which in width dwarfs Tesla’s vaunted 17-inch screen – will also feature in Mercedes-Benz’s other new electric models.

Källenius said the company would not provide forecasts for how many EQS models it aims to sell, or what sort of profit margins he expected the vehicle to generate.

But he said he had high expectations for the Chinese market, where there is “tremendous demand” for the traditional combustion engine S-Class model.

Daimler now joins rival Volkswagen AG with a dedicated electric platform. BMW will launch a dedicated platform in 2025.

Mercedes sales chief Britta Seeger said the launch of the EQS coincides with demand for electric vehicles that is growing faster than company executives once forecast.

“We thought by 2030 that half of our sales will be electric vehicles” and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Seeger said during a conference call. “What we currently see… is a stronger request of customers for EVs. We are even more positive that this jump can be a little bit faster.”

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Magnitude 5.2 quake jolts Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted Afghanistan on Thursday afternoon, the National Center for Seismology reported.

The quake was at a depth of 70km and epicentered in the mountainous north-eastern area of Ashkāsham.

The jolt was felt across the region including in Kabul, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan

There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

In October last year, over 2,000 people were killed when four 6.3-magnitude earthquakes struck in Herat province.

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Bayat Foundation helps needy families in Balkh

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

As part of Bayat Foundation’s Ramadan aid campaign, needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif, in Balkh province, received much needed food packages this week.

The aid package includes rice, flour and oil.

“In continuation of Bayat Foundation’s assistance, this time also a quantity of food such as flour, oil and rice was distributed to needy families in Mazar-e-Sharif; Inshallah, these contributions will continue,” said a representative of the foundation.

Needy families that received aid packages expressed their gratitude but called on other aid organizations to help the needy during these difficult times.

“Many thanks to Bayat Foundation, I thank Bayat Foundation for helping the needy and poor people of this region,” said a recipient said.

“I would like to thank Bayat Foundation for their cooperation in helping the needy in this holy month of Ramadan; it is hoped that traders and charities will do such sustainable work,” said another recipient.

Bayat Foundation is one of the charitable organizations that has played an important role in helping the needy in Afghanistan over the last two decades.

In addition to distributing aid packages to needy and vulnerable families, it has carried out numerous other projects, including the construction of health centers and schools.

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MoI registers over 8,700 criminal cases in the past six months

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(Last Updated On: March 28, 2024)

Abdul Matin Qani, the Ministry of Interior’s spokesman said on Thursday that in the last six months, 8,747 criminal cases have been recorded across the country.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Qani said of these cases, 7,233 have been solved while the remaining 1,525 are still being investigated.

He said 12,540 people have been arrested in connection with these crimes.

In addition, 21 kidnappers have been killed, 18 hostages have been freed and 172 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings in the same period of time.

Qani also said in the last six months 837,000 passports have been distributed. He said three new passport offices will be established in Kabul in the near future.

“10,000 passports are distributed to citizens daily by the Passport Department,” said Qani.

On the issue of narcotics, he said drug cultivation, production and trafficking has been eradicated. He said drug manufacturing equipment and 377 drug factories have been destroyed across the country.

According to him, the ministry has also made advances in collecting illegal weapons, fighting corruption and improving police skills.

Qani stated that during this period, no security incidents took place in most provinces across the country.

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