In a bid to cope with shortage of recruits at home, German army reportedly floats an idea of opening its ranks to foreigners. Critics of the head-hunting proposal say the move might turn Bundeswehr into a “mercenary army.”

The German army may put up a call for foreigners to fill in understaffed military positions, according to a report by Augsburger Allgemeine. The Defense Ministry will reportedly attract foreign recruits into the Bundeswehr by offering a prospect of obtaining German citizenship.

https://www.rt.com/news/433876-german-army-foreign-recruits/

Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said that Crimea “legitimately” belongs to Russia as he argued with a US journalist who called the 2014 referendum held on the peninsula “fake.”

When Washington Post journalist Lally Weymouth confronted Salvini with the apparently provocative question of whether or not he supports Russia’s “annexation” of Crimea, Salvini pointed out that there was actually a referendum, prompting her to claim it was “fake.”

https://www.rt.com/news/433839-salvini-crimea-russia-referendum/

China should reconsider the “sufficient” size of their nuclear weapons stockpile to scare off potential attackers, China’s Global Times said, pointing at the US' “aggressive attitude” in the South China Sea and the Taiwan issue.

One of the lessons China has to learn from the Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin summit is that Washington respects military power in the first place and vast stockpile of nuclear weapons, in particular, the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated paper said in an editorial on Friday. The article suggests that Russia’s nuclear arsenal is behind the US leader’s “respect for the country and probably the only reason that had earlier deterred NATO from engaging “in open conflict in Ukraine and Syria with Russia.”

“Just by looking at the US’ aggressive attitude in the South China Sea and the Taiwan question, we know that China’s nuclear strength is ‘far from sufficient.’ Part of the US’ strategic arrogance may come from its absolute nuclear advantage,” the editorial warned. It added that one day Washington may “turn this arrogance into military provocation” involving China.

https://www.rt.com/news/433904-china-more-nukes-deter-us/