Volkswagen group sales probably rose to around 10.7 million cars last year and kept the German behemoth ahead of Toyota as the world's largest automaker, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing in-house VW estimates. Higher delivery figures across the group, which includes premium brands Audi and Porsche, helped drive revenue above 220 billion euros ($264.62 billion) for the first time ever after the 2016 record of 217 billion euros, the newspaper said on Sunday.

A new German law named NetzDG that will force social media sites to delete offensive content has come into effect with the New Year. There are plenty of critics on both the far-right and among internet activists. Facebook, Twitter, and Google will need to get used to new rules in Germany from Monday, as a new law comes into effect designed to clamp down on hate speech and illegal content on the internet.

Pope Francis in his traditional New Year message, decried wars, injustices, social and environmental degradation and other man-made ills which he said spoiled the year. Francis presided at a New Year’s Eve prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica, a traditional occasion to say thanks in each year’s last hours.

France plans to install landline phones in prison cells across the country in an ambitious bid to improve rehabilitation rates - and cut down on rampant cellphone trafficking behind bars.

The justice ministry said Tuesday that it had called for bids to operate the new service after "successful tests of this experiment" at one prison since 2016.

But the new freedom to call up to four pre-approved numbers at any time of the day won't come cheap, with one prisoner advocacy group warning that calls could cost up to 80 euro cents ($0.97) a minute.
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Like other countries, France has struggled against the smuggling of cellphones into prisons, with more than 19,000 handsets and accessories seized in the first half of 2017, for an overall prisoner population of about 70,000.

Iceland has become the first country in the world to legalise equal pay for men and women. The legislation, which came into force on the first day of 2018, makes it illegal to pay men more than women. According to the new rules, companies and government agencies employing at least 25 people will have to obtain government certification of their equal-pay policies.

A topless Ukrainian "sextremist" Alisa Vinogradova was on Monday arrested by the Vatican Police for attempting to steal the doll of baby Jesus from the Vatican's nativity scene. Vinogradova attempted to grab the doll of baby Jesus when thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear the Pope's annual Christmas Day message.