VW confirms it will rebrand US unit as ‘Voltswagen’

German automaker Volkswagen’s US unit confirmed Tuesday it will rename its US operations as “Voltswagen of America” as it shifts its focus to electric vehicles.

The revised name takes effect in May and the announcement came after several outlets on Monday reported on a draft release mistakenly posted on the automaker’s US website.

“We might be changing out our K for a T, but what we aren’t changing is this brand’s commitment to making best-in-class vehicles for drivers and people everywhere,” said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Voltswagen of America in a statement.

The German automaker has committed to sell one million EVs worldwide by 2025.

The traditional VW Dark Blue color logo will remain for gas-powered vehicles and it will use a new light blue logo for electric vehicles. The company will use “Voltswagen” as an exterior badge on all EV models and gas vehicles will only have the VW emblem.

The name change will not impact other VW brands like Audi, Porsche or Bentley.

VW says new exterior and interior signs will soon appear on all U.S. properties and dealerships.

Volkswagen in 2015 admitted using illegal software to rig diesel engine tests in the United States, sparking Germany’s biggest corporate crisis and costing the carmaker more than 32 billion euros ($38 billion) in fines, refits and legal costs.

The German automaker, which has operated in the United States since 1955, said on Twitter: “We know, 66, is a unusual age to change your name, but we’ve always been young at heart.”

The world’s second-largest carmaker expects to double electric vehicle deliveries and boost profits for its core brand this year after stepping up its switch to fully electric vehicles.

The Volkswagen brand aims to invest 16 billion euros ($19 billion) in electrification and digitalisation by 2025.

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Xiaomi to invest $10 billion in new electric car unit

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has formally entered the automotive industry with a new smart electric vehicle (EV) business, the company announced on Tuesday in a filing.

The firm will initially invest 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) in the wholly-owned subsidiary, with a total investment goal of $10 billion over the next ten years.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun will also serve as CEO of the smart electric vehicle unit, the company added.

The company’s move into the EV industry follows similar steps by other tech giants, both in China and overseas.

In January, Chinese search giant Baidu Inc announced it would develop an EV unit via a partnership with domestic car maker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

In February, Reuters reported that beleaguered Chinese smartphone giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is currently in talks with state-owned automaker Changan Automobile and other companies to manufacture EVs.

Apple has also long been planning an entry into the EV market, according to reports.

Last week Reuters reported exclusively that Xiaomi was in talks to partner with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co for help in manufacturing EVs.

Xiaomi declined to comment on the report, while Great Wall said in an exchange filing that it had not discussed such a partnership with Xiaomi.

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Pakistan to import Chinese Cansino vaccine in bulk to package 3m doses locally: Asad

Pakistan will import Chinese Cansino Biologics Covid-19 vaccines in bulk to package three million doses locally, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said on Tuesday.

"We will be getting the bulk vaccine by mid-April from Cansino, from which 3 million doses can be made," Umar said on Twitter.

"The bulk vaccine received will be formulated, sterilised and packed in Pakistan. For this purpose special equipment has been procured and manpower is being trained," he said.

Meanwhile, the first batch of 60,000 doses of the vaccine is arriving today, he said.

Cansino's vaccine is one of the four approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap), the other three being China's Sinopharm, Russia's Sputnik-V and the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The company had last month released the interim efficacy results of a multi-country trial, which included Pakistan, showing 65.7 per cent efficacy in preventing symptomatic coronavirus cases and a 90.98pc success rate in stopping severe infections.

In the Pakistani subset, the efficacy of the vaccine at preventing symptomatic cases was 74.8pc and 100pc at preventing severe disease.

Pakistan also expects to receive one million doses of Sinopharm vaccine in a couple of days.

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Myanmar protesters launch 'garbage strike' as death toll tops 500

Rubbish piled up on the streets of Myanmar’s main city on Tuesday after activists launched a “garbage strike” to oppose military rule as the toll of pro-democracy protesters killed by the security forces since a Feb. 1 coup rose to more than 500.

Security forces shot and killed one man in the southernmost town of Kawthaung as they cleared the streets, the Mizzima news portal reported, and one person was killed in the northern town of Myitkyina, a relative of the 23-year-old victim told Reuters.

Police and a junta spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, re-imposing military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy.

At least 512 civilians have been killed in nearly two months of protests against the coup, 141 of them on Saturday, the bloodiest day of the unrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group.

Alongside the protests, a civil disobedience campaign of strikes has paralysed large parts of the economy. In a new tactic, protesters sought to step up the campaign by asking residents to leave garbage at intersections in the main city of Yangon.

“This garbage strike is a strike to oppose the junta,” read a poster on social media. “Everyone can join.”

Pictures posted on social media showed piles of rubbish building up.

Thousands of protesters came out to march in several other towns across the country on Tuesday, according to media and photos on social media.

On Monday, 14 civilians were killed, including at least eight in Yangon’s South Dagon neighbourhood, the AAPP said.

Security forces there fired a heavier calibre weapon than usual towards protesters crouching behind a barricade of sand bags, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear what weapon it was but it was believed to be some type of grenade launcher.

State television said security forces used “riot weapons” to disperse a crowd of “violent terrorist people” who were destroying a pavement and one man was wounded.

A South Dagon resident said on Tuesday there had been no pause in the crackdown.

“There was shooting all night,” said the resident, who declined to be identified.

Residents found a badly burned body in the morning, the witness said, adding it was not known what had happened to the person and the military took the body away.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Myanmar’s generals to stop the killings and repression of demonstrations.

 

 

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Pakistani people also desire peaceful relations with all neighbours including India: PM Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan has responded to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's Pakistan Day message, telling him that the Pakistani people "also desire peaceful, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India", it emerged on Tuesday.

The premier wrote this in a letter to the Indian leader, a week after Modi told Imran in a message that his country, being a neighbour, desired cordial relations with the Pakistani people.

"I thank you for your letter conveying greetings on Pakistan Day. The people of Pakistan commemorate this Day by paying tribute to the wisdom and foresight of our founding fathers in envisioning an independent, sovereign state where they could live in freedom and realise their full potential," Prime Minister Imran wrote in the letter, dated March 29, the Foreign Office confirmed.

"The people of Pakistan also desire peaceful, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India," he added.

The prime minister said Pakistan was convinced that "durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, in particular the Jammu & Kashmir dispute".

"Creation of an enabling environment is imperative for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue," Imran emphasised.

In his letter, the premier also conveyed best wishes for the Indian people in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration," he concluded.

Prime Minister Modi in his letter had stated that "an environment of trust, devoid of terror and hostility" was imperative for friendly relations between the two countries.

The Indian premier had also conveyed wishes to Imran and the Pakistani people for dealing with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, terming it a "difficult time for humanity".

The development had come days after Prime Minister Imran said India would have to make the first move to normalise ties with Pakistan.

“We are trying, but India would have to take the first step and unless it does that we cannot move ahead,” the premier said while inaugurating the first edition of the Islamabad Security Dialogue.

The perpetually tense relations between the two countries, which have fought three wars, besides engaging in several episodes of limited conflict, suffered a breakdown after India illegally annexed occupied Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019.

However, the two countries sprung a surprise last month by announcing the resumption of ceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC) after a ‘hotline contact’ between the directors general of military operations of the two countries. Many believe that agreement was made possible through a backchannel, although Pakistani officials strongly deny it.

No violation has since then been reported at the LoC and importantly there has been a visible reduction in rhetoric from both sides.

In his speech at the Islamabad dialogue, Prime Minister Imran said the Kashmir issue was the lone irritant standing in the way of better relations between Pakistan and India.

While addressing the same event, Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa too stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, saying: "We feel it is time to bury the past and move forward."

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Consensus is the only solution to the Afghan conflict : FM Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday the world is aware of Pakistan’s efforts for peace.

Talking to the media on the sidelines of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process, Qureshi said there is a consensus that the only solution to the Afghan conflict is a comprehensive dialogue.
He said the world is seconding Pakistan’s stance on the Afghan issue, realising that there is no military solution to it.

Qureshi said he met his Turkish counterpart the other day and during the meeting, the Afghan peace process came under discussion. He added he will be meeting with the Afghan counterpart today.

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Consensus is the only solution to the Afghan conflict : FM Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday the world is aware of Pakistan’s efforts for peace.

Talking to the media on the sidelines of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process, Qureshi said there is a consensus that the only solution to the Afghan conflict is a comprehensive dialogue.
He said the world is seconding Pakistan’s stance on the Afghan issue, realising that there is no military solution to it.

Qureshi said he met his Turkish counterpart the other day and during the meeting, the Afghan peace process came under discussion. He added he will be meeting with the Afghan counterpart today.

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