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Indian nationals will no longer need a transit visa when travelling to another country with a layover at a German airport, the country's embassy said here on Tuesday. The decision will come into effect on June 3, 2026. Every year, a large number of Indians, including students, professionals and tourists, travel through German airports, on way to other destinations. "Indian nationals will no longer need a transit visa when travelling to another country with a layover at a German airport. The lifting of the so-called airport transit visa requirement for Indian citizens was announced in the Federal Law Gazette on June 2, 2026, and takes effect on June 3, 2026," the German embassy said in a statement. "It underlines the Federal Government's commitment to deepening German-Indian relations, facilitating the movement of people, and further strengthening economic ties," it said. This comes as a result of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to India in January, the embassy said. In
Canada has reached a deal to export liquefied natural gas to Germany from a planned Pacific Coast terminal, an official familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The official confirmed Canada will sign the agreement with Germany's SEFE group, which stands for Securing Energy for Europe, from the proposed KSI Lisims export facility on the coast of British Columbia. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak ahead of Wednesday's announcement. The official said up to 1 million metric tons (1.1 million US tons) of liquefied natural gas per year will be exported. Prime Minister Mark Carney has set a goal to double non-US trade in a decade. Oil and gas-rich Canada exports almost all of energy oil and gas to the US currently. British Columbia Premier David Eby said earlier on Tuesday a deal to supply Canadian liquefied natural gas to Germany would be a key step toward the partners behind the Ksi Lisims project deciding to go ahead with their USD ...
German agricultural technology company B+H Solutions GmbH is eyeing the Indian market to expand its presence, with plans to invest 1 million euros in 2026, banking on rising demand for its metal-based nano-fertilisers and a recent regulatory breakthrough to accelerate growth in the country. The company, which markets its products through its Indian subsidiary Dr Heinisch Agro Solutions India Private Limited -- incorporated in 2022 -- reported global sales of 20 million euros for 2025. "Given the FCO (Fertiliser Control Order) nano registration, we are very enthusiastic for this year and plan on investment of 1 million euros in India in 2026," Dr Laura Wieler, General Manager and Chief Scientific Officer at B+H Solutions GmbH, told PTI in an interview. Unlike conventional nitrogen-based fertilisers such as nano urea, the company's products are metal-based nanotechnology solutions -- primarily silver and copper nanoparticles -- that function as what Wieler calls "fertiliser plus." Th
The Pentagon is drawing down thousands of troops in Europe by cancelling deployments to Poland and Germany as opposed to yanking forces already stationed there, US officials say, as President Donald Trump has tussled with allies over the Iran war and called for changes. Several U.S. officials confirmed that 4,000 troops from the Army's 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were no longer en route to Poland this week. The Trump administration had previously said it was cutting US forces only in Germany, and the decision spurred questions and criticism in both Warsaw and Washington. Two officials told The Associated Press that the deployments were canceled after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo directing the Joint Chiefs of Staff to move a brigade combat team out of Europe. One of them said the choice of which unit was left to military leaders. Besides the Army combat team based in Fort Hood, Texas, the memo also led to the cancellation of an upcoming ...
The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany in the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, fulfilling President Donald Trump's threat as he clashes with the German leader over the US war with Iran. Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the NATO ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington's lack of strategy in the war. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the "decision follows a thorough review of the Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theatre requirements and conditions on the ground." The US has several major military facilities in Germany, including the headquarters for US European Command and US Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States. The number of troops leaving Germany would be 14 per cent of the 36,000 .
President Donald Trump on Wednesday levelled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the US military presence there as he continues to feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israel war against Iran. Trump made the threat after Merz earlier this week said that the US was being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington's lack of strategy in the war. Trump has also repeatedly railed against NATO for the alliance's refusal to assist the US in its two-month-old war. "The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time," Trump said in a social media post. Merz had said earlier Wednesday that his personal relationship with Trump remained "as good as ever," but he had "had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran." During his first term in the White House, Trump also moved to cut US ..
In the backdrop of the ongoing West Asian conflict, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are not distant events, they are stark realities with direct implications for India's security and economic stability. Addressing the German Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and Security on day one of his three-day visit to the country, he also asserted that the world today is faced with new security threats, and the technological transformation has made the situation highly complex and intricately connected. A new approach with the willingness to adapt to the changing environment is the need of the hour, the minister said. Singh also made a strong pitch for enhanced collaboration between the defence industrial ecosystems of India and Germany. His visit to Germany also comes amid the West Asia conflict that has stretched for over 50 days, with global ramifications. "For a developing country like India, which relies on the West Asian regi
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a three-day visit to Germany beginning Tuesday to finalise a bilateral defence industrial roadmap. The roadmap will provide for a framework for the two countries to initiate co-development and co-production of various military hardware, officials said. In Berlin, Singh will hold wide-ranging talks with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius and other senior leaders. "Discussions will focus on enhancing defence industrial collaboration, strengthening military-to-military engagements, and exploring opportunities in emerging domains such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, and drones," the defence ministry said ahead of Singh's trip. "A defence industrial cooperation roadmap and implementing arrangement for cooperation in UN Peacekeeping operations training are likely to be signed in the presence of both the defence ministers," it said. The ministry said Singh's visit will provide an opportunity to review the ongoing defence ...
German growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 were cut by experts on Wednesday as governments across Europe implement measures aimed at reducing the price impact of the Iran war. A group of five economic institutes predict German gross domestic product will expand by 0.6 per cent this year - less than half the 1.3 per cent they forecast in September - and by 0.9 per cent in 2027, down from 1.4 per cent. The economic outlook was below the government's own forecast, issued two months ago, of 1 per cent and 1.3 per cent growth, respectively. The Iran war has created an unwelcome new obstacle to growth across Europe. The annual inflation rate in the 21-nation euro area sped up to 2.5 per cent in March from 1.9 per cent the previous month. It was powered by a 4.9 per cent increase in energy prices as the war and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz sent fuel costs higher. "This energy price shock is hitting a German economy in which a recovery set in last year after a several-year downturn,"
