Bethany Bell

Chancellor Merz of Germany has said that he wants to create Europe's biggest conventional army.

This, of course, because of perceived threats from Russia and also pressure from the United States.

President Donald Trump on NATO countries, including Germany, to increase their defence spending.

And in future, this law will...

All 18-year-olds will receive a questionnaire that will gauge their interest and willingness to engage in military service.

And then as of 2027, 18-year-olds men will have to take a test, a medical test to see about their suitability as well.

What people here are telling us, they see this as a slippery slope.

One 18-year-old told me that today it's voluntary, but this law also foresees the possibility of making it compulsory if not enough people volunteer.

for the army, or if the security situation gets worse here in Germany, there will be the possibility with the agreement of parliament to make military service compulsory.

Another young man told me that he didn't think war was the answer.

He said we shouldn't be trying to make war.

It's about peace.

The world should be moving away from armed struggle, not towards it.

There are three main reasons why the European Commission has found after a two-year investigation that Elon Musk's social network X is not compliant with EU law.

It said the blue ticks that the network uses are deceptive because they used to be a sign that an account holder had been verified by the platform itself.

And now they're a sign that someone has subscribed.

But what the EC says is that anybody could subscribe online.

and then potentially be a scammer or be impersonating someone else.

And so they're not a reliable mark of authenticity anymore.

It also said that the advertising policies weren't transparent enough.