Nest drones could provide the next major leap forward for the Police and Border Guard Board and the Rescue Board by enabling faster and smarter emergency response, writes Veiko Randlaine.

A formal ceremony was held on Tuesday in the twin city of Valga–Valka, where the 1st German–Dutch Corps (1GNC) officially took over the tactical command of the Estonian and Latvian land forces from NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast.

Minister of Education Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said that as long as the war in Ukraine continues, the budget deficit cannot be reduced ahead of schedule, as this would mean cutting defense spending. Kallas added that after the war ends, it will be possible to reassess priorities.

The recently renamed Free Party has not yet decided whether it can afford to compete in the next Riigikogu election and will make that decision as circumstances develop, party leader Märt Meesak tells ERR.

The Health Board detected both non-toxic and toxic species of blue-green algae in water samples taken Wednesday at the Pirita beach swimming area.

A new survey on religion shows that traditional church‑based religiosity in Estonia is continuing to decline, and most Estonian residents do not consider themselves followers of any religion. The study also found that attitudes toward religion differ sharply between Estonians and Russian‑speaking residents.

Uus-Meremaa politsei uurib Roheneemesaarte kaptenit Ryan Mendesi seoses märtsis aset leidnud väidetava vägistamisjuhtumiga.

Tuhanded inimesed tulid teisipäeval Lõuna-Aafrika Vabariigis tänavatele, et nõuda riigis ebaseaduslikult viibivate välismaalaste lahkumist. Meeleavaldustega kulmineerub mitu nädalat kestnud kampaania, mille tõttu on tuhanded inimesed riigist põgenenud ja milles on hukkunud neli inimest.

The blast was caused by an explosive device which appeared to contain bolts and pellets, the head of Monaco's government said.

The male suspect who has been arrested was in a custody dispute over his baby daughter, police say.

Three in five homes listed for sale since January remain on the market, says property portal Zoopla.

The Fire (Financially Independent, Retire Early) movement sees followers save as much as possible.

ASML builds the machines that make the world’s most advanced computer chips possible. Novo Nordisk pioneered the drug class, reshaping how medicine treats obesity. Mistral established a strong position in open-source AI. Each is a European champion. Each was built in Europe. What makes these achievements remarkable is that they emerged despite structural challenges, many of which Europe has to contend with. Europe’s venture capital pool is roughly 75 percent smaller than the US, and large European companies invest around €700 billion less per year in capital expenditure and research than their American peers. In fact, recent McKinsey Global Institute research confirms that investment cases are harder to make work in Europe than elsewhere across sectors—from pharmaceuticals to machinery. The fact that Europe produces world-leading companies despite this environment speaks to the quality of what is already here. It is proof of what European talent and institutions can produce. The opportunity now is to give companies like these the runway to sustain and extend their leads. Global capital increasingly sees Europe as a place to build, not simply to consume, frontier technologies. The momentum is already building. European venture capital volumes have grown roughly four- to five-fold over the past decade. Private equity fundraising reached record levels in 2024. Private credit assets have grown fivefold in a decade to more than €430 billion. Global capital increasingly sees Europe as a place to build, not simply to consume, frontier technologies. The task now is to accelerate what is already working. We see four themes that could help do exactly that. The first is giving world-class European companies the ecosystem they need to scale at home—backed by concrete public-private investment. When ASML committed to expanding its semiconductor cluster in Eindhoven, the Dutch government and regional partners responded with a €2.5 billion public-private investment covering energy, transport, housing, and talent. This is an inspiring model: targeted partnerships around an anchor company that build a world-class ecosystem faster than broad regulatory reform alone ever could. Europe would benefit from more of these. Imagine if Europe’s single market were as seamless as it sounds. The second is unlocking Europe’s internal market as a genuine home advantage. Like so many others before and after Spotify, a Swedish company with a world-class product, had to navigate 27 different licensing regimes before it could operate across Europe as a single business—and ended up scaling through the United States first. Imagine if Europe’s single market were as seamless as it sounds. Estimates suggest remaining barriers are equivalent to a 44 percent tariff on goods and more than 100 percent on services—meaning there is enormous upside simply in completing what has already been started. The most promising path is a Europe-wide “28th regime” of common, investment-friendly rules that scale-ups and multinationals can opt into. Progress on EU Inc. is encouraging; leaders could extend it into other arenas, for example, incorporation law into labor rules and product-market regulation. Third, Europe can mobilize more of its own considerable capital—starting with pension allocations to venture and growth funds. European households collectively hold more than €30 trillion in financial assets. Directing even a modest additional share toward growth companies, innovation, and infrastructure would transform the funding landscape. SoftBank’s plan to back what could become Europe’s largest AI facility in France shows the appetite is there. Progress on the Savings and Investment Union is promising; the same momentum can now unlock pension and institutional capital for venture and growth investment, as reforms in Sweden have shown, but at a European scale that matches broader ambition. The momentum is real and building. Fourth, Europe can use its public demand more strategically to propel technology leaps. At €2 trillion a year, EU public procurement dwarfs any venture capital or private equity pool—and it can more proactively spur new industries. Defense already demonstrates the power of this approach: since 2021, European defense spending has risen by roughly 75 percent, driving investment, innovation, and industrial expansion across sectors. What began as a security imperative is now strengthening advanced manufacturing, supply chains, skilled jobs, and frontier technologies. The same logic applies in healthcare, energy, digital infrastructure, and emerging technologies—coordinated procurement can create the demand that scales promising companies into global leaders while strengthening both competitiveness and resilience. Europe’s strengths run far deeper than the three companies we highlighted. Its healthcare systems, infrastructure, industrial base, and talent are easily among the strongest in the world. On almost any measure of quality of life and living standards, Europe holds its own against other regions. The continent already has the ingredients that will matter most in the decades ahead: world-class companies, scientific excellence, industrial depth, engineering talent, and strong institutions. The momentum is real and building. The question is how quickly Europe can turn more of its breakthroughs into global champions. That will be a function of ambition, speed, and investment scale—and on all three, Europe is certainly well positioned and moving.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday ahead of a critical NATO summit in Ankara next week, according to two EU officials familiar with her plans. Kallas is visiting Turkey alongside Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner as part of a high-level trio seeking to foster deeper ties with Ankara at a moment when wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are reshaping Europe’s security priorities. The talks are expected to focus on preparations for the July 7-8 NATO summit and regional security, according to the officials. “Türkiye is an essential partner on defence, migration, trade and regional stability,” a member of Kallas’ team told POLITICO. “Tuesday’s talks are likely to cover the way forward on Iran, Syria, Gaza, and Russia’s war against Ukraine — all issues where Türkiye’s voice carries heavily.” Beyond security, Brussels also wants to advance plans to lower trade barriers and develop the so-called “middle corridor” — a trade route linking Asia and Europe bypassing Russia. The outreach comes despite a relationship that remains politically fraught. Turkey’s EU accession bid has stalled for years, while Erdoğan continues to face criticism over democratic backsliding and the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. European lawmakers have urged the Commission delegation to raise rule-of-law concerns during the visit. For now, however, security appears to be taking precedence. EU leaders hope next week’s NATO summit will help steady transatlantic relations after U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized European allies over their refusal to support recent U.S. military operations against Iran. “Closer EU-Turkey cooperation serves us all,” Kos told POLITICO ahead of the visit. “Together with Turkey, we want to move in the direction of more stability and more certainty in the wider region.”

The app said it will be rolling out usernames gradually, in a move meant to improve privacy.

Iran says it has sent an expert delegation to Doha to follow up on the release of frozen Iranian funds.

Our European environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan answers your questions on the climate after reporting on the shocking heatwave that continues to scorch its way across Europe, covering everything from the lack of preparation to ways to deal with the heatsloth_101 asks: Most reports still talk about this issue in terms of “records”? Technically, that might be correct but it feels like it’s missing urgency of the matter. “Records” are meant to be broken. These records clearly are not. Isn’t there a better way to describe it? For example, how “climate change” is often replaced with “climate emergency” or “climate breakdown”?I had never thought about it like that before but I can see how it can be read that way. It is partly a limitation of the language and partly an issue of accuracy. Ideally, I would spell it out – “Germany has been hit by heat it has never seen before” – but, because we are talking about measurements since records began, rather than over a longer period of history. I prefer to speak of “record-breaking” heat. The urgency can still be conveyed by describing the damage that hot weather does to our bodies and stating the death toll, which comes to tens of thousands of people across Europe in a typical summer. Each year heat kills 10 ten times more people than murderers in Europe.So far there has been fairly little evidence of this happening. Far-right parties talk a lot about migrants and climate, but almost exclusively as separate issues. One recent exception is Switzerland, where a referendum this month on capping the country’s population at 10 million people linked the impact of migration on the Alpine nation’s natural resources, but the link here was more about environmental degradation than climate breakdown.Some data suggests migrants tend to pollute about as much as the native-born population – flying more but driving less - so there is no obvious avenue by which they would hold foreigners responsible for increased temperatures. What seems more likely is that, as temperatures rise to intolerable levels in North Africa and the Middle East, increased migration to Europe will force far-right parties to confront the paradox that the migration they want to stop will be exacerbated by the fossil fuel pollution they support. Continue reading...

Authorities are still searching to identify the suspect of an alleged assassination attempt of a Ukrainian business tycoonin MadridMore than 1 million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers have applied to regularise their status in Spain under a government programme to harness and defend the benefits of immigration at a time when most European countries are pulling up the drawbridge.“The fact that more than 1 million people submitted applications shows just how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was.” Continue reading...

Police hunt suspected bomber believed to have fled wealthy Mediterranean principality

Aleksandar Vučić says he plans to step down as president and return as premier after snap elections this autumn