BIG: German Chancellor Merz is facing growing pressure after recent election setbacks and internal criticism.

Ahead of elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin, Merz plans to seek support from the CDU leadership in an “indirect vote of confidence” on Sunday.

Merz wants backing for his reform agenda and his continuation as chancellor, while critics have raised the possibility of a leadership change.

Potential successors mentioned include North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wüst, CSU leader Markus Söder, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.

Source: ZDF

Someone in the European Parliament yells “USA! USA!” as Canada’s PM Mark Carney is about to begin his speech.

Carney laughs.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

We believe that a strong economy is not an end in itself, but a means to a just society.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Canada and Europe are not bound by geography; we’re bound by an affinity, elective, chosen, renewed, and stronger.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Canada and Europe are each strong; Europe and Canada are stronger together.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Yesterday, President von der Leyen spoke of moving to an alliance for the future, opening the door to Canada to become the EU’s first associate member.

BIG: Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Canada and Europe should secure our strategic autonomy through deep cooperation in the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals, defense industrial capacity, AI and compute, energy security, and space.

We should allow our youth to work, study, and live where they want on either side of the Atlantic.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Canadian membership of Erasmus+ would give your students and ours more opportunity to broaden their horizons and to build those lasting ties that would sustain our allies for the future.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

Canada and Europe should consider exploring an integrated market for financial services.

Türkiye Relocates Commando Brigade to Aegean Coast Opposite Greek Island

Turkish Defense Ministry says relocation of 51st Commando Brigade from eastern Türkiye to Söke, across the Aegean from Samos, was approved in June as part of operational planning.

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Canadian PM Mark Carney:

I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival, only with better manners.

We do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so no one can control our open markets or threaten our territorial integrity.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

We can help to create the next just, stable, and prosperous world order.

Canadian PM Mark Carney:

A Canada-EU alliance would create a beacon for other democracies, an alliance that’s not defined by what we oppose, but by what we are for: freedom, solidarity, prosperity.

Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker told Axios he believes the U.S. has caused more terrorism globally than al-Qaeda.

Asked whether America was worse “pound for pound,” Piker said: “Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes. We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.”

He cited a U.S. strike on an elementary school in Minab, Iran, saying: “If you're killing 140 schoolgirls, that is an act of terror.”

Kremlin:

Russia considers the adoption in the U.S. of the so-called "hellish sanctions" bill to be an unfriendly action.

If introduced, new U.S. sanctions would complicate efforts to find a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

On this day in 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland, opening a second front in the invasion and occupation of the country during World War II.

Sixteen days after Nazi Germany attacked from the west, the Red Army crossed into eastern Poland following the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which included a secret protocol dividing parts of Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.

The invasion led to the occupation and partition of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

North Korea's Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il:

Japan and the ROK are taking advantage of the confusion in the international situation to recklessly reinforce their military strength, with the aim of possessing nuclear weapons.

The U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral military cooperation system is effectively turning into a nuclear alliance.

North Korea's Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il:

The ceaseless nuclear arms buildup of the enemy states fully justifies the building of a solid nuclear shield of the DPRK.

The DPRK status as a nuclear weapon state which has been legalized by the constitution of the state, its supreme law, is the line of no retreat.

Türkiye has proposed a deal to Russia and Ukraine aimed at stopping attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea.

A Turkish diplomat said Ankara shared a draft memorandum with both sides to “come up with a solution to those strikes taking place in the Black Sea.”

Source: AFP

Le Pen Says Ukraine Conflict Risks Becoming WWIII or a Hundred Years’ War

French presidential frontrunner warned that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could escalate into a NATO war, while calling for Türkiye, Germany and Poland to take part in negotiations.

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Armenia's PM Pashinyan on the Russian 102nd military base in Armenia:

Regarding the 102nd military base, if we do not need it, why are we ready to discuss it? Because Russia is a friendly country.

If it is necessary for them to stay, we are ready to discuss it. We are ready to discuss it because Russia is a friendly country.

We are not setting any conditions or preconditions; we are simply saying that we are ready to discuss it.