Germany's parliament approved plans for a massive spending surge on Tuesday, throwing off decades of fiscal conservatism in hopes of reviving economic growth and scaling up military spending for a new era of European collective defence.

German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that his proposed huge spending boost for defence was needed because of Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'war of aggression against Europe'.

Mr Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats are in negotiations to form a government after February's election. Read more at straitstimes.com.