Author: Daily Sabah With DPA

Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican on Wednesday morning for the last major Mass before the election of the new pope begins. The Mass – known by its Latin title “Pro eligendo romano pontefice” (“For the election of the Roman pontiff) – in St Peter’s Basilica is led by the dean of the College of Cardinals, the Italian Giovanni Battista Re, who is 91. In the conclave, which begins in the afternoon, Re will no longer participate as only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote. The decision on the successor to pope Francis,…

Discounts on electric vehicles (EVs) in Germany rose in April, with the average markdown reaching 16.7%, up 1.8 percentage points from March, according to leading expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. Since January, EV discounts have increased by three percentage points, amounting to savings of well over €1,000 on typical models, Dudenhöffer said. He analyzed online prices for the 20 most popular fully electric cars in Germany. “In April, the threshold for offering higher discounts on electric vehicles has fallen,” Dudenhöffer said, predicting that price cuts would continue in the coming months. Carmakers are under pressure to sell more EVs to meet European…

Türkiye’s consumer price inflation eased further in April to the lowest in more than three years, figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Monday. Consumer price inflation softened to 37.86% in April from 38.1% in March. This was the lowest rate since December 2021, when prices had risen 36.08%. The rate was forecast to slow to 38%. The annual price growth in food and non-alcoholic beverages eased to 36.09% from 37.12%. Similarly, price growth in furnishings and household equipment moderated to 30.54% from 32.41%. Meanwhile, housing costs grew at an accelerated pace of 74.07%. On a monthly basis, inflation…

Italy’s unemployment rate rose slightly in March, ticking up from a nearly 18-year low recorded in February, according to data released Friday by the national statistics agency Istat. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 6% in March, in line with expectations, up from 5.9% the previous month. A year earlier, the rate stood at 6.9%. The number of unemployed people increased by 32,000 from February, reaching 1.555 million. Meanwhile, the employment rate remained unchanged at 63.0 percent in March.

Mercedes-Benz saw a sharp drop in earnings at the start of 2025, weighed down by sluggish business in the key Chinese market. The German luxury carmaker reported on Wednesday a 43% year-on-year decline in first-quarter net profit to €1.73 billion ($1.96 billion). Revenue fell 7.3% to €33.2 billion due to a global decline in vehicle sales. Operating profit dropped nearly 41% to €2.29 billion, reflecting ongoing market challenges. In its core passenger car segment, the adjusted operating margin — closely watched by investors — slipped by 1.7 percentage points to 7.3%. While down, the result was better than many analysts…

Vladimir Putin will be judged by his actions, not his words, Downing Street said after the Russian president promised a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called for an unconditional ceasefire, fears the Russian leader will “come back for more” if there is not a lasting solution to resolve the conflict. Putin said the temporary pause – starting late on Wednesday, May 7 in the UK until the night of Saturday, May 10 – would mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. But Downing Street expressed scepticism, with the…

A celebration of Germany’s accession to NATO almost 70 years ago is being held on Monday in Brussels. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius are due to attend the ceremony at the alliance headquarters, at an event hosted by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Germany became the 15th member of the transatlantic defence alliance on May 6, 1955. NATO now has 32 member countries. But the celebration is overshadowed by the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine and uncertainty about the future of the alliance. NATO is undergoing profound upheaval, mainly due to Washington’s decision to take significantly…

London is preparing a bid to bring the World Athletics Championships back to the capital in 2029, organisers have announced. Athletic Ventures – the joint organisation between UK Athletics (UKA), the Great Run Company and London Marathon Events – has completed a feasibility study ahead of submitting a formal expression of interest to World Athletics in September. The bid is contingent on securing £45 million ($60 million) in government support for delivery and, if successful, would be the first time London has hosted the event since 2017, which boasted a sold-out stadium for every session. UKA president Dame Denise Lewis,…

Pro-Palestine demonstrators have been arrested after red powder paint was thrown on Tower Bridge during the London Marathon. Youth Demand supporters jumped over the barriers and threw the substance in front of the men’s elite race at around 10.35 am. An image shared by the group shows two people standing in the middle of the road wearing t-shirts that said: “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel.” Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters and the race passed unobstructed, the Metropolitan Police said. It added: “He was quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a…

German laity hope that the next pope will bring more equality and diversity, according to the head of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). ZdK president Irme Stetter-Karp told German media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that 96% of Catholics urgently expect reforms from their church. Stetter-Karp said that many want the Catholic church “to recognize the diversity of life and of believers. It is about women being able to participate equally in the church, for example as priests,” she told the group. Stetter-Karp said that laypeople in Germany are also questioning celibacy rules as well as the way homosexuality and…