Europe

Intensifying heat wave threatens record-breaking temperatures across Europe

The heat wave is spreading north from mainland Europe, where it's plagued France for nearly a week

No Tuition, monthly stipend: 75 Indians win fully funded EU scholarships.

The European Union has awarded 75 Indian students fully funded Erasmus Mundus scholarships for 2026-28 and launched a new student ambassador network. Here's why it matters for Indian students looking

Europe braces for prolonged heatwave as France, UK issue red alerts

A powerful heatwave sweeping western Europe has triggered red alerts, school closures and energy concerns, with forecasters warning of further extreme temperatures through July

Pentagon chief urges Europe to take lead as he pushes a 'Nato 3.0' reboot

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that America's allies in Europe must take the lead on the defence of their own continent and help turn NATO into "a read hard-line military alliance." At a meeting of NATO defence ministers, Hegseth called for a reboot of the 32-nation organisation to turn it into a "NATO 3.0" capable of deterring any threat. His remarks came a few weeks after the United States told its allies that it would no longer supply certain warships and aircraft if one of them comes under attack. European allies and Canada are trying to work out how to plug the gaps. "NATO 3.0 is post-Cold War recognition that (NATO) needs to go back to a real hard-line military alliance that has real military capabilities capable of deterring right here on the continent and taking the lead for the conventional defence of Europe," Hegseth said. As part of that, he told reporters, the United States would be investing $1.5 trillion in its own defence in 2027, sending "a message

Datanomics: Europe, not Asian nations, India's top arms supplier

Despite Jaishankar's criticism, Europe has overtaken Asia as India's biggest arms supplier, reflecting New Delhi's evolving defence procurement strategy

PM Modi receives Slovakia's highest national award during landmark visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Monday conferred with Slovakia's highest national award, The Order of the White Double Cross (1st Class). President of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini conferred the award on PM Modi at a ceremony in Bratislava. "Honoured to receive The Order of the White Double Cross (1st Class) in Bratislava this evening. My gratitude to the people and Government of Slovakia for this honour, which belongs to the 140 crore people of India. I dedicate this award to the enduring friendship between India and Slovakia," Modi posted on social media. The Order of the White Double Cross (1st Class) is the highest civilian and military state decoration awarded exclusively to foreign citizens by Slovakia. Modi is in Bratislava as part of his weeklong visit to Europe. It is the first visit to the European nation by an Indian prime minister.

EU to start Ukraine membership talks next week as war with Russia drags on

European Union nations agreed on Friday to open membership talks with Ukraine next week, officially launching the process for the war-torn country to eventually join the world's biggest trading bloc. At a meeting in Brussels, ambassadors from the 27 EU nations decided to officially open negotiations with Ukraine as well as with Moldova, which Russia has also tried to drag back into its orbit, on Monday in Luxembourg. Ukraine sees EU membership as an important "security guarantee" for a stable future once war with Russia ends. Its best guarantee would be NATO membership, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen. Others oppose it joining while fighting continues. Russia is strongly against it, and has cited moves toward NATO membership as a reason for launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, though it has not objected to EU membership for Kyiv. Countries hoping to join the EU must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, or chapters, ranging from agriculture to trad

Europe is finally beginning to reinvent itself for a changing world

Europe is accelerating efforts to strengthen its economy through market integration, industrial support and tougher trade measures, while reducing reliance on US policy under Donald Trump

'Invest in India': PM Modi’s big pitch to Europe’s top CEOs & industry leaders in Sweden

Asserting that India's "reform express" is going at full speed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked Swedish companies to enhance their presence in manufacturing, green hydrogen mission

Why Switzerland's 10-million population cap is worrying executives

On June 14, Switzerland will vote on a plan to cap the population at 10 million, requiring a severe reduction in immigration

Exceptionally early heat wave shatters records, causes deaths across Europe

The United Kingdom smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave scorches parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down. A temperature of 35.1 degrees Celsius (95.2 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded at London's Kew Gardens, Britain's Met Office weather service said, breaking the 34.8 C (94.6 F) record set a day earlier at Kew. The provisional readings smashed the long-standing record of 32.8 C (91.4 F) set in 1922 and matched in 1944. London also recorded a rare "tropical night", defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20 C (68 F). Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C (97 F) on Monday in the country's southwest and widely remained above 20 C at night. The national weather service, Meteo-France, said a "heat dome", with heat held in place by a high-pressure weather fron

Paytm to invest €9 million in Europe arm to fund business expansion

Fintech firm One 97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, on Monday said its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Cloud Technologies will invest 9 million euro in its European payment entity. "...The Board of Directors of PCTL (Paytm Cloud Technologies Limited)...has approved an additional investment by way of subscription to 9 million equity shares of EUR 1 (one euro only) each at a total consideration of EUR 9 million (nine million euro), in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Paytm Europe Payments S.A (Paytm Europe)," the company said in a filing. The transaction is aimed at increasing the paid-up capital of Paytm Europe to support the funding requirements for its business. The transaction is expected to be completed on or before June 30, 2026, the company said. Paytm Europe Payments S.A., incorporated in Luxembourg on January 12, 2026, is a step-down wholly-owned subsidiary of One 97 Communications. It is yet to commence its business operations. PCTL presently holds 100 per .

Estonia to be India's gateway to northern Europe after EU FTA: Indian envoy

Estonia can be the gateway to northern European markets for India once the FTA with the European Union comes into effect, Indian Ambassador Ashish Sinha has said, asserting that the bilateral relationship is on an upswing. In an interview with PTI, Sinha said there is a robust base of existing trade to be used as a "springboard" for further engagement between India and Estonia when the India-EU free trade agreement comes into force. The Indian Ambassador to Estonia asserted that the overall bilateral relationship is going from strength to strength and getting stronger. "Going forward, with the India-EU FTA, there will be far more engagement of the small and medium-sized industries, and the dairy and agriculture products from Estonia will find their market in India. For India, we will have Estonia as a gateway to northern Europe," Sinha told PTI. Noting that Estonia also offers e-residency, Sinha said many of the Indian businessmen and high-value industrialists have taken Estonia's

Nordic outreach: India will benefit from technology and capital flows

India's transition to green industrialisation will require a wide-range of technological inputs, infrastructure financing, and specialised expertise

Dialogue, diplomacy only way to resolve conflicts: PM Modi in Italy

PM Modi also highlighted the deepening civilisational and cultural ties between India and Italy, noting growing interest in Indian traditions such as yoga, Ayurveda, cuisine, and art in Italy

PM Modi in Rome: Why India, Italy need to build a strategic future together

Rome increasingly understands that the future of European competitiveness, economic resilience and strategic diversification will depend upon trusted industrial partnerships beyond the Continent

Pentagon halts deployments to Poland, Germany to reduce troops in Europe

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 ...

EU-India partnership now at totally new strategic level: European envoy

The European Union-India partnership is "limitless, ambitious and progressive" and both sides have elevated the relationship to a "totally new level" in both qualitative and strategic terms, EU Ambassador Herve Delphin has said. In an address at an event, the envoy also noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "not an era of war" message "deeply resonates" with Europe's values and identity, and called the EU "fundamentally a peace project". Characterising the EU-India summit held three and a half months ago as a milestone, Delphin said the confluence of symbolism, substance and strategic significance resulted in "momentous outcomes". "We have placed our relationship to a totally new level, in qualitative and strategic terms. The EU-India partnership is limitless, ambitious and progressive," he said. "These achievements would not have been possible without the political conviction and trust shared by our leaders," the envoy said at the Europe Day celebrations on Friday night. Delp

Marco Rubio urges Europe to act on Iran during Italy, Vatican visit

He also stressed the importance of continued US troop presence in Europe amid concerns about possible reductions