Germany agrees new military service plan to boost troop numbers
Germany's coalition government has agreed a new military service plan to boost troop numbers following months of wrangling between political forces, BBC reported.
The new military service plan will mandate all 18-year-old men to fill out a questionnaire on their suitability to serve and, from 2027, to undergo medical screening.
The decision comes as Berlin aims to create Europe's strongest conventional army, according to BBC.
Three killed in wave of Russian strikes across Kyiv, officials say
Three people have died and at least 26 others injured in a wave of Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv, Ukrainian officials say, BBC reported.
Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko described strikes, which caused explosions and fires in residential buildings across the city, as "massive".
Kyiv's energy infrastructure was also damaged, leaving some buildings in the north-east without heat, he said. Ukraine's air force reported several other regions across the country were also being targeted, according to BBC.
Russia using spare oil refining capacity to offset Ukrainian drone damage, sources say
Russia's oil processing has fallen just 3% this year despite Ukraine's biggest drone attacks to date as refineries averted a steep decline in fuel production by leveraging spare capacity to offset damage from the strikes, sources said and data showed, Reuters reported.
Ukraine has ramped up drone attacks deep inside Russia, aiming to knock out oil refineries, depots and pipelines and cripple Moscow's biggest source of funding for the war in Ukraine.
Most of the attacks occurred at the start of 2025 then resumed from August. Ukrainian drones struck at least 17 major refineries in total, forcing Russia, the world's second-largest crude exporter, to curb fuel exports and order extra drone defences, according to Reuters.
Titanic passenger's watch expected to fetch £1m
A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of one of the richest passengers on the Titanic is expected to fetch £1m ($1.3m) at auction, BBC reported.
Isidor Straus and his wife Ida were among the more than 1,500 people who died when the vessel travelling from Southampton to New York sank after hitting an iceberg on 14 April 1912.
His body was recovered from the Atlantic days after the disaster and among his possessions was an 18 carat gold Jules Jurgensen pocket watch that will go under the hammer on 22 November, according to BBC.
