conscription

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A Beleaguered Ukraine Lowers the Draft Age

Zelensky signs law that drops the age to 25

(Newser) - Ukraine lowered its draft-eligible age for men from 27 to 25 on Wednesday, reflecting the strain that more than two years of war with Russia has put on its military and the need to infuse its depleted ranks with new conscripts. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed three bills into law aimed...

US Says Dual Citizens Should Get Out of Russia

They could be conscripted to fight in Ukraine war, State Department warns

(Newser) - Dual US-Russian citizens who are still in Russia are likely to have problems whether Russia recognizes their US citizenship or not, the State Department warned it its latest travel advisory , saying American citizens "residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately." The government said Russia may refuse to...

Taiwan Changes Mandated Military Service to One Year

'Peace does not come from the sky,' President Tsai says of new conscription plan

(Newser) - Taiwan will extend its compulsory military service from four months to a year starting in 2024, President Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday, as the self-ruled island faces China's military, diplomatic, and trade pressures. Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 during a civil war, is claimed by China. The...

Prepare Now for No More BTS 'Til 2025
BTS Is Headed to the Army Now
Oct 17, 2022 8:47 AM CDT

BTS Is Headed to the Army Now

K-pop stars to fulfill mandatory military service, likely won't reconvene till 2025, reps say

(Newser) - BTS fans knew it was only a matter of time, though they'd crossed their fingers for some kind of last-minute dispensation. On Monday, reps from BigHit Music officially announced that all seven members of the South Korean supergroup have agreed to fulfill their mandatory military service, putting an end...

BTS Is Taking a Break. There's More Than Music at Stake

K-pop group's break, which it says is temporary, spurs debate in Korea on conscription, activism

(Newser) - The surprise announcement by BTS last week that they were taking a break to focus on members' solo projects stunned their global fan base, shaking their label's stock price and leaving many questions about the K-pop supergroup's future. HYBE, the company behind the band, denied the group was...

Russia Removes Maximum Age for Military

Putin decides to take recruits over 40, with the stated goal of adding specialists

(Newser) - With his forces sustaining heavy losses in the fighting in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken the age limit off military service. Russians and foreigners older than 40 will be allowed to sign up as contract service members, CNN reports. Tass, the state news agency, said that the Duma...

In Norway, 'Challenging' Times Lead to Odd Ask on Underwear

Conscripts asked to turn in socks, undies when leaving military so they can be reused

(Newser) - Conscripts in Norway have been ordered to return their underwear, bras, and socks after the end of their military service so that the next group of recruits can use them. The Norwegian military said Monday that it's struggling with dwindling supplies, in part due to the pandemic, per the...

That Cloud Hanging Over BTS? South Korea Just Removed It

With law change, member can delay military service for 2 more years

(Newser) - Friday marks Kim Seok-jin's 28th birthday. It could've also marked the splintering of K-pop sensation BTS, of which Kim (stage name Jin) is the oldest member, since able-bodied men in South Korea must submit to military service by age 28. But no matter—South Korea has changed its...

Russian Opposition Leader: Staffer Abducted, Sent to Arctic

Alexei Navalny says Ruslan Shaveddinov was forcibly 'conscripted' for military service

(Newser) - The Russian military says it's simply making a 23-year-old draft dodger fulfill his one-year conscription—but President Vladimir Putin's main opponent is calling what happened earlier this week a kidnapping. The Guardian reports that Ruslan Shaveddinov, an activist and project manager at opposition leader Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption...

Sweden Brings Back Military Draft—and Adds Women

Nation cites a deteriorating security environment and a lack of trained personnel

(Newser) - Sweden's left-leaning government introduced a military draft for both men and women Thursday because of what its defense minister called a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden, the AP reports. Sweden abolished compulsory military service for men in 2010 because there were enough volunteers to meet its...

Women Won't Have to Register for Draft After All

One senator calls it 'a victory for common sense'

(Newser) - Should conscription ever again be necessary in the United States, it'll still be men called first. Though now eligible to fill combat posts, women will not be forced to register for involuntary military service beginning in January 2018. The provision mandating that women sign up—backed by women's...

Top Generals Want Women to Register for Draft

'Every American who's physically qualified should register'

(Newser) - The US military's opening of all combat roles to women has also apparently opened the door for unisex conscription. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, the chiefs of the Army and Marine Corps testified that they believe it's time for women to register for the...

UAE Brings in Conscription
 UAE Brings in Conscription 
Jun 9, 2014 12:30 AM CDT

UAE Brings in Conscription

Gulf nation worried about 'difficult neighbors'

(Newser) - Does the United Arab Emirates spy trouble ahead? The Gulf nation has introduced a law requiring all males over 18 to serve at least nine months in the military, or two years if they haven't finished high school, Al Jazeera reports. Officials say the conscription law, which follows a...

Swiss Hate War, but Want to Keep Big Army

Country votes 73% in favor of keeping the military draft

(Newser) - The paradox that is Switzerland: Due to its stance of neutrality, the country hasn't been in an international war in 200 years, yet it continues its policy of mandatory military conscription for young men. And that's the way the Swiss like it, apparently, with 73% of the country...

To End Afghan War, Reinstitute the Draft

People didn't oppose the Vietnam war, they opposed going to fight in it

(Newser) - There’s one surefire way to end the war in Afghanistan: bring back the draft. After all, that's what worked in the '60s, writes cartoonist Jeff Danziger, who was drafted and served in Vietnam. The protests over that war ripped the country apart, grinding the war effort to a halt....

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