Sweden is taking a tougher approach to immigration ahead of its September 13 election, with the government offering foreign-born residents with non-EU residency permits up to 350,000 Swedish crowns (around $37,000) to leave the country. The policy marks a major shift for Sweden, which was once among Europe’s most welcoming countries for asylum seekers. The country received around 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015, but the number had fallen sharply by 2025.
The government says the voluntary “remigration” scheme is part of its broader effort to reduce immigration and address concerns over integration and crime. The programme has a budget of 1.3 billion Swedish crowns and has attracted support from the Sweden Democrats, a far-right party that supports the government in parliament. However, uptake has remained low, with only 171 people accepting the financial offer so far this year. Critics argue the programme is largely symbolic and designed to demonstrate a tougher stance on migration.
The policy has also sparked concern among immigrant communities and civil rights groups. Many immigrants interviewed by Reuters said they had no intention of leaving Sweden, citing their jobs, families, safety and hopes for a better future. The government has introduced other stricter measures, including citizenship tests and changes to residency rules. With opinion polls showing a close race between the governing bloc and the centre-left opposition, immigration remains one of the key issues shaping Sweden’s election debate.
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A village-born financier, a global Lions gift and the long argument that prosperity must enrich the soil beneath it.
Valapad, Thrissur — In July 2026, Lion V. P. Nandakumar, Chairman and Managing Director of Manappuram Finance Ltd, was recognised on a global stage for a contribution of US$1.5 million to the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), the charitable arm of Lions International and one of the world’s largest humanitarian service organisations. The recognition came at the Lions International Convention in Hong Kong, where he and his wife, Lion Sushma Nandakumar, were honoured for exceptional humanitarian service. The gift will underwrite LCIF programmes in education, healthcare, disaster relief, youth empowerment, vision care and community development.
Speaking in Hong Kong, Lion Nandakumar said: “Giving back to society has always been at the heart of everything we do. Through this contribution to the Lions Clubs International Foundation, we hope to strengthen humanitarian initiatives that create sustainable and meaningful change in people’s lives across communities. Together, we can build a more compassionate and inclusive future.” The Donation is not a one-off gesture. It is the latest and most international expression of an association with the Lions movement that stretches back more than four decades.
Lion Nandakumar’s ties to Lions Clubs International began in 1981, when he joined the Triprayar Lions Club. He later served as Multiple District Council Chairperson, as a board appointee and as a member of the LCIF Corporate, Foundation and Government Gifts Committee. In July 2019, at the association’s 102nd International Convention in Milan, he was elected International Director. He is now a Past International Director and has received the International President’s Leadership Award, the International President’s Award and the Ambassador of Good Will Award — the highest honour the association confers on its members.
That long association has a practical counterpart at home. In partnership with Lions clubs across Kerala, the Manappuram Foundation runs a housing programme for the homeless and the severely disabled; by late 2025 the collaboration had completed more than 550 houses, with further dwellings under construction. The handover of the 550th home went to a differently-abled beneficiary in Edathiruthy village in Thrissur district. The Lions connection, in this record, is not a ceremonial affiliation. It is the network through which a village trust learned to build at scale — houses, hospital units, flood relief, school kits — without abandoning the local flavour of the original gospel. The US$1.5 million gift to LCIF is the same partnership written in a larger hand.
The Roots Beneath The Reach
That donation is not an exception from Lion Nandakumar’s record. It is the most international expression yet of a philanthropy that still answers to a coastal village called Valapad in Thrissur district, Kerala. Manappuram Finance was founded in 1949 by Lion Nandakumar’s father, Mr V. C. Padmanabhan, in Valapad. From a modest pawnbroking concern it has grown into a non-banking financial company with more than 5000 branches across India. Lion Nandakumar took charge in 1986. He remains Managing Trustee of the Manappuram Foundation, the group’s charitable arm, and has long set aside a substantial share of profit for public purpose. Charity, in his telling, is not an ornament on the business. It is part of the firm’s original bond with the community that first sustained it.
Fabrício Oliveira, Chairperson of the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), honors Million Dollar Donor V.P. Nandakumar and his spouse Sushama Nandakumar at the Lions International Convention held in Hong Kong
When Lion Nandakumar speaks of giving, the language is local before it is global. His “Gospel of Giving” is rooted in the wellbeing of the neighbourhood: the fishing hamlets, panchayats and small towns around Valapad. The corporate headquarters has never left that village. He has declined to shift it, arguing that proximity is obligation rather than nostalgia. The prosperity of people around the company’s birthplace, he maintains, is a first duty. Beyond that circle lies a wider claim: the poor and the infirm, wherever they are found, deserve organised care.
He has put the idea in the form of a parable. “When a tree grows, its roots will also grow deeper and wider to give it a firm footing. Similarly, when an organisation grows, its prosperity should trickle down to the poor in such a way that it helps create goodwill and brand value among the local populace. Essentially, it provides the company a strong grip on the ground.” An institution’s economic progress, in this view, must register in the neighbourhood as wellbeing, dignity and social harmony.
Before The Statute, A Trust
Soon after he took the helm, Lion Nandakumar concluded that goodwill alone was insufficient. Meaningful intervention required a dedicated instrument. The Manappuram Foundation was constituted in October 2009 as a charitable trust — four years before the Companies Act made CSR spending mandatory for large Indian firms. The vision was concise: healthy, educated and happy communities.
A CSR initiative implemented by Manappuram Foundation in association with LCIF was inaugurated by Lion Gudrun Yngvadottir, LCIF Chairperson, in the presence of V.P. Nandakumar
The first major project was not a ceremonial donation. It was an attempt to close a gap that official schemes had left open. Many below-poverty-line families in the coastal belt of Thrissur were either unaware of existing government health insurance, or unable to pay even the nominal premium. In 2010 the Foundation rolled out the Janaraksha Manappuram Free Health Insurance Scheme. It extended cover of up to Rs 60,000 per family to about 20,000 BPL households — roughly one lakh people — across seven panchayats in the Nattika belt, including Valapad. Over seven years the scheme reimbursed nearly Rs 11 crore in treatment costs, with no age restriction and a wide range of medical procedures. The model predated the Union government’s Ayushman Bharat programme of 2018. It also set the Foundation’s subsequent pattern: identify a local failure of access, fund it properly and stay long enough for the benefit to become visible.
Lives Restored, Not Merely Assisted
Each year the Foundation, drawing on the company’s CSR outlay, attempts to convert that design into individual recoveries. Gopan’s case is one such instance. Bedridden for years after spinal injuries, he left his household in deep distress. With the Foundation’s support he regained his health and now sustains his family through a small business. The episode is typical of the work the Medical Treatment Fund is meant to do: intervene when a medical bill would otherwise collapse a household.
Million Dollar Donor V.P. Nandakumar stands alongside other distinguished donors honoured on stage at the Lions International Convention held in Hong Kong
Similar interventions recur across the Foundation’s case files — dialysis support, assistive devices, scholarships, houses for the landless and the disabled, and seed capital for women who can run a trade if they are given a first chance. The method is unglamorous: identify the person, pay what the system will not, and follow through until the beneficiary can stand without the grant.
The Scale Of The Purse
In FY 2024–25 Manappuram Finance spent more than Rs 46 crore on CSR, meeting and slightly exceeding its statutory obligation. The programmes cut across education, skill development, childcare, art and culture, sports, sustainable livelihood, drinking water and sanitation, digital access, and support for women entrepreneurs. The largest concentrations of money and effort remain healthcare, education and mobility.
Healthcare programmes have reached more than 1.24 lakh people through clinical services, diagnostic infrastructure and community outreach. Education spending has gone into school and academy infrastructure and into scholarships for students from economically weaker families. Under community and environmental heads the Foundation has backed solar installations and waste-management projects. The Chikitsa Sahaya Padhathi, or Medical Treatment Fund, has become the flagship of direct aid. In a single recent year it extended financial assistance to more than 300 patients from BPL and economically weaker households. The wider health brief also covers children with cancer and Type-1 diabetes, persons with intellectual disabilities, burn survivors, the physically challenged and members of the transgender community, as well as palliative care, emergency ambulance services, counselling and psychotherapy, and yoga.
Mobility is treated as a right rather than a concession. The “Wings on Wheels” programme supplies customised three-wheeler scooters to differently-abled beneficiaries; 75 such vehicles were donated in FY 2024–25 alone, at a cost of about Rs 81 lakh. Parallel drives under names such as Sahayathraku Snehasparshamayi have distributed electric wheelchairs to persons with muscular dystrophy and other disabilities. The premise is simple: without movement there is no livelihood, and without livelihood charity becomes a recurring bill rather than a restoration of independence.
Grip On The Ground
In May 2025 Lion Nandakumar received the EdelGive Hurun India Award for Exemplary Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility. Accepting it, he said that making a difference in even one person’s life is a success in itself. The remark sits beside the tree he likes to describe. The canopy is now a listed NBFC with a national branch network that has made a seven-figure gift to one of the world’s principal humanitarian foundations. The roots are still in Valapad: a health card in a coastal household, a scooter that takes a disabled worker to a shop, a house whose key is handed over by a Lions officer and a Foundation trustee, both standing on the same dais.
V.P. Nandakumar pictured alongside Lion A.P. Singh, International President; Lion Sangeeta Jatia, Board Appointee; and Lion Saju Antony Pathadan, Past Multiple Council Chairperson, Lions International
That is the argument his philanthropy makes, and the standard against which it asks to be judged. Growth that does not thicken the soil beneath it is, in this telling, only height. The work of the Manappuram Foundation — and the Hong Kong recognition that now travels with the Lions movement — is an attempt to prove the contrary: that a firm can rise, give across continents and still keep its footing among the people who first gave it ground.
The landmark donation will continue to support and nature global humanitarian assistance for the needy.
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Thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera early Tuesday and stole two paintings by renowned Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The burglars entered shortly before 6 a.m. through a hole cut in the museum garden fence, according to local authorities. Two other Renoir paintings taken during the break-in were abandoned in the gardens after police arrived and gave chase.
The stolen works, “Madame Colonna Romano” and “Young Woman at the Well,” belong to Paris’ Musée d’Orsay and were on loan to the Cagnes-sur-Mer museum. The museum, established in Renoir’s former home in 1960, currently displays a collection of his paintings along with sculptures, furniture and photographs. Authorities described the stolen works as effectively priceless because of their cultural and historical value.
The theft comes amid growing concerns over museum security in France and across Europe. Europol recently warned that art robberies are becoming more frequent and violent, with some crimes involving opportunistic groups recruited through social media. The incident follows a major jewellery heist at the Louvre in Paris last year, as well as other recent attacks on French museums.
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Germany needs to take on new debt to strengthen its defence and infrastructure, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said while defending the government’s 2027 budget. He argued that increased borrowing is necessary to address growing security threats and years of underinvestment. Germany plans to borrow €838.2 billion between 2027 and 2030, while total investment is expected to rise to €117.5 billion in 2027 from €78.9 billion in 2025.
Defence spending is set to increase significantly, with core defence expenditure projected at €109 billion in 2027, up from €82.2 billion in 2026. Including support for Ukraine and other security measures, total defence and security spending will reach €130.1 billion. Klingbeil said the increased spending is intended to protect Germany from potential conflict, amid concerns over Russia and growing cyber and hybrid threats.
The government’s spending plans face political challenges after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a state election in Saxony-Anhalt, exposing divisions within the ruling coalition. Klingbeil also defended the investment programme as a way to revive Germany’s weak economy. The economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter, while several economic institutes have raised their growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027, citing stronger government spending.
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Albania is emerging as a growing destination for dental tourism, with its capital Tirana attracting international patients seeking affordable treatments. The city has nearly 400 dental clinics serving a population of around 600,000, while many clinics now market their services in English and Italian to reach overseas customers. Dental implants typically cost about €600 per tooth, significantly below prices in countries such as the UK, France and Germany.
British patient Anthony Hook travelled to Tirana after becoming interested in the city’s numerous dental clinics and eventually underwent several visits for dental implant treatment. He said Albania appealed to him because of its lower costs and his concerns about reports of complications involving some medical procedures in Turkey. The country’s expanding network of low-cost flights has also made it easier for patients from across Europe to combine treatment with a holiday.
Albanian authorities and healthcare providers see medical tourism as a promising new industry but are also concerned about unregulated operators damaging the sector’s reputation. Prime Minister Edi Rama said the government is considering ways to identify reputable medical tourism providers as international arrivals continue to rise. Alongside dental care, Albania is also attracting visitors for hair transplants, with some clinics employing specialists from Turkey or operating as branches of Turkish businesses.
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Fourteen men are standing trial in Paris over their alleged involvement in a migrant-smuggling operation linked to the deaths of more than 30 people in the English Channel in November 2021. The tragedy occurred after an overloaded dinghy deflated during the dangerous crossing from northern France to Britain.
French prosecutors allege that Afghan and Iraqi-Kurdish smuggling networks organised the journey from migrant camps near Calais and Grande-Synthe. The defendants face charges including involuntary manslaughter, facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised group and criminal conspiracy. Two defendants are being tried in absentia.
Twenty-seven bodies were recovered after a fishing vessel alerted emergency services, while at least four people remain missing. Only two migrants survived. A later British inquiry found the deaths could have been avoided and criticised decisions made during the emergency response. The Paris trial is scheduled to continue until September 30.
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Paris authorities have launched an investigation into allegations that female employees at the Eiffel Tower were asked to move out of sight during a private visit by a Hindu religious delegation over the weekend. The incident reportedly sparked anger among staff, with employees holding a meeting on Monday and delaying the monument’s opening.
The delegation, consisting of around 100 people linked to the Hindu organisation BAPS, visited the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. A union representative alleged that female workers were asked to leave their workstations so that male employees could take their places as the delegation passed through. Eiffel Tower management reportedly apologised to staff following the incident.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said the facts behind the protest must be investigated, while BAPS denied that anyone was prevented from accessing the monument. The organisation said the visit was scheduled at opening time to minimise disruption because of the delegation’s size, and apologised for any “pain or inconvenience” caused. French National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet also criticised the reported treatment of women.
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Thousands gathered in Belgrade on Monday for the funeral of former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mourners carried Serbian flags and images of Mladic as his coffin was taken through the streets before he was buried at a nearby cemetery.
The funeral was among Serbia’s largest public burials since the fall of communism in 1990, highlighting the continued support Mladic receives from some Serbs despite his convictions. He was found guilty by a United Nations tribunal for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed, as well as for crimes committed during the siege of Sarajevo.
The event also renewed tensions between Serbia and Bosnia and drew criticism from the European Union, which condemned the glorification of convicted war criminals. Bosnia’s Foreign Minister said the country would withdraw most staff from its embassy in Belgrade in protest, while the funeral reopened painful memories for many victims and survivors of the 1990s Balkan wars.
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Police in Berlin are investigating a fire at a transformer substation in the Moabit district, raising fresh concerns about possible attacks on Germany’s power infrastructure. Authorities are examining whether the fire at a nearby construction site and the substation was accidental or deliberately started. The incident has not disrupted the local power supply.
The investigation comes amid a series of suspected sabotage incidents targeting Germany’s electricity grid. Separately, police in the western city of Wesel launched an assessment after discovering that a security fence around another transformer substation had been cut open, according to Bild newspaper.
German authorities are also searching for a man who allegedly claimed responsibility for several recent grid sabotage attacks. Police said they previously found what appeared to be explosives at his home. The incidents have heightened concerns over the security of critical energy infrastructure across Germany.
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German startup Isar Aerospace successfully sent its Spectrum rocket into orbit from Norway’s Arctic Andøya Spaceport, marking the first time a commercial rocket has reached orbit from continental Europe. The milestone is a major boost for Europe’s efforts to develop independent access to space and compete in the rapidly growing satellite-launch market.
Spectrum carried five small satellites and an in-flight technology experiment and is designed to serve small and medium-sized payloads. The successful mission came 18 months after Isar’s first launch ended in failure when its rocket crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff. The company says it now has five more rockets in production and aims to eventually conduct around 40 launches a year.
Isar plans to expand its launch operations as demand for satellite deployment grows. The company is also developing a second launch site in Nova Scotia, Canada, which could begin operations in 2028. With Europe seeking greater space autonomy amid growing global security concerns, the successful launch represents a significant step for the region’s commercial space industry.
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