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Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds

Germany votes to bring in voluntary military service programme for 18-year-olds11 hours agoShareSaveBethany BellBerlinShareSaveWatch: 'We're protesting now before it's too late'Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has voted to introduce voluntary military service, in a move aimed at boosting national defences after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It marks a significant shift in Germany's approach to its military and follows Chancellor Friedrich Merz's push to create Europe's strongest conventional army.
The change means that all 18-year-olds in Germany will be sent a questionnaire from January 2026 asking if they are interested and willing to join the armed forces. The form will be mandatory for men and voluntary for women.
Students at schools across Germany have said they will join strikes in as many as 90 cities on Friday to protest against the move.
EPAGermany scrapped compulsory military service in 2011 but the size of its milit..

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Putin says Russia ready to supply ‘uninterrupted’ fuel to India

Putin says Russia ready to supply 'uninterrupted' fuel to India 13 hours agoShareSaveVikas Pandey,DelhiandRuth ComerfordShareSaveReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to provide “uninterrupted shipments” of fuel to India, as Delhi faces pressure from the US to stop buying Russian oil.
Putin, speaking alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, questioned earlier why India should be punished for buying oil when the US itself buys nuclear fuel from Moscow.
President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on most Indian products, arguing that Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil helped fund the war in Ukraine – an accusation India denies.
Putin's visit comes as the US holds a series of talks with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to broker a peace deal to end the war.
On Thursday, Putin told India Today that Russia was working on a “peaceful solution” to ending the war – warning that Ukraine must withdraw from the Donbas or Ru..

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US strike in Pacific: Four killed in blitz on alleged narco-terror boat – watch

The US military said four people were killed on Thursday in a strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, the latest action in a counter-narcotics campaign that has drawn intensifying scrutiny. According to a post by US Southern Command on X, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted the strike on the orders of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth after intelligence indicated the boat, operated by a “designated terrorist organization,” was carrying illicit narcotics along a known trafficking route. The post said “four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” releasing a short video that showed the craft speeding across the water before being hit by an explosion.US defense secretary Pete Hegseth in a post on X reacted to the strike. He posted, “Your wish is our command, Andrew. Just sunk another narco boat,” while responding to an request for downing another alleged narco-boat.The development came hours after lawmakers viewed classified footage of a sepa..

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Blake Neff rejects Candace Owens’ offer to join Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA livestream virtually, pushes forward with Kirk livestream alone

A public spat between Candace Owens and Turning Point USA has escalated, with TPUSA announcing a livestream addressing allegations surrounding Charlie Kirk's death without Owens. Owens' insistence on a virtual appearance, citing a scheduling conflict with her own show, was rejected by TPUSA, leading to her exclusion from the December 15 event. The dispute intensifies scrutiny on the controversial matter. The tense back-and-forth between Candace Owens and Turning Point USA has taken a sharp turn, as TPUSA’s Blake Neff announced the organization will move forward with a livestream addressing allegations tied to Charlie Kirk’s death, without Owens participating. The conservative commentator had previously suggested that TPUSA “betrayed” Kirk, who was assassinated on September 10, and was offered a chance to discuss her claims on The Charlie Kirk Show. At first, Owens appeared ready to join in, but a clash over whether she would appear in person or remotely triggered an online de..

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Are Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image ignites debate

AdvertisementSingaporeThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureAre Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image ignites beauty debateSocial media users said Singapore had no Vivian Chow or Edison Chen, but experts warned against warped beauty standards shaped by media
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPKolette LimPublished: 10:15am, 5 Dec 2025A widely shared image on social media depicting colour sketches of men from different regions in China has ignited debate on the physical appearance of Singaporean Chinese based on their ancestry, with online users concluding they are the least attractive of the gene pool.
But psychotherapists say perceptions of beauty might be warped by media and celebrity culture, warning against the normalisation of conversations centred on physical appearance.
The discussion was prompted by drawings of male faces from China’s northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast and Xinjiang regions, which went viral on social media this week and racked up..

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China’s unmanned Moyujian strike helicopter is ready for plateau combat tests

AdvertisementChina's military weaponsChinaMilitaryChina’s unmanned Moyujian strike helicopter is ready for plateau combat testsAt Aero Asia in Zhuhai, developer says it put high-altitude drone with missiles through live-fire target tests above 4,000 metres
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP3Alcott Weiin BeijingPublished: 10:00am, 5 Dec 2025China’s unmanned reconnaissance and strike helicopter tailored for deployment in plateau areas is ready for critical combat testing.
The new multipurpose medium-sized helicopter was displayed on November 27 at an air show in Zhuhai, in southern China, where the next stage of testing was announced by its developer.
The Moyujian was exhibited at the second Asia General Aviation Exhibition (Aero Asia), held from November 27 to 30.
AdvertisementAero Asia, jointly organised by the German General Aviation Exhibition and Airshow China, was held for the first time in 2023. The event, which takes place every two years, is China’s only general a..

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Republicans in Washington circle the wagons around an increasingly damaged Pete Hegseth

Republicans left Democrats on Capitol Hill frustrated this week after a pair of controversies surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued to dominate the headlines, but the president’s party was seemingly unwilling to hold Donald Trump’s Cabinet secretary to any public accountability.
Lawmakers from both parties on the committees overseeing the armed forces and intelligence sectors huddled with Adm. Frank Bradley and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Thursday. The briefing focused on a Sept. 2 military strike on a vessel the Trump administration says was ferrying drugs in the Caribbean. In that now heavily-scrutinized mission, Navy SEALs under Bradley’s direction conducted a second strike on the burning wreckage of the vessel as at least two survivors clung to it in desperation.
Committees in both chambers, led by Republicans who hold majorities in the House and Senate, announced plans to investigate the strike after news reports generated criticism fro..

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Texas can use Trump-backed congressional map in midterms following Supreme Court ruling

The Supreme Court will let Texas use a new congressional map in next year’s crucial midterm elections that could determine the balance of power in Congress.
A redistricting war among states to maximize Republican victories in a Donald Trump-backed campaign to maintain control of Congress got a significant boost from the nation’s highest court Thursday, with the court’s conservative majority agreeing to temporarily block a lower-court order that found the map unlawful.
The map will remain in play while a legal challenge continues.
The court’s three liberal justices dissented.
In August, Texas Governor Greg Abbott approved a map drawn up by Texas Republicans that is expected to add up to five GOP seats in the House of Representatives, a move that sparked a gerrymandering arms race and legal battles among Republicans and Democrats across the country to reshape their states’ political boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections.
open image in galleryTexas Governor Greg Abbott approved a new con..

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Putin says Russia will take Donbas by force or Ukraine’s troops will withdraw

Putin says Russia will take Donbas by force or Ukraine's troops will withdraw4 hours agoShareSaveJaroslav LukivShareSaveAlexander Nemenov/Pool via REUTERSPresident Vladimir Putin has warned again that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war in Ukraine.
“Either we liberate these territories by force, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories,” he told India Today. Moscow controls around 85% of Donbas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out ceding territory.
Putin's comments come after President Donald Trump said his negotiators discussing a US peace plan believed Russia's leader “would like to end the war” after Tuesday's talks in Moscow.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Moscow, is due to meet Ukraine's team in Florida.
Trump said Tuesday's talks in the Kremlin were “reasonably good”, adding it was too soon to say what ..

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Oil, defence and geopolitics: Why Putin is visiting Modi in Delhi

Oil, defence and geopolitics: Why Putin is visiting Modi in Delhi11 hours agoShareSaveSteve Rosenberg,Russia editor, in DelhiandVikas Pandey,India editorShareSaveAFP via Getty ImagesRussia's Vladimir Putin was embraced warmly on the runway by India's Narendra ModiRussian President Vladimir Putin has arrived for a two-day visit to India, where he was embraced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of an annual summit held by both countries.
Delhi and Moscow are expected to sign a number of deals during the visit, which comes months after the US increased pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil.
It also comes as US President Donald Trump's administration holds a series of talks with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to end the war.
India and Russia have been close allies for decades and Putin and Modi share a warm relationship. Here's a look at why they both need each other – and what to watch for as they meet.
Watch: What do India, Russia want from Putin's vi..